Hawksbill Mountain Trail

I wanted to hike in the Linville Gorge Wilderness. I selected the Hawksbill Mountain Trail from AllTrails because of its high rating and the views people described. I followed the AllTrails route which kept taking me in a loop and to a private property. I’ve been through this before. I also didn’t have cell coverage most of the trip. This made finding another route difficult. After find coverage, I was able to find the trail using google maps. The trail head is down a 2.5 mile rutty dirt road.

In the summer, this must be a very crowded location given the “No Parking” signs and the electronic board indicating “Towing Is Strongly Enforced”. At this time of the year there were only two other cars in the parking lot. I decided to take several of my lenses and tripod with me up the trail. Another car filled with five woman pulled up and they were eager to get their hike going. One of them said, you don’t need water, its a short hike. I jokingly replied, always take water. One of them said join us, but they were bounding off before I could get my backpack on. I started up the mountain but I was hiking up a drainage ditch. I retraced my steps and found the actual trail.

The hike at the bottom is covered with dirt and leaves and very few rocks. About half way up the mountain, more and more rocks appear. On this day, there were small streams of water that had to be traversed or avoided. At the top, I wasn’t sure which way to turn, but I could hear the five woman talking to my right. They were looking out to the amazing views all around. They said hello and and we chatted a little bit. I offered to take some photos of them. Fridah is a doctor visiting from Kenya.

L to R: Karen, Fridah, Kristen, Starr and Laura

The views were spectacular in all directions.

On the way down, I caught up with the woman once more and passed them. I told them that my brakes weren’t functioning well today. I got back to the car and made something to eat. I heard the woman talking about going for something to drink. I had two stouts in the car and offered them. I didn’t have to twist their arms very much. Laura took possession of the beers and I assume shared them with the rest of the group.

Laura Reluctantly Taking Two Stouts for the Road

I was all packed and a guy came out of the woods. He lived in a town nearby and was camping up the trail. While waiting for his friend, he was collecting wood for their campfire that night. I thought, he will need to make a lot of trips.

As he was leaving, Christian and Theresa (???) came to their car with Montana plates. She was in the Navy and he was a Marine. They were out for a day hike and had two dogs. The bigger one came over with his tail wagging and sat down in front of me. I fussed over him and he was so happy to have his head rubbed. I was covered in white hair by the end and Mannsen (???) seemed to be very happy.

The trip back the dirt road was a little precarious, because I was on the outside of the road and there wasn’t much room for error. I had to pass a truck and two cars on the way out. At the end of the dirt road, I was able to get cell coverage and setup google to take me to the Miracle Grounds Cafe in Crossnore, NC not far away.

Miracle Grounds Cafe

The Miracle Grounds Cafe is a small coffee shop with baked goods. I ordered a Latte and cinnamon roll. Everyone in the shop seemed very young (high school age). Eventually an adult appeared and then left. They were all very well behaved and seemed to take their jobs seriously. That was good to see. I later learned from Cammie, the adult, that all the kids were part of the Crossnore School. I setup my computer and used the wifi until closing at 4:00pm.

I asked if I could get a photo of the people in the shop and they agreed.

L to R: Al, Dream (sp?) and Cammie

Cammie suggested I take a tour of the school / town, which I did. Apparently, this is also a vacation destination near Asheville.

E.H. Sloop Chapel

I found my way back to Ashville later in the evening. It was going to rain most of the night and I decided I would hangout in Ashville the next day.