Don't be fooled by the lowly <2,500 ft. elevation of Tuscarora Mountain ("Big Mountain"). This hike was every bit as challenging as some of the northeastern 4,000-footers in my opinion. It was a long journey: nearly eight miles round-trip from Cowans Gap to Tuscarora's summit and another two miles round-trip for nearby Hogback Mountain. It was steep in sections, particularly the initial climb to Tuscarora's ridge and the re-ascent of Tuscarora from Hogback Mountain that felt closer to nine miles than 0.9 miles. And the frozen blowdown I encountered along the Tuscarora Trail made for a navigational nightmare at times.
No complaints whatsoever about the vista from Tuscarora's summit. The wintry scenes up there were magical when I returned from the grueling Hogback Trail as the clouds had whitened and the skies had turned a perfect blue hue. I would have stayed up there longer, but wanted to be completely off the mountain before darkness fell and knew that I would be racing against the sun on the shortest day of the year in terms of daylight hours.