Less than a mile in, we reached the Pinnacle Trailhead and got off the road to hike out to its namesake - a striking rocky summit with sweeping views of Shortoff Mountain and the deep gorge below.
The views from up here were spectacular.
From The Pinnacle, the trail plunged steeply downward - an alternate, but still punishing, route to Daffodil Flats.
It wasn’t much easier than the notorious Pinch-In Trail. After about a mile of relentless descent, the grade finally eased where the Leadmine Trail split off.
We stayed on the MST, climbed over one last steep little knob (steep but rewarded with another great look at Shortoff), and soon arrived at the far bank of the Linville River.
A few anglers were casting on the opposite side; we decided not to ford the cold water and turned around here.
The climb back up to The Pinnacle was brutal, seemingly vertical in places, but the frigid air kept us from overheating. We reached the car, ate a quick lunch in the sunshine, then continued along the Overmountain Victory Trail (still following the MST markers).
About a mile later the trail crossed Dobson Knob Road. Since the Victory Trail was closed beyond that point, we followed the road—and the MST blazes—for another half mile or so before heading back to the car.
On the way home we stopped at Fonta Flora Brewery again for a post-hike beer, then back to Lake James State Park.
Parking at the mountain bike trailhead, we did an easy 3-mile double-loop stroll on the Upper and Lower Tindo loop trails to stretch our legs.
It was a beautiful evening, but light was fading.
Back at camp that evening, I built another roaring fire to ward off the cold as we settled in for one more chilly night in the gorge.
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