Agile Trekker: Mount Hardy and Mountains to Sea Trail, Section 2, Haywood Gap Trailhead to NC 215 Trailhead, Miles 35.8

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
4/18/2024	7.3 miles	4 hours 57 minutes	929'	1.6 mph	264.3 miles

Parking:

1 car at Haywood Gap, 1 car at NC 215

Map:

FarOut app
Gai GPS app (note the spur trail to the MST is not shown on Gaia) - best for navigating today.
Pisgah Map Co., Pisgah Ranger District - doesn't show Mt. Hardy Trail

Directions:

Starting at Haywood Gap, take the trail on the same side as the car pullout. Pass by Buckeye Gap Trail on your left. Pass by unnamed trail to meadow. Take the Mt. Hardy Trail where it splits off to the right. Keep right at the next intersection and hike upwards to the Mt. Hardy summit. Return back down the Mt. Hardy Trail. At the first trail junction, keep left. At the next trail junction keep right to rejoin the MST. Pass by Green Mountain Trail on your left. Pass an unnamed trail on your right (Mt. Hardy trail too?). Continue over Black Mountain (unnoticeable). Follow the MST back to the 215 Trailhead.

Carolina Mountain Club Challenges:

South Beyond 6000 - Mt. Hardy

Another section of the MST today, starting where we left off yesterday. The weather was warmer today and I was feeling very low energy. The beginning of the hike was pretty level, but I was feeling so weak. Ugh. I had to stop and rest several times, even getting down on the ground to sit for a few minutes. We loved this hike anyways. Many parts of it are very pretty. Lots of wildflowers, moss, ferns, and evergreens. We reached the turnoff for Mt. Hardy. Seeing that its over 6,000', I checked to see if it was on the South Beyond 6000 Challenge. It was! A conundrum. I was exhausted but doing it would only add 1.2 miles to the trip. I decided to do it. Up we go. This was the hardest part of the hike, but really not that hard. It got a little cooler as we ascended. We were rewarded with a view close to the summit. We continued on to the summit. We were walking all around the summit, looking for the highest point. It reminded us of our bushwhacking days in the Catskills, searching for a canister. No canister here. The summit smelled wonderful, again reminding me of the smell of balsams on the Catskill summits. We descended down, and at this point, most of our hike was downhill. We passed over Black Mountain, but I think it's a descent to get to it? We only saw 4 people on our hike today. There were some down trees, but I checked, and a trail maintainer was actually out in this area just yesterday, so I think they've already been reported. Anyways, a really nice hike, and April was the perfect time to do it with all of the wildflowers.