Mountains to Sea Trail: Bald Knob and Dobson's Knob

I have always appreciated Danny Bernstein's 'take' on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail - after all, she's an authority.  So, when she indicated that this hike was one of the hardest on the MST, I sat up and took note.  Then, I began to explore the internet for others who have described this hike and what exactly to anticipate.  Unfortunately, little is readily available.  So, here's my take:

Overview

In a nutshell, the eastbound hike begins at the Woodlawn Park, north of Marion on US 221.  There is an initial warm-up over Bald Mountain (elevation at crest: 2041 ft) and then a downhill scramble to the North Fork of the Catawba River.  After crossing the Pedestrian Bridge (elevation 1335 ft), the trail ascends the rocky western face of Bald Knob.  After crossing the top of Bald Knob, there is a  deep plunge to a small gap and then a steep high grade assault on the larger of the two peaks, Dobson's Knob (elevation 3650 ft).  Next, there is a gradual transition over two miles from trail to ATV trail to dirt road which eventually leads to a series of mountain top radio/FAA towers.  There is parking space at this point for those who do not wish to hike this entire segment.  The MST stays with the dirt road until it is met from the north by the Overmountain Men Victory Trail at which time the MST turns south, off the road, again descending down through the forest to cross Yellow Fork (which later becomes Paddy Creek) to, once again, arise on the edge of NC 105 / Kistler Memorial Highway at a small pull-out (located 2.4 miles north of the end of the pavement).

Woodlawn Park to North Fork of Catawba River Pedestrian Bridge

The "Park" is on the left of US 221 if traveling northbound.  There is a small parking area adjacent to the fenced in facility.  This is the terminus of the Woods Mountain section of the MST from Buck Creek Gap / NC 80.  One can either park here and cross the road, or there are two other options on the right (east) side of US 221.  The first - most accessible - looks at first glance like a road or driveway.  However, it becomes immediately evident that this is a gated forest service road (Bald Knob Road).  There are often horse trailers parked here, and it is easy to get in and out onto the highway.  The second option - slightly north of the first, is the actual MST trailhead.  It has the MST trailhead marker sign, but this drive quickly darts into the woods.  There are several deep ruts along this small road, and one needs to just be cautious with lower profile vehicles.  A four-wheel drive vehicle is not necessarily required, but, if the weather is (or recently has been wet), you might consider the first area worthwhile.

There are two potential routes to take from these points - either the MST or the Bald Knob Road to the top of Bald Mountain.

Option #1: The MST is, a biased view, the more attractive of the two - and longer.  It ascends to a small wildlife field, then re-enters the laurel and pine forest.  This is a delightful trail with easy grade.  Periodically, one can look back and catch a glimpse of the houses and lodges atop Little Switzerland to the north.  The laurels seem to dissipate, and the pines predominate to create a shady path with smooth pine straw footing.  Eventually, the trail 'pops out' onto a small forest service road and follows the road to the right (south).  The road actually begins a descent - enough for one to question whether you've made the right decision or not - but it eventually intersects with the Bald Knob Road with trail markers pointing uphill once again.  Within two or three curves, one reaches an open field at the crest of Bald Mountain.

Option #2: The other approach is to forego this first segment of the MST and, instead, walk up the Bald Knob Road past the gate at US 221.  This road is well built, well maintained, and is of easy walking grade.  It passes by a storage facility, a heliport, and near a private home (through the woods). 

The route from US 221 to the crest of Bald Mountain is shorter (by 0.1 mile) via the MST; however, the road is a bit easier walk with lesser grade and avoids the additional elevation afforded by the particular route of the MST on this segment.  You be the judge.

Crossing the Crest of Bald Mountain 

From this clearing, there are, again, two good options:

Option A: Follow the MST through the clearing just to the right of center in the photo above.  This will follow an older road bed past a couple of other wildlife fields while bringing sporadic views of the formidable hike ahead - Bald Knob.  The trail exits off the old road bed off to the left and begins traveling out an easily identifiable pathway with fairly prompt drop in elevation.  This is the more direct route for this section - reaching the river in 2.3 miles.

Option B: From the clearing above, follow the main road (descends out of the clearing to the far right on this photo).  This is a well maintained road which can be walked easily, but the road takes a slow and windy route compared to Option A.  There are two opportunities to take roads 'to the left'.  Two gates will need to be passed - indicating that these are not Duke Power Access Points.  The lefts are well maintained roads just like the one you start on; but there are no identifying names/numbers.  You will be heading northbound around the side of this mountain.  Again, this option is a bit longer at 2.9 miles to the river.

The MST eventually bursts out onto this forest trail and one can hear the distant river.  The MST follows this road to the left (northward) as it makes its way down through shady rhododendrons onto more flat terrain alongside a small creek.  This road/trail eventually passes through a gate indicating (on signs facing the other direction) that this road is not a Duke Power Access Point.  At this gate, one enters a wide open grassy area beneath north-south power lines.  The trail crosses perpendicular under these lines to pass through another gate and continue along yet another - less maintained - road which turns north to parallel, then gradually approach the river. This leads to the site of the Pedestrian Bridge across the North Fork of the Catawba River built in 2005.

Looking back over the Pedestrian Bridge to the west

A view upstream (to the north) - beautiful, clear waters

No more than 50 yards on the other side of the bridge, the trail crosses a set of railroad tracks.  This is the old Clinchfield Railroad, now operated by CSX. This is a surprisingly busy section of track, so it is not unusual to see and hear trains passing during the day.  (One could make this a turn-around for an in-and-out daytrip.  Following the MST routes above, the round trip is 7.7 miles with a total elevation gain of 1448 feet.)  If proceeding on, however, the MST passes directly across the track on a well marked route.

  

Pedestrian Bridge to Dobson's Knob

This segment of the hike is, as one might assume, both the most challenging and the most rewarding in terms of vistas it affords.  The greatest problem is the fact that it takes 3.7-4.5 miles to get to this point - the start of the 'real' hike.  After crossing the railroad tracks, the trail gradually ascends into the hardwood forest up onto a relatively flat and relatively wide old forest road.  Unlike the forest roads encountered previously in this hike, this one has not been used in a long time.  This road follows the contour of the mountain in a northerly direction traveling in and out of beautiful coves.  This area is covered by large hardwoods with open spaces beneath with limited undergrowth providing good visibility allowing one to see the railroad tracks (at least in the Fall) a few hundred feet below as well as a few houses located upstream across the river in North Cove.

It is in one of the deep inward curves of this road - about 1 mile from the river/railroad - in a particularly broad/shallow cove - that the MST departs the road to the right uphill into the woods alongside a small creek.  There are the typical 'double dots' on trees along the road bed which indicate a significant turn, but this could easily be overlooked.

At this point, the trail begins a steady upward trek. These are beautiful woods with some sporadic laurel thickets nearby, but, overall the visibility is quite good through the forest. The expansive vistas back behind you are yet to come. The trail remains well marked, and there is a subtle transition from forested ground to increasingly rocky footworks with the ascent. Periodically, a glance up the mountain reveals large chimney-like rock outcroppings high above. Yes, the trail does eventually lead to these spots. About a mile up from the last turn-off, there is, for lack of a better term, a 'hole' adjacent to the trail. It is uncertain whether this is the opening to a cave or a deep 'sink', but it gives rise to a very mature rhododendron, an increasingly common species as the elevation increases.

With further gain in elevation, there are a couple of small streams that are crossed.  The first one was a dry bed during this February hike, but a small amount of flow was noted in the second.

At 2.5 miles (as measured from the river), the trail comes to a large rock face with some degree of overhang.  The overhang is probably about 25 feet high, and the trail courses southwardly at the base of this rock face for a couple of hundred feet.  As one ascends past this point, the first true vistas come into view and one can quickly appreciate both the elevation gained thus far as well as the beauty of the expansive North Cove, Woods Mountains, Parkway, and distant Blacks.

A great view of North Cove, Woods Mountain, and the entire Blacks

Next come the switchbacks...

The other hikers who have blogged this MST segment report up to thirty-five switchbacks on this trail.  That certainly sounds impressive, and this ascent is most certainly formidable - however, I only tallied 28!  Perhaps I'm omitting some from the lower segment or counting a 'switchback' as a 'turn', but it is still an impressive figure.  God bless these trail designers!  Overall, the switchbacks keep the grade manageable the whole hike, so it is ultimately the aggregate elevation change rather than the steepness of the grade that makes this ascent feel more like an assault.

A "North-sided" switchback view

This segment (with the switchbacks) is probably the best area to truly admire the beautiful views on this trail with the least amount of visual obstruction.  A couple of 'north-sided' switchbacks allow view of the large rocky cliffs which stair step up this mountain - and provide a gauge for progress up the mountain.  There is, at the end of one 'south-sided' switchback, a small extension which leads to the outcropping below with outstanding views:

There is evidence of a small fire ring here, and there is room for a tent.  This is probably the most scenic campsite along this trail segment; however, I did not see any nearby water source.  Also, of concern, is the fact that this site is on the northwest face of the mountain which renders it relatively more exposed to winds/storms emanating from the west and north (the predominant pattern).

Depending on the count, one reaches the ridge line (not the peak) of Bald Knob at about 3.5 miles (from the river).  Downhill to the right are Champion Paper property signs.  The trail turns up to the left and follows the crest of the ridgeline.  At this point, with the leaves off the trees, one can see some impressive views of the Catawba portion of Lake James.  A fairly quick rock-hop up the remaining 0.2 miles reaches the summit of Bald Knob.  The views are better to the west back over North Cove from some outcroppings, but one can catch a couple of glimpses to the east as far as Shortoff Mountain (on the opposite side of the Linville Gorge) and the Linville portion of Lake James.

Looking Southeast from Bald Knob - Shortoff Mountain (far side of Linville Gorge) in the distance

Bald Knob, Dobson's Knob, and Beyond...

As noted, crossing over Bald Knob is a bit of a rock-hop, but the 'crest' is easily followed, and the trail remains well marked as the trail quickly plunges down a steep grade to the gap between these two peaks.  This northern face is shaded and harbors a lot of rhododendrons.

If one researches this area with satellite imagery on Google Earth, the crest across Bald Knob and Dobson's seems to be rocky - and it almost appears to be a road.  Not the case.  But, it is interesting that the rocks along this gap have a consistent green hue which is the result of the immense lichen growing on these rocks. Vaguely reminiscent of Shining Rock's brilliantly white quartz outcroppings, these pale green rocks are also remarkable in their beauty and consistency.

The next scramble up Dobson's Knob is a pretty steep climb.  No switchbacks here.  From the gap on to the peak of Dobson's, hardwoods predominate.  One crests the peak of Dobson's at 4.3 miles (from the river).

The next 2.6 miles is a steady downhill progression from remote trail to ATV trail, to rough 4x4 road, to dirt road, to gravel road at the gate (with nearby parking areas) adjacent to one of three large towers positioned along this long ridgeline.  There are several campsites along this portion of the trail, and there are a couple of open wildlife fields off the main road.  About 1/2 mile from Dobson's Knob peak is a campsite with fairly good proximity to a nearby spring (audible flow just south of the trail before arriving at the campsite).  The forest ranges from hemlock dominant to other hardwoods to rhododendrons.

In reading about this area - particularly some of the steep faces off Dobson's Knob, the term rhododendron and laurel "hells" is used.  Typically, one things of a cluster of rhododendron branches coming out of a tree or two, but looking aside at certain segments along this portion of the trail, one can really get a sense of this term after passing by hundreds of consecutive yards of essentially impassable tangles of rhododendron and laurel trees completely intertwined.  Thank goodness for the trail!

The Towers to Kistler Highway

The MST continues beyond the three towers (and nearby parking areas) along the road at this point until it intersects with the Overmountain Victory Trail in about 1.2 miles.  The OMVT enters from the north - having ascended to this area from North Cove as well.

Overmountain Victory Trail 

Directly across from the entry of the OMVT, the Mountains-to-Sea Trail exits this road and re-enters the forest with a quick downward trek into a beautiful forest laden with large Carolina hemlocks and rhododendrons.  There are two campsites of note along this last portion of this trail segment.  Both are near water sources.  The first is large enough for two to four tents.  The water source precedes this site.

At the very bottom of this hollow - the trail crosses Yellow Fork at the confluence of at least two other small streams.  Downstream, Yellow Fork eventually combines with Black Fork to create Paddy Creek.  At this point, it is easily crossed.

The second campsite is located just opposite the stream crossing just to the north of the trail, and it is large enough for only one tent.  It is a lovely spot, but it appears to have been flooded recently, so it might be wise to avoid camping at this point area during wet weather.

From the stream, the trail gradually rises along an old road bed.  It is unclear whether this is the same road used by the Overmountain Men in 1780, but, given the fact that it represents a direct continuation at the top of the mountain, it is likely.

A final stream crossing on the final ascent to Kistler Highway

 The grade is pleasant as one ascends the final portion of this hike to join NC 105 - the Historic Kistler Highway - which runs the crest of the western edge of the Linville Gorge.  The parking area for the MST trailhead on this end of the hike is located 2.4 miles north of the end of the paved portion of NC 105 on the left.  From this vantage, the MST actually follows NC 105 to the north.

For those interested in cumulative statistics for this hike, the GPS-derived total elevation gain (for Option #2 and Option B - at the beginning) was 3989 feet over 14.5 miles.  It took me approximately six hours of walking time for the hike - plus a little time to stop and enjoy the sites.