Grandfather Trail | Grandfather Mountain State Park | MacRae Peak | Attic Window

Grandfather Trail | Grandfather Mountain State Park | MacRae Peak | Attic Window | Calloway Peak

Рет қаралды 12,585

Күн бұрын

We traveled to one of the most rugged areas of the Southeast, North Carolina’s Grandfather Mountain. The Grandfather Trail traverses the mountain’s ridgeline from the Mile High Swinging Bridge area to the highest point at Calloway Peak. It takes you through a variety of settings as you use in-place cables and wooden ladders to assist climbing the rugged terrain. You meander through wind-dwarfed pine trees on your way to some of the best viewpoints around. The pace, however, is slow due to the careful hand- and foot-work that is necessary to navigate the steep and jagged rock paths. To ease our return we took the slightly less rugged Underwood Trail for a portion of our hike back. This is one of the most challenging hikes in the region, but the rewards are spectacular.
Although the state park allows free hiking, our trailhead is located in the privately-owned foundation and thus requires a $20+ dollar admission. To avoid the fee, you can start from the Profile Trail, but this will add over 6 miles and 2,000 feet of elevation gain to your trek.
CONTENTS
00:00 Intro Teaser
00:41 Map Overview
01:47 Forest Gump Curve & Parking
02:12 Mile High Swinging Bridge
02:46 Trailhead
03:02 Ladders to MacRae Peak
08:12 MacRae Peak Summit
08:37 Rock Climb to Attic Window
12:24 Attic Window Summit
12:47 Hike to Calloway Peak
15:00 Watauga View to Calloway
15:53 Hike Back Down Ladders
18:06 Lower Route: Underwood Trail
18:45 Short Cut Back to Parking

Пікірлер: 33

@DRMET 3 жыл бұрын

Welcome to the NC high country! You do a nice job pointing out Linville Gorge, Mitchell, and Roan mountains. Great hike!

@criscale3667 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you. We love Grandfather Mountain. Mount Mitchell had some good hikes, too - we just started posting those. We also enjoyed the Linville Gorge with trails around Shortoff, Hawksbill, and Table Rock. Do you have any other favorites you can suggest? Looking for aggressive day hikes.

@DRMET 3 жыл бұрын

@@criscale3667 The Profile Trail has a new, free parking lot at the trailhead. Start in the morning, and bring water! It took me around four hours to go up to Calloway Peak and back.

@dannyr.edwards4721 7 ай бұрын

Man ...I have walked above an below... if you go in from the bridge !!! The little fire and animal trails is a straight drop in the cliff side are the walk ways we use to walk!!!❤ natural...

@jasonmcghee1266 8 ай бұрын

The cliff edges would make me wobbly. How do you overcome fear of one of your family members going off the edge?

@alensley1368 Жыл бұрын

Beautiful sights. I only wish I could do this. Great video

@criscale3667 Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for the comment. This trail is obviously not for everyone, but there always seem to be trails for a variety of abilities. Hopefully you can find something that fits! But you can always enjoy hikes virtually - I know we do that, too.

@jamiemesser1990 2 жыл бұрын

Great video! Really showed the experience.

@criscale3667 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for the kind words. We appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts. That’s one of our favorite hikes. Fun and challenging!

@caitlinbowman558 2 жыл бұрын

Going next week, excited!!

@criscale3667 2 жыл бұрын

That’s great. You should be excited. How far do you hope to go? MacRae? All the way to Calloway Peak? It’s a fun, challenging hike.

@rokibler 2 жыл бұрын

We are planning on doing this hike soon. Thanks for the excellent video. You really show what the trail is like, the technical difficulty, and the rewards. You let the camera do the talking.

@criscale3667 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for the comment. That is exactly what we strive to do, so we definitely appreciate the feedback. This is possibly our favorite hike in the Southeast!

@rokibler 2 жыл бұрын

@@criscale3667 I hiked it today with a friend from Greensboro. I think we did the same route as you. First up a short trail to the mile-high bridge, then all the way up to Calloway Peak along the crest including MacRae Peak., then on the return, we took Underwood, and then Black Rock back to the parking lot. One of the hardest hikes I've done in a long time, and one of the most fun, most fantastic hikes too. It took us about 5:15 for the circuit. There were few people on the trail. We had to wait only once briefly for a ladder. WOOHOO!

@dannyr.edwards4721 7 ай бұрын

That there ladder !!! B4 was cableway... ☝️🐢♥️🪶🪶🪶

@bradyessary5668 2 жыл бұрын

Looking forward to hiking that trail in a few weeks, then heading over to Beech and Sugar for some downhill mountain biking!

@criscale3667 2 жыл бұрын

Well, that sounds like a full day! I hope you enjoy Grandfather as much as we did. Thanks for the comment.

@nathanielavoures1596 Жыл бұрын

The black mountains of the appalachians really do rival the rockies as far as size goes!

@criscale3667 Жыл бұрын

We love the Rockies, but the Appalachians are much older and really provide a lot of tree-covered ruggedness. We love our Black Mountains! Thanks for the comment.

@nathanielavoures1596 Жыл бұрын

@@criscale3667 I favor the Smokies Black mountains as well think there superior to the Rockies! However ive been to the Sierra Nevada and they have tree covered mountains out there i even have friends and family that live out there! However the Sierra Nevada are second place compaired to the Smokies Black mountains!

@alex_5569 2 жыл бұрын

It's not the highest peak in the east coast but has the best views I was climbing the mountain once in thick cloud cover thinking that I wasn't going too have a view and boy was wrong the top of McRae peak was above the clouds I will probably never strike gold like that again

@criscale3667 2 жыл бұрын

That sounds spectacular. I think we had a similar experience hiking up Shortoff Mountain at the Linville Gorge. Fog and clouds until we gained some elevation - then...wow! That is indeed gold! We appreciate your comment. Here is that Shortoff hike: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ebx-qJmfzpPJqWQ.html

@Brandon91x 3 жыл бұрын

I hiked to Macrae peak from the swinging bridge today.. haven't been to Calloway yet, how hard is it?

@criscale3667 3 жыл бұрын

You tackled the most significant ladders, but there are more ladders, ropes. And the most challenging uphill rock scramble awaits you. Take your time - and with careful footwork, it can be conquered. Just be prepared for a slower hike. Good luck. Thanks for commenting!

@Brandon91x 3 жыл бұрын

@@criscale3667 Awesome, I plan on trying it next week! At the 7:17 minute mark in your video I do not remember that cliff scramble. Was this part of Macrae Peak?

@criscale3667 3 жыл бұрын

That was actually at a small rock outcropping just off the trail. There was a rock overhead that I could reach and pretend like I was hanging. As I said, this was just off the trail and not necessary to reach McRae. It was just for fun. I could actually reach the overhead rock while my feet touched the rock below me. ;-)

@DRMET 3 жыл бұрын

I think if you got that far, you managed some of the most challenging terrain. Last week, I hiked the Profile Trail up to Calloway Peak. About 4 hours there and back.

@jasonmarkham2592 2 жыл бұрын

Domb mountatin...next.

@starguy821 2 жыл бұрын

Is a permit required if going from profile trail? Also, doesn’t look like it’s dog friendly but dogs can use the trail from profile trail?

@criscale3667 2 жыл бұрын

No permit or entry fee is required from the Profile Trail. Although I have seen dogs along the trail, I have not seen anyone take dogs through the difficult ladders, cables, and rock scrambling sections. You can see my other reply on the reasons why. I do hope you get a chance to experience this outstanding hike, though. One of the best in the southeast!

@starguy821 2 жыл бұрын

@@criscale3667 thank you.

@shirleybalinski4535 2 жыл бұрын

Do you sign a " climb at own risk" disclaimer? I find it hard to believe they just turn the public loose. Wish I was younger!-

@criscale3667 2 жыл бұрын

Lol. Nothing to sign, but you need to take heed of all the warning signs. It seems that we rarely go on a hike that doesn't have signage warning of possible injury and death. Typically, you just have to use common sense. But sometimes I, too, am amazed that we have access to such areas. But these are the times and places I truly feel alive! Thanks for your comment.