Agile Trekker: Trombatore and Bearwallow Trails

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
12/18/2022	6.8 miles	3 hours 3 minutes	1,521'	2.2	962.4

Parking:

Bearwallow Mountain Road. The parking area is very busy in the summer. This time of year, it was fine.

Maps:

Gaigps
There is also an online map from Conserving Carolina

Directions:

From parking area, take the Trombatore to a meadow. Return the same way. Then from the parking lot, take the Bearwallow Trail to the summit. Return back to the car on a gravel road

Carolina Mountain Club Challenges:

Lookout Tower Challenge - Bearwallow Mountain

We joined Marie today on a CMC hike. We were supposed to do it on Wednesday, but we had a rainy day and I needed to see the dentist. Apparently 11 people signed up for the hike, but many dropped out ahead of time - some probably due to the cold weather. We also had 3 people on the hike who didn't do the whole thing.

The temperature wasn't actually bad - low 30's. But the windchill made it bitterly cold. All of us warmed up once we started hiking uphill. I'd never been on the Trombatore trail before. It leads to a large meadow with a sweeping overlook. Right before the meadow is a no dogs allowed sign. I assume that dogs are allowed before the meadow. The meadow would be a great place for lunch on a warmer day. A few of us wolfed down a few bites of food before heading back.

At the parking lot, we said goodbye to a couple of our hikers. Then headed up Bearwallow Mountain. I was pretty tired by then. My legs were feeling like lead weights hiking up the mountain. Near the summit, there was ice on the stone steps. We saw some people struggling. I just took my microspikes out of my pack this morning. Oops. So, we decided to bushwhack the rest of the way up the mountain. Krumm and I have done Bearwallow Mountain before, but Glen hadn't. Last time I was here, there were cows on the summit. No cows to be seen today. The summit meadow was actually out of the wind, so we were able to take a relaxing sit down break. While we did that, Glen hiked up to the lookout tower. He said the views were great up there.

We took the gravel road back down, because that would avoid the ice. That was actually the coldest part of the hike as the wind was blowing in our faces. My mittens had grown cold because they were wet with sweat, and I took them off for lunch. It was too cold for my gloves. I guess I need to carry 2 pairs of mittens on really cold days so that I can swap them. Not many photos today, because I wanted to keep my gloves on.