W4 SOTA Campout Summits Map
Here are some logical summit pairings for those not familiar with the area.
Roan Mountain State Park is located at the base of the Roan massif, which is the home to several spectacular SOTA summits. Just up the road from the state park is Carvers Gap, trailhead for W4T/SU-005 - Roan High Knob and W4C/EM-001 - Grassy Ridge Bald. You can go from the dense spruce and fir covered Roan High Knob to a 3 mile hike across open balds to Grassy Ridge Bald. Further north along the Roan Massif is W4C/EM-003 - Hump Mountain - a bit longer hike at 4+ miles but most of it through beautiful grassy balds. W4T/SU-015 - Little Rock Knob is easily accessed from the State Park as well. All four of these summits are located along the AT.
Banner Elk area drive-ups - W4C/EM-007 - Beech Mtn, W4C/EM-011 - Sugar Mtn and W4C/EM-022 - Grandmother mountain are often done together due to proximity and ease of access.
Moses Cone Memorial Park - W4C/EM-032 - Rich Mtn and W4C/EM-026 - Flat Top Mtn are nice hikes along old bridle paths and a natural combination near the touristy town of Blowing Rock, NC.
Three easy Blue Ridge Parkway summits - East of Boone along the BRP, you will find easy targets with W4C/EM-060 - 3070, W4C/EM-043 - Thomkins Knob and W4C/EM-058 - 3730. If you still have time left, you can head up to W4C/EM-021 - Mount Jefferson.
Amphibolite Mountains - North of Boone, NC you will find W4C/EM-005 - Elk Knob and just across the valley is W4C/EM-011 - Snake Mtn (which is reputed to be one of the finest hikes in NC). Not too far away is the drive-up summit of W4T/SU-022 - 4580.
Linville Gorge Summits - Along the western rim of the gorge, W4C/EM-046 - Laurel Mountain is a short and easy hike and W4C/EM-066 - Dogback Mtn is a drive-up summit. W4C/EM-059 - Dobson Knob is a short hike from the end of a Forest Service road off of Old NC 105. Wiseman’s View and Linville Falls are both worthwhile tourist stops along the western rim. On the eastern rim, W4C/EM-049 - Hawksbill Mtn and W4C/EM-051 - Table Rock Mtn are excellent summits with great views of the Gorge. W4C/EM-070 - 3161 is a longer hike that shares the trailhead with Table Rock Mtn and takesy ou through the rugged Chimneys before climbing the summit on the north end of Shortoff Mtn.
Shady Valley Summits - Heading up to the Shady Valley area along Hwy 91, you will pass the drive-up summit of W4T/RV-001 - Holston High Point. W4T/SU-037 - Rich Mtn and W4T/RV-002 - 3940 are both located just off the AT and W4T/SU-038 - Grindstone Knob is a very short hike along the Iron Mtn Trail.
I-26 Summits - Closest to RMSP is W4T/SU-058 - Pinnacle Mtn which offers a longer 3 mile hike from the I-26 side or a shorter 0.75 mile hike from the west. Heading north W4T/SU-062 - Whiterock Ridge is a short hike and easily accessible from I-26. To the south on I-26, W4T/SU-024 - High Rock is a nice and shorter hike along the AT and W4T/SU-010 - Big Bald is a virtual drive-up if access is pre-arranged.
W4V/W4K Combo - Although a bit longer drive from RMSP, these two drive-up summits are easy to access and is the easiest way to add W4K to your list of activated associations. W4V/GC-001 - High Knob and W4K/EC-001 - Black Mountain
73, pat - KI4SVM