Ascent of Bullhead Mountain on 2011-08-10| Date: | Wednesday, August 10, 2011 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Peak: | Bullhead Mountain | | Location: | USA-North Carolina | | Elevation: | 5920 ft / 1804 m |
Ascent Trip ReportThe Mountain-to-Sea Trail passes tantalyzingly close to this summit. Make it to the top, though, and you'll be counted among the few and the proud.
Park at the Graybeard Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Milepost 363. Head east on the MST for about 0.6 miles, where it crests at about 5820--just 100 vertical below the top.
The bushwhack from this point is hand-to-hand combat: peakbagger vs. one of the thickest thickets I've ever encountered. Toward the top, the heath is so thick that a lighter hiker might be able to body-surf over some patches. I pushed through it until I reached an outcropping with a nice panorama of Craggy Dome and ridges to the west. I would have been content to call that the summit. But my GPS insisted that I head NE another 50 yards, and I eventually did find the highest ground (with limited views) in a tangle of trees beyond the worst of the heath bald. Rather than retrace my miserable steps, I headed directly down the N slope, looking in vain for a shortcut back to the MST. I escaped the shrubbery only to have to fight through blowdowns and thorns.
Glad to mark this one off my list.
I saw no sign that that anyone else had been up here recently.
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| Summary Total Data | | Total Elevation Gain: | 474 ft / 144 m | | Total Elevation Loss: | 474 ft / 144 m | | Quality: | 5 (on a subjective 1-10 scale) | | Route Conditions: | Maintained Trail, Bushwhack | | Weather: | Pleasant, Calm, Clear | | Ascent Statistics | | Gain on way in: | 434 ft / 132 m | | Gain Breakdown: | Net: 394 ft / 120 m; Extra: 40 ft / 12m | | Loss on way in: | 40 ft / 12 m | | Route: | MST, then bushwhack | | Start Trailhead: | Bullhead Overlook 5526 ft / 1684 m | | Descent Statistics | | Loss on way out: | 434 ft / 132 m | | Loss Breakdown: | Net: 394 ft / 120 m; Extra: 40 ft / 12m | | Gain on way out: | 40 ft / 12 m | | Route: | Bushwhack, then MST | | End Trailhead: | Bullhead Overlook 5526 ft / 1684 m |
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