Black Balsam Knob Trailhead to US 276 crossover, eastbound
October 26, 2025. Following our conference in Flat Rock, we stayed an extra day so I could do one more hike in that area, 10.4 miles in segment 2.
It actually was a bit warmer than my outfit indicates, and I quickly shed the wool hat and jacket.
After this hike, I will have only 5 miles left to complete Segment 2, climbing up to the Pisgah Inn on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
But that’s for another day. I’m content with daily mileage being around 10 miles for these mountain trails.
Today’s hike began on the side of Black Balsam Knob, and I took my time to enjoy being up at this elevation.
I have yet to actually see a bear….and I’m okay with that.
I was glad the rocks were dry as the route ascended this un-named knob.
After bringing me up to this early morning viewpoint, the route then made a long, gentle descent down into the woods.
The autumn colors are a bit muted this year (lack of rain?), but there were still lovely splashes of fall color along the way.
There was one significant creek crossing, over Yellowstone Prong.
It was quite do-able, even for short legs, but as usual I proceeded with all due care and deliberation.
Tropical Storm Fred (2021) washed out a lot of Skinny Dip Falls.
Halfway through the hike I rendezvoused with the husband-shuttle at Cherry Cove Overlook.
He had been exploring the Graveyard Fields, which the MST bypasses.
The views open up at the overlooks! This is Looking Glass Rock.
The last miles were….interesting.
- Cross the parkway and climb the ridge on the other side
- Descend the ridge to the parkway
And repeat, four times!
Two of the ridge ascents had NPS benchmarks.
Near the top of the final hill the trail went up through the “cleft in the rock” and I would have thought about humming the beloved hymn of that name if I — (pant pant) –had had– (pant pant) –enough breath– (pant pant pant).
Phew! Now it was finally downhill, crossing the parkway one last time at Pigeon Gap.
When I came to US 276, I left the MST and walked down the road a bit to where Loren was waiting for me.
Tired, but happy.
And another great part of the trip was that we were only a hop, skip, and a jump into South Carolina where we met up with Loren’s sister!
My.Bird.Walks. 