"Stopped at Spence Firld, on our way form Lead Cove Trail and to Rocky Top. Beautiful view. We met a group of AT thruhikers and took turns on photo detail so we could all get our group pictures." — gooner • Apr 15, 2019

"First mountain of the year. A beautiful but ambitious way to start the season considering our physical dormancy over the winter. We picked the coolest day of the week, and started from the Lead Cove Trail at 10am. From there, we took Bote Mountain Trail to the northbound AT, all the while soaking in the warm greens of the forest and the shimmering white treetops from the previous night’s precipitation and freezing temperatures. All trails kept a fairly steady incline throughout, with easy footing and beautiful scenery. Every trailbend brought a weather change, and nearly every wind pelted us with ice falling from branches, but it was well worth it." — gooner • Apr 15, 2019

"We took the MST to the “Trailhead” of Mount Hardy, marked by orange ribbon. The trail is pretty well defined, not as well as the MST but pretty easy to manage. Close to the summit we reached a USGS marker for “NO 2 Black MT 1933.” There is a nice campsite / sitting area in a field very close to the summit. It was a gorgeous day, and the weather was perfect. On our way back down we decided to take a side trail, marked by blue ribbon. We assumed it was to another overlook, but the trail continued down the side of the mountain. We checked the GPS and realized we were headed toward the Parkway. We hiked the rest of the way from the Parkway to 215 and back to our parking lot. " — ChrisM • Nov 7, 2018

"Today was quite the warm day, with temperatures on the trail around 75. I hiked up the Mountains-to-Sea Trail from Greybeard Mountain Overlook. It was a short, but steep hike. About 100-200 yards in, the trail veers to the right to cross the BRP. At that point I went to the left and followed a well established trail. After a short time the trail began ascending up the mountain. There are a couple of quick scrambles over rocks. After passing through a rocky, mossy area, the trail closed in, as there were many thick rhodedens along the way. I came upon a false summit and stopped for a breather. Once I got to the top, the views were expansive and amazing. There were several overlapping trails on the summit, but all seemed to lead back to the main path. There were 3 different borders up there that I could stand on to see above the trees and brush. " — ChrisM • May 13, 2018

"Short out and back trail that will make you sweat for it. The entire trail runs straight up the mountain with little to no break. There is a small rock scramble on top to summit the mountain. There are beautiful views of the Swannanoa River Valley as well as the high peaks of the Black Mountains. " — ChrisM • May 4, 2018