Bent Creek Loop from Rice Pinnacle

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
2/2/2022	11.3 miles	5 hours 19 minutes	1,184'	2.3 mph	60.3

Parking: Rice Pinnacle parking lot, 806

Maps:

• BentCreek Trails Map August 2008 (usda.gov)
• GaiaGps app

Directions:

• From parking area take Deer Lake Lodge Trail #664
• Take the Wolf Branch Trail #666
• Turn right onto the Ledford Trail #660. Take it until it ends at a road.
• Turn around and take the Ledford Trail #660 back to the Wolf Branch Trail #666
• Turn right onto the Wolf Branch Trail #666
• Turn right onto a road - also called Sidehill Trail #145 I think.
• Turn left onto Ingles Field Gap Trail #150
• Turn left onto Ingles Field Connector Trail #150A. Take it until it ends at a road - also called Sidehill Trail #145 I think.
• Turn around and take the Ingles Field Connector Trail #150A back to the Ingles Field Gap Trail #150
• Turn left onto the Ingles Field Gap Trail #150
• Turn left onto Little Hickory Top Trail #136. This trail eventually turns into a road.
• Where the road splits, stay left on the Little Hickory Top Trail #136.
• Turn right onto the Boyd Branch Trail #665
• At the end, turn left onto a road.
• Turn left into a parking area.
• Take the Deer Lake Lodge Trail #664
• At the next intersection turn right, staying on the Deer Lake Lodge Trail
• At the next intersection turn left, staying on the Deer Lake Lodge Trail
• Return to the parking area

Carolina Mountain Club Challenges

• Pisgah 400 Challenge, Wolf Branch Trail #666
• Pisgah 400 Challenge, Ledford Trail #660
• Pisgah 400 Challenge, Ingles Field Gap Trail #150
• Pisgah 400 Challenge, Ingles Field Gap Connector Trail #150A
• Pisgah 400 Challenge, Boyd Branch Trail #665

We didn't have a specific hike planned for today. There was a chance of rain - so we looked around to see what area had the best forecast, and it was either driving 2 hours south to South Carolina or hiking right in Asheville. We ended up going to Bent Creek. I wasn't sure if my backpack would bother my back, so this area has lots of loop potentials - we could hike as long as we wanted. We came up with a couple of route options, but then ended up extending it, when we still had time and were feeling good. We finished 5 trails on the Pisgah 400 challenge that we haven't done before.

There was a lot of snow meltage, so the trails were in better shape than last time we were here. But there were still large icy spots. We didn't bother putting our microspikes on - we just were very careful. But many miles of this hike were ice free. The trails were very muddy. The Ledford Trail in particular was a mess. A trail maintenance project is under way there to improve the tread. I think the trail gets torn up by mountain bikers. Almost everyone we saw today was a mountain biker or trail runner. The trails are easy or moderate. We came to a tree decorated with Christmas ornaments, and we removed them, and had Krummholz carry them out. Our boots and pants were caked in mud at the end. Poor Krummholz even got a bath!