trips - Bluff Mountain, Ashe Co. NC

Trip Info

Dates: 3/10 - 3/10/07
Trip Organizer: pjbarr
Location: Bluff Mtn, Ashe Co NC

Number of Attendees: (view all)
1 yes
2 maybe

North Carolina Books
North Carolina Parks

Description

Three of us who are interested in Bluff Mountain in Ashe County NC (northwestern NC) are planning a hike for March 10. We are peakbaggers and prominence fanatics interested in reaching the top of the mountain as it is one of the 135 peaks in the SE>5000ft and also a peak with 1000+ft of prominence.

The mountain is under conservation easement with the Nature Conservancy, and access is only available through a guided hike by the property caretaker. The hike costs $50 per group regardless of size, so we need at least two more people to minimize the cost for each of us (making it $10/person). The hike will include the normal route, which ascends and then traverses the ridgeline with numerous cliffs that have spectacular views, and then a trip to the summit.

Though we only need 2 more people, as many as are interested are welcome, as once the group reaches 5, any additional people are the same fee of $10 per hiker.

Following the hike, we might hike to the summits of nearby Elk Knob (via a trail from the new Elk Knob NC State Natural Area) and to Snake Mountain. These hikes are optional for this trip and you can partake in just Bluff Mountain, one, both, or neither of the other peaks.

This is an opportunity to legally visit and hike Bluff Mountain at a very small fee. Scheduling a hike with the caretaker is difficult and finding a sufficient group to go to minimize the fee is difficult, so don't miss this opportunity.

Below is the writeup on Bluff Mountain from the Nature Conservancy website:

"A walk around Bluff Mountain offers scenic beauty, unusual landforms, and amazing botanical variety. Although relatively small in size, Bluff is one of the most ecologically significant natural areas in the Southeast. Hiking on Bluff, in just a few dozen steps you can walk from a Carolina hemlock forest to a dwarf red oak/white oak forest to a rare flat rock plant community. A broad, high plateau containing an unusual wetland, a southern Appalachian fen, adds to Bluff's unique character.

Bluff Mountain lies in the Blue Ridge division of the Appalachian Mountain Range in Ashe County. It is part of a local mountain chain, including Three Top (discussed in this guide) and Phoenix mountains, that is characterized by a substrate of mineral rich rock called hornblende gneiss. The gneiss is unusually rich in minerals such as calcium and potassium that provide important nutrients for plants.

A fertile home for over 400 species of plants, including Indian paintbrush, Gray's lily, fringed gentian, spreading avens, and sundew, Bluff Mountain is known for its changing floral show from April through October that includes 25 endangered, rare, or threatened flowering plant species. The high-elevation hardwood forests of Bluff provide ideal nesting habitat for many neotropical migratory bird species such as black-throated green warbler, veery, rose-breasted grosbeak, scarlet tanager, and blue-headed vireo. During field trips in the spring, you may hear the distinctive drumming of ruffed grouse. Elusive bobcats den in the shelter of rocky outcrops, while ravens are often seen soaring over the cliffs."

Shoot me an email at pjbarr @ unc.edu with any questions.