Biking Distance: 6 miles
New Map Miles: 9.1 miles
Total Map Miles: 480.5
Today was an adventure that included hiking, biking and a long drive through the woods. I set out to mark off several of the odds and ends along the Balsam Mountain Road.
7:00 am
The day started early leaving the house about 7:00. I took 1-40 east exiting at the Maggie Valley exit. I drove through Maggie Valley and got on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was very foggy on the parkway, so I could see nothing at the many overlooks. At Heintooga Ridge Road, I exited the Blue Ridge Parkway.
9:23am
Arrived at the end of Heintooga Ridge Road and hopped on my bike. I road back down Heintooga 3.5 miles to the lower end of the Flat Creek Trail. It was a glorious cool morning up at the high elevation (5300'). The bike ride ended too quickly. I locked up the bike and headed back up the mountain on the Flat Creek Trail.
There was a fair amount of grass along the trail and the trees seemed young. I assume this area was heavily logged before the park was formed.
The trail was pleasant. It arrived at the Balsam Mountain picnic area. There was a nice overlook at the picnic area.
The elevation graph includes the bike ride down. The trail did head down into the valley at the beginning and then climbed about 600'. There were 1 or 2 easy stream crossings.
At this point, I got back in the car and drove down the mountain and picked up my bike. I then turned around and drove back to the top and started down the Balsam Mountain Road. It is a single lane one way gravel road. About 4 miles down this road I arrived at the Spruce Mountain Trail.
11:21 am
The Spruce Mountain trail is a short trail up to campsite 42. There were a few spots that would have a nice view in the winter, but on this day there wasn't much to see. It was overgrown in a few spots, but mostly an easy trail to hike. There was a very large tree near the campground that I photographed. I quickly turned around and headed back to the car.
12:10
Back at the car I continued my drive on Balsam Mountain. I enjoyed my lunch while driving to Beech Gap.
After a 45 minute drive, I arrived at Beech Gap and once again got the bike out and headed on down Balsam Mountain. I was about .6 miles down the hill when I remembered my phone on the roof of the car. I had to ride back up the hill to retrieve it and then road down to the Hyatt Ridge Trail. The bike ride was only 1.3 miles, but my mistake turned it into 2.5 miles.
Hyatt Ridge was tough climbing from about 3000' to more than 5000'. I was very sweaty when I arrived at the Enloe Creek Intersection. I was hoping the climbing was about over, but there was more climbing to go. The trails were in nice shape for horse trails.
3.5 miles into the hike, I arrived at the Beech Gap Trail intersection. I headed on up to campsite 44 to get the 0.9 mile spur. At the campsite there was a nice grove of coneflowers.
The Trip down the mountain was quick and I was back at the car at 4:00
I returned home by taking 441 over Newfound Gap.
6:20 Arrived at home after a long day.
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