The Black Mountain Crest Trail, known colloquially as “the tougher way up Mount Mitchell,” is a strenuous but scenic trek that takes you through a forest of gushing waters before setting you on an endless stairmaster up to the heavens.
The portion of the trail we completed was entirely uphill; 3,000 feet of elevation gain in just over 5 miles. Our destination was the overlook just before Celo Knob known as Horse Rock Meadows. There, we enjoyed a reprieve from the nearly-three-hours of constant uphill with beautiful views of the Black Mountains, the Great Craggy Mountains, and the Newfound Mountains.
The solitude of the hike, combined with the view from Horse Rock Meadows, makes this a “must repeat” for me. In the future, I plan on doing two more trips here: one, I will plan to take the full day and do all 6,000 feet of the trail; and two, a 3+ day trip that allows for camping.
Google Map of Trailhead
Where to Park
The constant uphill is not unbearable but it is definitely not for beginners. The good news is, you can turn around at any time and with any luck, you can park your car fairly close to the trailhead.
If you park in front of the cemetery, you risk getting towed. Instead, we parked on Bolens Creek Road, a half-mile from the trailhead.
We took a right on the hairpin turn and passed the cemetery which was on our right. We found a parking spot on the shoulder of the road in the opposite direction, as shown above.
Entering Pisgah National Forest
We began the hike up the Black Mountain Crest Trail by walking from my car to trailhead on Water Shed Road. This involved hugging the shoulders of Bolens Creek Road, strategically switching sides just before each turn so that we could watch for cars; it was important to make sure they saw us as well.
The gravel road starts behind some houses; you will quickly cross a sign as you enter Pisgah National Forest.
Reaching the Black Mountain Crest Trailhead
Upon entering Pisgah National Forest, you are shrouded in greenery. The sounds of Bolens Creek’s flowing water increase as you approach the actual start of the Black Mountain Crest Trail. It is beautiful, both for the eyes and for the ears.
You can either walk across the creek or take an overhead bridge to start the actual trail.
An Endless Uphill Journey
Due to the heat and difficulty of the trail, I used an old trick to keep my muscles – particularly my calves, quads, hamstrings, abs, and back, which are prone to cramping under extreme exertion and heat – hydrated and fully-functioning.
Trick: I had about 7 liters of water, mixed with pink salt and honey. I learned this trick long ago after experiencing one too many muscle twitches and cramps during sweat-inducing treks.
Peaceful Solitude
The hike was extremely quiet; there was no one around except for bears and other wildlife. This is probably an artifact of the COVID-19 quarantine. I imagine this trail can be congested on an otherwise normal spring/summer day, but the solitude was a perfect mate for the vigorous exercise we endured.
A Healthy Dose of Fear
Since we were alone on the trail, our senses were heightened due to the prospects of coming across curious wildlife that would otherwise neglect to venture too close to the trail. We saw several bear dens and scratching posts, and the eeriness increased with elevation. Thankfully, we did not come across any wildlife, save for a dead snake on Water Shed Road. Perhaps the noise we made was sufficient.
Horse Rock Meadows: The View Before Celo Knob
After 3 hours and 30 minutes of incline, we finally broke treeline. Mission accomplished! Exhausted, we enjoyed the view while snacking on some food before turning back and heading for the car.
The Descent
The trip down took just over 2 hours; 43% faster than the way up. It would have been even quicker if we weren’t so diligent about tripping on rocks and dry dirt or worrying about stumbling upon black bears.
Hike Stats: Elevation Gain and Distance
See below for Below is a chart of some summary statistics of the Black Mountain Crest Trail hike. To make the journey simpler, you can download my GPX file of the hike, which starts and ends at my parking spot.
Total climbing: 3604 ft
Total time: 05:45:57
1 Comment
Malcolm Woody · March 8, 2021 at 1:33 am
Good report, great trail. I highly recommend the entire hike to Mt. Mitchell. However, I thought the trek up Potato Hill was more grueling but thankfully much shorter than the Celo Knob Slog. One interesting side trip worth the effort just after the first big turn to the right, is the Balsam Mine.. This is before the switchbacks and before the stretch of level grade… on my Alltrails recording the mine was 2.5 miles from the intersection of Watershed Road and Bowlens Creek Road. Right after the hard turn to the right, off to the right of the trail, is a short walk to the mine which is filled with water. It now favors a low weathered gash in earth, but at the height of the US Mica Program, this mine was productive reaching a depth of nearly 700′. You’ll see some old piles of tailings which are mostly grown over, but you can see where rock hounds have dug through looking for mica, granite, or aquamarine. In addition, the scramble trail up Celo Knob is well worth the effort. It is the most remote of the South Beyond 6K summits and a healthy challenge. Just below the summit from a large stone escarpment, you’ll have stunning views to the north and the east, and get a sense for just how rugged the eastern slope of Celo really is. There are several other spectacular spots. Just south of Gibbs where the trail narrows atop a rugged spine, eastern cliffs are nothing short of enthralling. Just below the summit of Potato Hill, there is another section of trail that skirts the eastern cliffs. You get a real sense of climbing a mountain here. The Spruce fir, Balsam, and Frasier Fir forest between Potato Hill and Cattail Peak is also a highlight. Boulders and trees are covered in bright green moss giving the forest a magical Tolkienesque appearance. In relatively short order you achieve Cattail Peak and Balsam Cone before a drop down to Big Tom Gap. From there a short intense climb to Big Tom, a subpeak of Craig, involves two lengthy roped sections over exposed layers of rock. There is a shallow gap between Big Tom and Craig, and just over a rise to the west at the lowest point, you can climb to the edge and see the eerie remains of a plane crash from May 1966. The fuselage and tail section are mostly intact just lying there on the mountain, a monument to two lives lost. The site has significance to me because it happened exactly two weeks after I was born. If the plane had just been two hundred feet higher they would have made it, and they were only 15-20 minutes from their destination in Marion, NC, having traveled from Memphis, Tennessee, ironically to transport a man who had died while vacationing and hiking in the area. From Mt. Craig to Mt. Mitchell, the trail transforms to mostly a park like trail and you’ll start running into folks visiting the summit of Mitchell. As I said… stunning hike, you’ve got to go back and go at the entire distance. You’ll be thrilled you did.
-Malcolm Woody