Morning along Old Greenlee
As the crow flies, Mt. Gibbes, at just over 15 miles away, is the closest 6er to Marion. On foot, the distance is twice as far. Since the
Overmountain Marathon, I’ve taken an interest in exploring routes from home. The SB6K challenge still looms and there are far off nooks and crannies to be explored, but for now, I’m content with keeping it simple and local.
The approach isn’t all pavement pounding
I set out just before 6AM Sunday morning from my front porch headed for the summit of Gibbes. I enjoyed the sunrise and sound of birds along the quiet country roads out of town. After two hours and fifteen miles, Sultan and I rendezvoused at the Jarretts Creek forest service road at Curtis Creek for a "50K" lollypop loop mostly on trails to the summit and back.
A Sultan Special: tomato, basil and cheese
Mo had some gourmet calories and caffeine on hand. I drained the rest of the water from my hydration pack, stripped down to a singlet and switched over to just my hip belt. We began the long rolling approach on a grassy road to Heartbreak Ridge by 8:20 AM.
Our destination comes into sight
By 10 or so, we began climbing steadily towards the Parkway. The weather was fantastic and over a dozen varieties of wildflowers were seen blooming. The full green of spring hadn’t yet reached the highest ridges, which stood in stark contrast to the vernal lowlands. Although plenty warm on the climb, we were thankful to have packed our wind shirts.
Beautiful rhododendron
Is this some kind of laurel?
Sure don’t smell or look like a flower!
Nothing like singletrack in the spring!
Mt. Gibbes as seen from the Parkway
We refilled our water bottles and dipped our heads under the icy water of Pinnacle Spring. By noon, we were running up the Parkway towards the MST and the Crest. There was no turning back now. Dozens of vehicles flew by us on their way up and back down Mitchell. We were soon once again at peace on the singletrack.
Mohammed on the MST below Potato Knob
Overlooking the Burnett Reservoir from the MST
Blow down between Potato Knob and Clingman's Peak
Definitely another biome!
As we ascended the east side of Potato Knob, I pulled out Carl’s GPS and noticed that we had already come nearly 20 miles (a total of 34 miles for me) and had climbed 7000 ft. I notified Mo of this and we agreed that this loop was going to be considerably longer than 50K. We found our way over Potato Knob and around Clingman’s Peak. By 1:30 PM, we were eating lunch on the spruce-capped summit of Mt. Gibbes. Both of us donned our wind shirts in the chill mountain air.
Descending Gibbes
Approaching Steppes Gap, Mt. Hallback beyond
After the break, we made our way down to Steppes Gap to refill with water at the ranger station. We continued down the Buncombe Horse Range Trail to the South Toe River. We had lost enough elevation so that we faced one last climb up and over the Parkway and Eastern Continental Divide to the Newberry Creek Trail. I was feeling pretty tired by this point, but embraced the long descent back down to Curtis Creek.
Crossing Chestnut Bald, Green Knob beyond
On the long road home
We finished the loop in 9 hours: 36 miles and 9000+ ft. of climb. Mo had mulled 20 oz. of water for me and made sure I had plenty of calories for the final push. He had to rush back to Charlotte, but left me well prepared for the last 14 miles. Thank you, Sultan! The return to Marion was not as glorious along the hot sunny roads. My body was feeling the effects of a 100-mile+ training week, something it hasn’t experienced in over two years. After 14.5 hours, 65 miles and over 10,000 ft. of climbing, it was time for… Jalapenos with Lily!
