Mt. Sterling

Day One: 8.25
Mt. Sterling trail 2.7
Mt. Sterling trail 0.4
Mt. Sterling Ridge trail 1.4
Pretty Hollow Gap trail 3.75
Campsite #39

Day Two: 10.65
Pretty Hollow Gap trail 0.25
Little Cataloochee trail 5.2
Little Cataloochee trail 1.1
Long Bunk trail 3.6
Mt. Sterling trail 0.5

Total Miles: 18.9 miles

Lora and I headed out to knock out some more trails on her map.  We started off NC 284 at the Mt. Sterling trailhead.  We like to start out with a good climb so we did the 1900 feet in 2.7 miles.  At the tower we saw the only two people we saw on the trail this hike.  The views from the tower were great.  Then we hiked back to the Mt. Sterling Ridge trail to start our hike down to Campsite #39 for the night.  It was a pretty uneventful hike on a beautiful day.  We did have to do a three water crossings in crocks as the water was up from all the rain.

When we got to camp, it was getting dark so we jumped into hunting firewood.  This was the first time that I have been here that there was firewood all over the place.  Usually it looks like someone vacuumed the area.  We got camp set up and a fire going.  It was a clear night and soon the very bright moon shined on us.  It was supposed to get down to 25 degrees tonight.

The next morning we got up and had breakfast around the fire.  We packed up and headed out for Cataloochee.  We did kick up a flock of turkeys on the Little Cataloochee trail.  Once you get over the ridge, you start getting into the cabins and a church.  It is always cool to see stuff like that and wonder how life must have been at that time.  We took the trail all the way to NC 284 to mark it off on the map.  We ate lunch and then hiked back to Long Bunk trail.

On the Long Bunk trail, we got into snow up at elevation.  We could see the snow on the mountains that morning as we looked up at them.  It had sleeted a little bit last night.

When we got to the Mt. Sterling trail we found a group of tree limb cutters with a four wheeler and trailer.  They were clearing the power line up to the tower. Of course they were amazed that anyone would stay out last night in that weather.

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