Warning: This data is out-of-date. Trails, roads, and landmarks change.
You should obtain current information before attempting any hike.
Date Hiked: 6/20/92
Length: 9.6 miles
Type: backtrack
Difficulty: 3 (poor footing)
Scenery: 2
Blaze: white circle
Main Features: lush environment, partial views
Animals: deer, bobcat, chickadees, woodchuck, woodpeckers
Location: Middle Prong Wilderness, North Carolina
Drive west on the Blue Ridge Parkway from highway 215. Go 2.2 miles to the Rough Butt Bald overlook on the left. Park here. This is at Buckeye Gap near mile marker 425.5. The trailhead is on the opposite side of the road at the north end of the parking lot.
Approximate Altitude Changes
Descend 125 feet to BRP at Haywood Gap
Ascend 375 feet to berry field
Descend 250 feet to low spot on jeep road
Ascend 250 feet to BRP at Bear Pen Gap
Total Ascent: 1,000 feet
Highlights
(My pedometer was broken. Following are highlights without distances.
The vegetation was wonderflly lush for about the first two miles.)
trailhead at Rough Butt Bald overlook
turn left on the white-circle-blazed Mountains-to-Sea Trail
(remember this spot for the return trip)
continue straight at intersection with Haywood Gap Trail on right
cross Blue Ridge Parkway at Haywood Gap
berry field
end of descending switchbacks
turn right diagonally across field (be careful)
take several rights at road intersections to circle Rough Butt Bald
low spot
cross stream
Bear Pen Gap parking area
backtrack
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