Potato Knob Additions and Corrections

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chugach mtn boy

chugach mtn boy - Oct 15, 2018 9:07 pm - Hasn't voted

2018 Update

There IS a view from the top, although it's from a rock tower about 100 yards south of the true summit and a few feet lower. Scramble the tower by a gully on the NE side. It's a mighty fine viewpoint.

The boundary trail on the Buncombe/McDowell line used to be wide open and exhilarating, about the nearest thing to "alpine" in the NC mountains. No longer. Regrowth among the outcrops has mostly blocked the views on the way up, and the trail is extremely faint and primitive (though blazed or flagged in a few places). Access is now from NC 80 via the MST, which follows the ridge for awhile, then slides onto its NE flank. When it crosses back to go to the S flank, turn straight up the ridgeline.

The summit can also be reached by the gated road to Clingmans Peak from Steppe's Gap. Skirt the peak itself and continue south on the BM Crest Trail, which as of 2018 had been recently brushed out, with most deadfall cut through.

Biofixer - Jul 17, 2023 8:41 am - Hasn't voted

2023 Update

As the 2018 Update points out, there is a view (mostly to the west) from the top rock tower. There is also a spectacular view (mostly to the east) a bit below the summit ridge. A couple hundred feet before you get to the ridge, the boundary 'trail' forks. The right fork goes up to the ridge while the left fork goes back downhill a couple hundred feet to a rock outcrop that offers one of the best vistas in the Black Mountains.

I first climbed the Knob in 1996 and it is much more overgrown than it used to be, though the boundary trail is still detectable. Many of the good views are grown or growing over. However, that lower view to the east (and the solitude) still makes the climb worth it to me.

Minor correction to the 2018 update: the MST leaves from NC Hwy 128 (the Mt. Mitchell spur road) below Potato Knob, not Hwy 80.

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