North Carolina Day 1

I spent three days in NC peakbagging...

Day One 06-27-2013:

Mt Pisgah -  5,721'

Ran up from Blue Ridge Pkwy (4995'), most of it was good running.  The last 1/2 was a bit rougher with the rain making the rocky footing a bit tricky.  Up in 19:10, 2:57 on top, down in 18:14.

Little Pisgah - 5,280'

Ran up from Blue Ridge Pkwy (4995'), via Shut-in trail, nice dirt trail with a gentle climb.  Up in 5:57, down in 4:59

Big Bald - 5,300'

Ran from the Pisgah Inn (4,930'), somehow couldn't find the trail at the campground entrance and added a mile to the run going through the camp and checking a few picnic areas that looked like trails.  Very wet running up and over Big Bald on to Frying Pan Mountain.

Frying Pan Mountain - 5,340'

After Big Bald , easy run up to the tower from 4900'.  The steps on the tower were super-slick from the rain and when I got there the wind was HOWLING.  8:32 in camp, 24:52 up Bald and Frying Pan, 4:01 on top, 16:34 down via the BRP to the Pisgah Inn.

Devil's Courthouse - 5,660'

Up from the BRP (5440').  Paved part-way!  Ran up in 6:26, spent 2:16 on top then headed over to Chestnut Bald

Chestnut Bald - 6,025'

Dropped down to 5600 from Devil's courthouse then headed across.  18:57 to the Bushwhack then 3:04 up and 3:28 down, 16:20 back to the BRP.  Bushwhack was no problem, good herd path at the start and end and very open woods in between.

Richaland Balsam - 6,410'

Nice run from the BRP (6020') , interesting path.  I ran it the way it is numbered and the loop is about 1.5 miles.  Probably would have liked it more had I run it clockwise, the rocky parts would have been on the uphill in that direction.  Up in 9:16 down in 11:03 for a total of 20:19

Wayah Bald - 5,342'

Paved path to the summit, from the BRP (5,322'), foggy and 64 degrees.  Up in 1:01, on top for 3:51, down in 1:34.  Total .2 miles.

Standing Indian - 5,499'

5+ mile run including some great footing for the AT.  The drive up to Deep Gap was twisty but the surface was good.  4,348' at the gap, up in 35:19, on top for 1:29, then down in 27:45.

Panther top - 2,293'

Parked at the gate but added on some distance so I could get i n 2 miles of running.  This closed out a 21 mile day.  Sunny  80s and humid.  Slogged up in 9:51, on top for 1:29, down in 6:42, added on 3:40.

Day 1 Totals - 5 county high points, 4 fire towers, 21 miles of running in 4:35, 3,930’ of climb/descent, drove 330 miles