Bearwallow Mountain Loop and Fire Tower, Gerton NC

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
10/3/2021	2.5 miles	1 hours 19 minutes	555'	2.0	349.8

Map: Bearwallow Mountain Hiking Trail

Parking: 4854 Bearwallow Mountain Road, Gerton, NC

Carolina Mountain Club Challenges:

• Lookout Tower Challenge, Bearwallow Mountain

Directions: Head to kiosk and take trail on the right. Hike to the summit, visit the fire tower (closed). Return via the gravel road to the parking area.

I woke up tired from yesterday's trail maintenance. And the forecast was for a chance of rain. I felt like climbing back into bed, but Krummholz deserved at least a short hike today. I got myself moving and headed to Bearwallow Mountain. I'd seen others post photos of this hike, and was looking forward to a bald summit. 

The parking for this hike is crowded. There are a number of parking spaces on the side of the road, but this is a very popular easy hike, so people were parking just off the edge of the road. So many people, so many dogs. This hike would be preferable on a weekday. Luckily I remembered to bring some string cheese with me, so I could work on managing Krummholz's behavior with so many dogs. 

The hike up was an easy/moderate climb. We took our time, as it felt like we were hiking in a conga line. Every time we saw a dog approach, I'd just have Krummholz sit on the side of the trail and reward him. He's fine with some dogs, but there are also out of control dogs and I'd prefer he didn't interact with them. The trail starts out forested, and then clears near the summit. The summit area is a pasture with cows and views. There is also a fire tower at the top. I checked, and this fire tower is on the CMC's Lookout Tower Challenge list. I like all of the challenges the club has, because its an easy way to find new trails to hike. There are also several phone towers at the top - not so scenic. Krummholz was polite with the cows. He's such a good boy. He mostly ignores them, but sometimes I see him watching them out of the corner of his eye. A calf started following us, but I continued on, not wanting any dog/cow interactions. These cows must be pretty dog proof, because the trail is so popular. For the hike down, I decided to follow a gravel road to the parking lot, rather than coming back the same way I came up.