W4C summit Suggestion

Hello all,

I need a suggestion.

My 20 year old niece asked me to take her backpacking this weekend. I’m hoping to find a place to take her that will allow me to combine some good backpack camping with SOTA. I plan on leaving Friday and coming back Sunday. We’re talking primitive backpack camping not “campground” camping… :wink: Also the less people the better. I don’t want to take her someplace that’s going to have 100’s of day hikers.

Normally when I take her backpacking its Panthertown, Willsons / Harpers Creek, Linville Gorge. etc. Some place with water, nice trails, maybe a small waterfall, etc.

Although I usually camp down mountain by the water I’m not opposed to camping out on a summit, in fact that would be pretty cool as I’d probably setup the radio Friday night and work the 3905 century club that night and then activate the summit in the morning. But I would want to be some place with some good trails to hike Saturday after the activation. Even better… some place I could get one summit sat and another one Sunday before we hike out but this is certainly not a requirement… just a bonus. Perhaps a better plan would be activating the 1 summit combined with camping on saturday and then do a quick drive up on the way home Sunday,

I’d like so stay withing 3-4 hours of the house (Graham, NC - 27253) so ideally W4C EP, WP or EM maybe southern W4V/RT or eastern W4T/SU

Could also do the more eastern ones in W4V/RT

Can’t be any of these
W4C/EP-001 (Moores Knob)
W4C/EP-005 (Rock House Mountain)
W4G/NG-023 (Big Cedar Mountain)
W4G/NG-014 (Levelland Mountain)
W4V/RA-055 (Chestnut Knob)
W4C/EP-004 (Flat Shoal Mountain)
W4V/RA-047 (Turkeycock Mountain)
W4C/EM-004 (Snake Mountain)
W4C/EM-005 (Elk Knob)
W4C/EM-047 (Rocky Knob)
W4T/SU-022 (4580)

Thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas?

BTW - I’m probably going to post a variation of this on the Yahoo group.

Max Patch W4C/CM-036 is a beautiful location in North Carolina. And its on the AT as well.

Hi Alan
Might I suggest the ART LOEB TRAIL.
This trail, Id guess 30 miles long, includes 5 SOTA summits. It is accessable by vehicle at the Davidson River Campground, a mid-point at Black Balsam Knob where the trail crosses the BRP, and at the other end at Camp Daniel Boone.
Not trying to promote hiking the entire trail, but you could easily park at the Black Balsam Knob parking lot, activate Black Balsam Knob, and hike a segment of the trail . If you want GPS tracks let me know.