Chapter Four: The Balds

Day 21 June 26, 2020 Friday

Standing Bear Hostel on Green Corner Road, NC to Max Patch Mt., NC

I awoke at 5:30 AM, re-bandaged my toes, broke camp, had breakfast, and was on trail by 7 AM. This morning was a very long ascent up Snowbird Mountain, beginning at 1,800 feet and gaining over 2,450 feet in elevation to the summit, at 4,263 feet. There were several nice campgrounds that I passed along the way, which caused me to think that maybe I should have gone a little bit farther yesterday. The hike up the mountain was not too difficult, the grade was very reasonable, but the distance was nearly five miles. When I finally arrived at the top of Snowbird Mountain, just before noon, there was an FAA tower on the bald top looking like something from an old James Bond movie. There were great views in several directions and I leaned my pack against some Longarm Quartzite boulders to rest and have a morning snack. These were more of the metasediments similar in age and origin to those I had been stomping my way through in the Smokies for the past week. I made it a point this morning to stop several times and snack on the way up in order to keep my energy level high. When I did stop for lunch, I sat down, leaning against my pack with my shoes off for about an hour. This seemed to really help for the afternoons.

By about 3 PM as I was approaching Max Patch Road, I met Journey Man, a 2016 NOBO thru-hiker who had a beautiful hand carved hiking staff. He told me that there was some “trail magic” ahead, and that someone was giving out hot dogs, snacks, and cold drinks to all the thru-hikers who came by. In less than a mile, there he was—a kind gentleman camped alongside the road, and when I walked by, he called me over to offer me a beer or a cold drink. I sat down with him, and we talked for about 15 minutes while I finished my refreshing beverage. He worked in HR for a Japanese petrochemical company in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Before leaving he pointed me in the direction of a cold running mountain spring, where I could refill my water bottles. I thanked him and was on my way.

While at the spring, I considered going past Max Patch and onto the next shelter just to put in more miles for the day, but so many of the hikers I met had told me not to miss camping out on the expansive grassy bald there. Until I got to this point, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do. After thinking more about it, I decided to stay on top of the mountain tonight, and just hike those extra couple of miles tomorrow. It was a long but interesting hike to the treeless top of the mountain, and there were a lot of other people who were also heading in this direction.

When I arrived at the top, it looked like a large open field, with tents pitched all around. Occasional boulders of Max Patch Granite were present near the trail, but overall, the meadow-covered bald mountaintop kept its secret interior well hidden. The whole place had a festive feel to it. Young people were throwing Frisbees, dogs were running free, and some folks were simply sitting in the grass while gazing off into the horizon. It reminded me of spring break at the beach…