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Ascent to Greenbrier Pinnacle Ridge-Lookout Tower Base on 2010-09-04

Climber: Rob Carter

Date:

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Ascent Type:

Unsuccessful - Turned Back

Motorized Transport to Trailhead:

Hi-Clearance Vehicle

Point Reached:

Greenbrier Pinnacle Ridge - Lookout Tower Base

Location:

USA-Tennessee

Elevation:

4597 ft / 1401 m

Remaining Elevation:

203 ft / 62 m (7% left to go)

Ascent Trip Report

Had only meant to find the manway as I was a little bushed from an earlier climb. Found the entrance and went up aways and then a little further. It was a beautiful day, the grade was moderate, the manway was well defined (but FULL of spiders), and before long the rhodos ended and I entered a hardwood cove and met a couple of small bears. Not surprising as I had seen berry scat most of the way up the trail. The boot path is well worn, but the laurels and rhodendrons are encroaching over the trail. Still, the trail is very evident. Lots of blowdowns, some which are huge, will slow your efforts. If I had more light (it was a late afternoon start) I would have bushwacked the extra mile to the summit. The bushwack looks doable but will be a tough nut through the rhodos. I will look the next time up at possibly heading NE at the switchback at 3800' instead of heading back West for a mile or so. This would take almost 4-5 miles off the RT. The bad news would be heading 1200' up the slope at 45* for half a mile, but I like the trade-off on the ascent, and would follow the trail back down.

Summary Total Data

Elevation Gain:

2547 ft / 777 m

Distance:

10 mi / 16.1 km

Route:

Manway

Trailhead:

Ramsey Cascades TH 2050 ft / 624 m

Grade/Class:

Class 2

Quality:

7 (on a subjective 1-10 scale)

Route Conditions:

Unmaintained Trail, Bushwhack

Weather:

Cool, Calm, Clear

Ascent Statistics

Time Up:

3 Hours 30 Minutes

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