| Date | Distance | Time | Elevation Gain | Average Moving Time | Year to Date Miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4/27/2021 | 9.4 | 5 hours 5 minutes | 1,270' | 2.1 mph | 97.3 |
Map: "Asheville, 35 Spectacular Hikes in the Land of the Sky" by Jennifer Pharr Davis
Parking: Max Patch Road
Directions: Head to kiosk. Take loop trail to the right. Turn left onto AT north. Go over Max Patch, continue north on AT. Turned around at a unique stump, as we decided not to go all the way to Lemon Gap. On the way back, we turned right onto the loop trail right before Max Patch summit, and continued to the parking area.
I've always wanted to go see Max Patch. I know it's an "over-loved" summit, but its still beautiful. We went on a weekday, as we've heard it can be a madhouse on weekends. The hike to the summit is short, so many non-hikers do it. After greeting someone, we were asked where we were from. We had several people stop and talk to us on our way up. We decided North Carolina hikers are friendlier than NY hikers, lol. We had a full day to hike today, so we decided to continue north on the AT (not described in the guide book). We still have a bunch of NC and all of TN to do, so why not? We weren't particularly organized. We don't have the ATC's Tennessee - North Carolina guide & map set yet. We do have Guthook though, so we used it to figure out landmarks.
Past Max Patch, there were areas with a loads of wildflowers. Many more than where we hike in NY. The trails are full of rhododendrons and mountain laurels. I'm sure the trails are spectacular when they are in bloom in June. We were aiming for a 9 mile hike today, and couldn't find a good landmark for turning around. So we found an odd looking stump, and made that our turnaround point.
I would love to backpack on the top of Max Patch sometime. I imagine the sunset and sunrises there are spectacular.
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