Crowder's Mountain - 8/11/2012

After a hot summer with no hiking, Bear Bryson had been talking a lot about going hiking.  Not wanting to hit the trail when it's 90°F, I decided to take the boys night hiking.  That way we could beat the heat and the crowds with the added bonus of the excitement of hiking in the dark, which we had done before in Bryson City.  The plan was to go to Crowder's Mountain and hike a five mile loop on Friday night.  We'd sleep late Saturday, and still have most of the day free.

However, the weather for Friday night was predicted to be stormy with potential heavy rain, lightning, wind, and hail.  Saturday morning looked much more palatable.  I knew it would be humid, but the prediction was for cool temperatures.  It was about as good as we were going to get this side of September.
Bear Bryson and I were excited about going.  Grey Wolf was a bit more reserved, but the promise of Fruit Roll-ups and Pringles settled the issue for him as well.  I wanted to be the only one to carry a pack since the boys usually end up trying to get me to carry theirs anyway, but Grey Wolf REALLY WANTED to carry a back pack with just a few things (Pringles and Fruit Roll-ups).  I consented with a stern warning that if he took it, he'd have to carry it the whole way.  (Yeah, right.)
We got up just before 6:00am Saturday and after a quick stop at the gas station and Bojangles, arrived at the trail head on Linwood Road in Gastonia a little before 8:00am.  We explored the Welcome Center (read: bathroom and map) and then started up the Backside Trail.  This trail was as wide as a single lane road and paved with hard packed gravel.  Bear Bryson complained that it wasn't really a trail and asked if all the trails were going to be like that.  I promised him they would not be.

The Backside Trail (0.8 miles) offers an alternative to the Tower Trail (1.8 miles) which takes a more circuitous route to the summit of Crowder's Mountain with it's tv/radio towers.  Because it is a shorter distance but climbing the same height, it is a much steeper trail.  This is deductive reasoning confirmed by my research into the trails.  I have not personally hiked the Tower Trail.  I can say, from my personal experience, that the Backside Trail is very steep.  It is a nearly non-stop climb from the Visitor Center to the summit.  The final portion of the trail leaves the gravel road behind and climbs a set of stairs.

The reward for all that work was immediate and worthy.  The Overlook section of Crowder's Mountain is reminiscent of the Hanging Rock summit.  There were lots of rocks to climb, steep cliffs to worry about falling off of, and views of the surrounding countryside.  Though it was somewhat cloudy and foggy, there were still areas of clarity to the trees below.  We were not able to see Charlotte, but really, who cares?  : )

After a snack food break and lots of climbing and picture taking, we made our way up to the actual summit where the towers are located.

Then we picked up the Rocktop Trail (1.4 miles) which would take us down the other side of the mountain toward the official Visitor's Center.  (We weren't going that far, but we could have if we'd wanted to.)  This is the point in the hike where I took sole possession of the aforementioned backpack in addition to my fully loaded backpack.  Next time, I will win the backpack discussion while we are still at home.
The first part of the Rocktop Trail is the top portion of the Tower Trail.  After a quarter mile or so, the two trails split with the Rocktop Trail following the ridge of the mountain and the Tower Trail winding its way back to the Linwood Road parking area.  Relieved to finally be on a "real trail," we set off on what would turn out to be the most entertaining hiking I have done yet.  I am hopeful that there are other trails of this sort in NC, but I haven't found them yet.  I hear that Grandfather Mountain is similar.

As I said, Rocktop Trail follows the ridge of the mountain.  For most of the trail, this is literally true with the land falling off on both sides of the trail.  At times, it is a steep slope.  At other times, it is sheer cliffs.  Sometimes, the way dances between boulders sticking out of the ground.  Other times, we danced on top of the boulders.  Nearly always, there are boulders begging to be climbed, conquered, and photographed with one child or the other on top.

Needless to say, progress was slow.  We spent a lot of time climbing around and exploring the Rocktop ridge.  Bear Bryson is proving to be a skilled rock climber while Grey Wolf is held back by his fear of heights and shorter limbs.  I see a climbing rope, harness, and other climbing gear on Bear Bryson's Christmas list this year.
Along the way, my camera stopped working.  It had worked through the best of the trail, but I hate that I wasn't able to get pictures of the rest of the trip.
Eventually, the trail became more "trail-ish" and we picked up that pace some.  All three of us were having a lot of fun.
When we reached Sparrow Springs Road, Grey Wolf thought we were done and told me with great joy in his voice that he wanted to come there every day.  However, he was quite upset to find out that we were merely halfway done with our trip.  He kept telling me that I hadn't told him it was a long trail.  Nonetheless, he mostly had a good attitude except when he would fall.  He must have fallen a dozen times on this hike.  In fairness, there are a LOT OF ROCKS on all the trails.  He seemed to trip over all of them.
At Sparrow Springs Road, we picked up the Crowder's Trail (2.8 miles) which leads from the Visitor Center to the Backside Trail.  We cut off about half a mile of it by not going to the Visitor Center before heading back toward the car.  The trail was a roller coaster walk up, over, around, and through a very interesting landscape.  I found it to be very relaxing and enjoyable.  Bear Bryson was in a good mood all day.  Grey Wolf just wanted to be done.
After a couple meltdowns and a good amount of complaining interspersed with moments of blissful happiness, Grey Wolf finally made it to the Backside Trail and cheerfully headed down the final hill to the car.
All told, it was a loop of about five miles in just over four hours with a full day's worth of fun and adventure.  We'll be back to explore this trail again and the others in the Crowder's Mountain and Kings Mountain State Parks.
There were lots of people out.  I had heard it was a busy place with its proximity to Charlotte.  We met a woman climbing the Rocktop Trail with a fully loaded backpack. She told me she was training for a September trip to Yosemite.  She was definitely struggling up the mountain.  After a short conversation, we wished her luck and continued.  We met a nice gentleman on the final stretch of the Backside Trail who said he comes there twice a week and sees a lot of the same people.  Despite the "overcrowding" that the area is prone to, it is a great place to visit.