Kings Mountain Junior is a ridge southwest of Kings Mountain. It offers excellent views of the Wilson River Valley and of the west face of Kings Mountain. It can be combined with the Kings Mountain Trail for a pleasant loop hike through a mixed forest of alders and conifers.

Getting There

Drive to the King's Mountain trailhead as described in the "getting there" section of the main page.

Route Description

Start out on the King's mountain trail. After 0.1 mile, and just past a right junction with the Wilson River Trail, veer left at an unmarked junction onto an unmarked trail. This is the uncompleted Westward extension of the Wilson River trail. Follow this for about a tenth of a mile until you come to an old logging road, which (as of March 2005) has a sign for Kings Mountain Junior.

For the shortest route, take a right onto this road. Shortly after this junction, you will pass a landslide. After the landslide, the old road gradually degenerates into a trail. Occasionally, there will be faint blue dots marking the trail to remind you that you are headed in the right direction. At about 1.5 miles after leaving the Wilson River Trail, you will come to a talus slope. Follow the path veering slightly to the left. Shortly after this, the Wilson River Trail rejoins from the left. Continue straight on the trail, which is now well marked with blue dots. Soon after this, you will come to the base of a ridge on your right, where you will see some markings on trees.

Alternatively, you could also stay on the Wilson River Trail and follow it to the same point. It will be obvious you are at the base of a ridge and there will be an overabundance of blue blazes on the trees. From here there are two options to get up to the summit ridge of Kings Junior, both of which meet up at this point.

For the shorter, steeper, and newly maintained route, follow the first path, which shoots straight up the ridge and (as of March 20, 2005) is marked with orange flagging. This route is also known as the Bun Buster Trail. This path leaves the Wilson River Trail just before a tree marked BB and one marked C-ASS in blue paint. This path steeply ascends to the summit ridge, and may be difficult in wet conditions. It is approximately 0.2 miles from the trail to the summit of Kings Junior.

For the gentler yet somewhat overgrown path, follow the Blue dot marked trail past the C-ASS marked tree for a few hundred yards until you come to a tree marked with a blue arrow pointing to the right. Follow this blue dot blazed trail up a brushy ridge for about 0.2 miles to reach a sign proclaiming this trail as the �Candy Ass Trail�, and a junction with the steeper Bun Buster Trail. Continue a few hundred yards along the summit ridge to the unsigned summit of Kings Mountain Junior (2190 ft.).

To get to Kings Mountain from here, descend northeast to a wooded saddle. This trail is overgrown, but as of March 2005 was well marked with orange flagging, amd will probably be maintained sometime in the near future. From the saddle, this faint trail ascends to join the main Kings Mountain trail at this point just below a sign proclaiming there is .63 miles to the summit of Kings Mountain. Simply follow this trail to the top, and then descend via the main trail back to your vehicle. Total round-trip distance will be a little over 6 miles.

Essential Gear

None needed.