Shortoff Mountain

NC or CO?

Background:

I have seen a good bit of the Linville Gorge, and my lasting impression of Shortoff Mountain is just how different it is from the rest of the wilderness area. Shortoff is not considered a bald and yet most of our hike was in the direct sun. The result is a mountain with fantastic views of the Catawba Valley and the rest of the Linville Gorge.

I bought this map in downtown Boone, NC and it has amazing detail of the (upper) Linville Gorge and many of it's trails, climbing opportunities, and more

Like I mentioned on my Rock Jock hike post, forest fires in 2013 left parts of the Gorge burned and charred. A few years later, these areas are still recovering and are now considered mostly virgin forest. This hike was a while back in mid-August, so it was still very hot and I definitely underestimated this with the lack of canopy cover to cool Clif & I off.

Hike Report:

Distance: ~8 miles
Time: 5 hours
Diffuculty: Moderate

Driving through the small foothills town Glen Alpine, I bought a gallon of water from the local Dollar General and I set out on back roads around Lake James to the Wolf Pit trailhead of the Linville Gorge. As far as I know, this is the most southern trailhead for the Wilderness Area and the Shortoff trail intersects with the MTS (Mountains-To-Sea Trail) and the southern terminus of the Linville River Trail.  

The hike up was fairly strenuous. Unlike my Rock Jock hike, the trail was easy to follow the whole time. I feel the need to emphasize just how hot this hike was. With a tree-canopy covering us, it wouldn't have been nearly as bad as it ended up being and I surely underestimated this prior to starting the hike. 

As a result of the exposure to the sun, this trail was real dry. Really, really, really dry. To be honest, this hike felt more like a hike in say Colorado or Northern Arizona than a hike in Appalachia (hence the title), because of the sparse vegetation and long views unobstructed that reward. 

A view over the gorge, Mcdowell County, and Mt. Mitchell in the way distance

So I mentioned how hot it was in the direct sunlight, and we all know that Clif is a black dog with a medium length coat. Add these variables together and we were having issues getting up this mountain. I have a hiking water container for him, and he drank a good bit this day but at this time in the hike the only thing he needed was some rest.

While resting, I ended up in conversation with a couple from England who came down to hike the Gorge and some other National Forest attractions. I'm definitely grateful to live in such close proximity to some of the best hiking in the country, world...

Charred trees and dry brush found all about the top of the mountain 

A view up the Gorge: Table Rock, Hawksbill, Sitting Bear mountains

I'm not so sure where the exact highest point/summit of Shortoff was, but I'm sure I got to it at some point. Shortoff was a very long and flat mountain. In fact, I turned around before even completing the entire Shortoff trail, if I had more daylight I would have went on to check out the Chimney's, and I believe it even runs into North Table Rock at a point. For another day!

Many overlooks on the summit of Shortoff

Grandfather Mountain 

The Chimneys, Table Rock

Mount Mitchell, way out

Clif, Lake James & the Catawba Valley 

All in all this was a great hike for many reasons. It's a different take on the Linville Gorge, but a good one nonetheless. I'd say Shortoff is one of the most accessible hikes of the Gorge, so it is likely I will be back, hopefully in the Fall.