Noland Divide

Date: 12/29/14
Distance: 15.6
New Map Miles: 7.8
Total Map Miles: 730.8

Today I once again made the long drive to Deep Creek to mark off the lower 7.8 miles of the Noland Divide Trail.  The weather was foggy and drizzly in Tennessee, but just after crossing Newfound Gap, the weather cleared a bit.  By the time I was ready to hike, it was warm enough that I only wore a long sleeve hiking shirt and long hiking pants.  Not bad for the end of December.

The trail was in great shape as it made its way up the mountain.  The parking lot is at a bit under 2000'. Over the 1st 5 miles the trail climbs up to over 4500'.

 There were several places in the 1st 3 miles that you could see off of the trail into the surrounding valleys.  The fog started moving in though.

 At 3.5 miles, you reach the Lonesome Pine Overlook, when I got there it was very foggy, so I didn't take the short side trail.  Instead I  headed on up the mountain hoping for better weather on the way down.

The trail rises for about 5 miles and then dips down about 500' before a short climb up to the Pole Gap Intersection.  At this point, I turned around and headed back down the mountain.

Fortunately the clouds had lifted by the time I got back to the overlook, and the views were great.

The climb was substantial but the trail was great and the views were wonderful.  The drive home was awful, but fortunately, I'm now finished with the Deep Creek Trails, so I don't have to make that drive again!