Day 8 – June 19, 2015: Mount Mitchell

We woke up this morning and said goodbye to Kemi and Simon who would not be able to join us in Asheville.  Before leaving Durham, Jake took us to a fantastic little breakfast spot called Rise Biscuits and Donuts which, as the name would suggest, specializes in homemade biscuits and donuts combined with other locally sourced ingredients.  I tried the “Pig in a Blanket” which consisted of a breakfast sausage from a local butcher shop wrapped in a homemade crescent roll with white cheddar cheese and fig jam.  Amy sampled both the biscuits and the donuts with a pear-lavender glazed donut and a buttered biscuit.  I’m not usually much of a breakfast person, but this place was fantastic.

On the summit of Mount Mitchell, highest peak east of the Mississippi.

Hiking up to Mount Craig from the saddle between it and 

From Durham it took us almost five hours to reach Mount Mitchell State Park, although this included a lunch stop at Arby’s and a slow drive behind an RV up the mountain.  Once we reached the top we were happy to find that it wasn’t too cloudy and we actually had great views of the Blue Ridge Mountains all the way down to Smoky Mountain National Park.  Despite being the highest point east of the Rockies, you can actually drive right up to Mount Mitchell’s summit.  After spending some time enjoying the view, the five of us took off on a hike through the park.

Enjoying the stunning views of the Blue Ridge Mountains from the top of Big Tom.

Most of our hikes have either been up and down a mountain or down and up a canyon.  This hike was a bit different in that we went from the summit of Mount Mitchell to a set of 5 other summits, meaning we had a bunch of smaller ups and downs – it was a nice change.  We started at 6,684 feet andMount Mitchell, went down into a saddle, and came up to the summit of Mount Craig at 6,648 ft.  From there we went down another saddle before coming back up to the summit of Big Tom at 6, 581 ft.  It was down and then back up again to Balsam Cone at 6,596 ft.  From there we went back down one more saddle before climbing to the final peak, Cattail Peak at 6,584 (this peak actually took us slightly out of the park).  Some of the ascents/descents were a little tricky and actually required the use of some fixed ropes, but the views were incredible.

Mount Mitchell State Park from the Summit of Mount Craig.  Big Tom, Balsam Cone, and Cattail Peak unfold on the right, with Mount Mitchell behind and to the left (off screen).

Our "cabin" lodging for the weekend.

After our hike, we headed to our “cabin” in Mars Hill, which is about 20 minutes outside of Asheville.  This place is gorgeous and we will certainly not be roughing it.  One surprise was the presence of a massive dog named Bandit, who is apparently a permanent resident at the cabin.  Except for his horrible smell, he doesn’t seem too dangerous.

After getting cleaned up we headed into Asheville for a night on the town (or as much of a night on the town as five tired old people can have).  Our first stop was Wicked Weed Brewing for dinner.  The menu was very interesting and the rest of the crew was very excited about the wide variety of brews available.  I had a very tasty North Carolina bison burger (did not know NC had bison) and sweet potato fries.  Amy had a seitan sandwich (pronounced “satan” and made of wheat gluten…I don’t know, ask her) with fries and peach flavored beer.  From there we walked around Asheville for a while.  Wow, what an interesting place.  It’s like a big State Street, but with an expanded part that Madison tried to get rid of (the park area where all the hippies and vagrants used to hang out).  I felt very old and out of place, but it was still fun.  After a nice stroll through town we made one last stop at another microbrew before calling it a night.  Overall, it was a great intro to Asheville.  Tomorrow, it’s rafting and then a stop at the Biltmore Estate.  

The "Moz 5" crew reunited, and it feels so good.