Mount Pisgah

Vanderbilt's "Pisgah Forest"

From the summit, showcasing the great Balsam mountains and the Pisgah Ridge; the heart of George Vanderbilt's wilderness

Background: 

The original Pisgah Inn

Mount Pisgah is the mountain to which the second largest national forest in North Carolina is named. Situated along the Blue Ridge Parkway near the junction of NC Highway 276, the trailhead to the mountain starts at the historic Pisgah Inn, a structure first raised in the 1918. It currently operates as a seasonal mountain lodge. 


Foliage on the mountain was just post-peak, but the foliage on much of the parkway at elevations lower than 5,000 or so was just beautiful. 

Highway 276 near the Cradle of Forestry 

Mr. George Washington Vanderbilt owned much of what is now known as the Pisgah Ranger District and nearly 100,000 acres of the lands were sold to the government in 1916 after his passing. Still, the man's legacy and footprint on this area of Appalachia is impressive. It is commonly known to a Western Carolinan that Mr. Vanderbilt built the Biltmore Estate. The nearby Cradle of Forestry, originally named the Biltmore School of Forestry, was originally opened at the direction of Mr. Vanderbilt and the first school of its kind in the United States. 

The modern Pisgah Inn

Another point of interest for this area of the parkway is the junction of the shut-in trail. The shut-in trail was created by Mr. Vanderbilt in the latter 20th century to connect the Biltmore Estate to his Buck Spring Hunting lodge, a 17 mile trail that travels down the Pisgah Ridge towards Bent Creek. Much of the trail today is part of the Mountains-To-Sea trail and travels alongside the Blue Ridge Pawkway.

Mount Pisgah was named after the biblical mountain to which Moses climbed and saw the promised land to which the Lord revealed to the people of Isreal. When the Cherokee inhabited this land, the mountain was known as "Elseetoss." 

This, of course, changed when early European hunter-explorers first encroached on the land. One man in particular named James Hall, a preacher-solder of the 18th century, summited peak and is first credited with drawing a parallel to the biblical mountain. Hall was part of an expedition led by General Griffith Rutherford, and witnessing views of the French-Broad river valley they proclaimed it to be the "land of milk and honey." 

The history of this place is rich and appropriately so for the namesake mountain of the Pisgah National Forest. I had been here once before, but never made it to the top. On this day, with most of the mountains below in peak foliage, I was happy to have made this hike!

Hike Report:

Length: ~7 miles

Time: ~3.5 hours

Difficulty: Easy-Moderate

I arrived at the Pisgah Inn at around noon on the first day of November to find out that the Pisgah Inn was closing for the season, only operating through October. It has been unseasonably warm this fall here in Appalachia and North Carolina, and the temperatures on this day ranged from the 50s-60s depending on elevation. Because of unseasonably warm temperatures, foliage peaked later than usual in the mountains. For as beautiful as the leaves still were on the parkway and how warm it was, it was very strange to see the parkway mostly empty of the "leafers."

Clif & I parked in a lot nearby the Pisgah Inn and started hoofing it on the trail. Fall colors just post-peak in some areas, just about right in others. The trail length off the parkway is 1.5 miles one way, the Pisgah Inn Connector trail adds another 2. 

More on Mr. Vanderbilt's footprint here is the Buck Springs Hunting Lodge, the original terminus of the Shut-In trail. The benches here are where the lodge once stood, and pictures below show some stone-mortar structure that still stands today, the most significant being the retaining wall of the old lodge. 

After the old lodge site, the trail crosses the parkway and becomes more strenuous, albeit never too much, just enough to get the blood flowing. The trail is fairly well manicured, being a highly trafficked trail along the blue ridge parkway on National Forest lands. 

The top of Mount Pisgah has a couple strucures. One being the WLOS radio tower, subject to much controversy in the days of it's construction. It really is too bad, as the tower definately spoils some of the views of the French Broad river valley. 

The other structure is the observation deck to which you are afforded those "promised land" views, originally raised by the Youth Conservations Corps in 1979. 

Continued Pisgah Ridge, French Broad River Valley & Asheville 

I felt a good amount of solitude here on this day. The trail was not crowded at all, I only saw a handful of people here all day. It was mid-fall being early November, so the usual noises that bring the Forest to life were absent, leaving only silence as Clif & I hiked through the woods up the hill. A cloud was hovering over Mount Pisgah most of the time I was hiking it, so by the time I got to the top I was amazed at the sight of light shining on the Balsams and Vanderbilt's "Pisgah Forest." Talk to most any Western North Carolina resident and they will tell you about the presence of God in these hills. This is a verse I have seen throughout Appalachia; 

Psalm 121:1 

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

    where does my help come from?

2 

My help comes from the Lord,

    the Maker of heaven and earth."