Mount Pisgah MST Hike

Sunday, we took Alex out to the mountains for another week of adventure.  Leaving early, we made it to the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville around 9 and drove to the Mills River Valley Overlook.

Alex was going to do hike 5 for #mst40hikes along the Shut-In Trail to Pisgah Inn.

The Mountains-to-Sea Trail piggybacks on Shut-In Trail towards Mount Pisgah.

In about a mile, the trail crossed the parkway at NC-151 and then began a steep ascent.  For more than a mile, it was mostly a climb to Little Pisgah Mountain and then led to the trailhead for Mount Pisgah and the southern end of Shut-In Trail.

There was a nice view of the mountain from here.  

We went up and down another hill and came to Buck Springs Gap Overlook.  

Right past here was the ruins of Buck Spring Lodge, George Vanderbilt's hunting lodge on Mount Pisgah.  The Shut-In Trail was constructed as a path from Biltmore up to the lodge.  Not much remains of the lodge, but there were very nice views from here.

The springhouse is the only remaining structure.

We went as far as the Pisgah Inn and turned back.

I got a view from the other side of the road at Mills River Valley Overlook before we took off.

From here, we drove to Franklin and checked in with Appalachian Zen at Gooder Grove.  Then we headed to Currahee Brewing and got dinner from the food truck.  The everything burger was excellent and Alex got to meet some local dogs.  After dinner, we went back to the hostel for showers and then a good night's sleep after a very long day.