The Middle Prong Wilderness is west of North Carolina Hwy. 215 and north of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is named after the Middle Prong of the Little Pigeon River that runs through the heart of the wilderness. This is remote territory in the high country near 6000 feet. Prepare yourself for heavy breathing — from exertion, and from natural beauty. This hike occurred on November 5, 2010 beginning at 8:00AM and ending about 2:00PM. Our goal on this day was to hike Buckeye Gap Trail to the bottom of Buckeye Gap where the trail intersects with Haywood Gap Trail for the climb back to the origin. The trailhead is at 5400 feet elevation and we were treated to the first early snowfall of the season. The dusting of snow made for a beautiful hike.
Hike Length: 8.3 miles Hike Duration: 6 hours
Hike Rating: Difficult Blaze: No blaze in wilderness area
Elevation Gain: 1800 feet Hike Configuration: Loop
Trail Condition: Wilderness Starting Point: Rough Butt Bald Overlook
Trail Traffic: We saw one other hiker and his dog on this trail the entire duration.
How to Get There: From Brevard, NC take Hwy. 276 approximately 10 miles to where it meets the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 412. Turn south and travel 13.4 miles to the Rough Butt Bald Overlook at milepost 425.4 on the parkway. The trailhead for the Mountains to the Sea Trail is across the parkway from the overlook.
View Buckeye Gap, Haywood Gap, Blue Ridge Parkway in a larger map
We got an early start on this hike because we knew it would be a long one. What we didn’t know was it had snowed overnight at elevations above 3500 feet. There sure wasn’t any snow on the ground at home. The 13.5 mile drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway to the trailhead kept getting snowier the higher we climbed. As we were parking at the Rough Butt Bald Overlook, a parkway maintenance worker pulled up in his pickup truck. He warned that the National Park Service may be coming along to close the Parkway at any time. The good news was Hwy. 215 was between us and the gate. So even if they closed the parkway, we could still exit on 215 when we finished our hike. Another prime example of Meanderthal thinking. I changed from low top to high top hiking boots because of the snow, and off the three of us went.
This hike begins with a one mile stretch on the Mountains to the Sea Trail. The trailhead is located on the opposite side of the parkway road from the overlook. It is reasonably well marked. Along the MtS Trail we had 6110′ Mount Hardy to our right and the Buckeye Creek drainage to our left. When we rounded one particular bend in the trail, there was a nice look back toward the parkway at the snow covered forest in the distance. After a mile we reached Buckeye Creek and the intersection with Buckeye Gap Trail. The next 1.9 miles is a comfortable, level stretch through a mostly hardwood forest. The trail itself is in very good condition. Fork Ridge is above on the right. With the overnight snow, it was very pleasant.
From this point on, things changed, dramatically. The Buckeye Gap Trail makes a sharp left turn along Grassy Ridge Branch to begin its descent into the Middle Prong drainage. Unfortunately, we missed it, and apparently so had hundreds of people before us. There was clearly a trail straight ahead, but after about 300 yards, it simply vanished. Many people realized the same thing at about the same time; this is a false trail. So we backtracked, and sure enough, there was the turn to head steeply down… and suddenly it was slick. As long as we had been on level trail, the snow had not been a problem. The trail went down 1800 feet in the next 1.2 miles. There were freshly fallen leaves under the 1/2 inch of snow adding to the slippage. I went down on my butt three different times. Nothing bruised but my ego. Finally, we reached the intersection with Haywood Gap Trail which comes up from the Sunburst camping area along with the Middle Prong of the Little Pigeon River.
And it was stunning. The picture at the top of this report was taken of the snow dusting the rhododendron along the bank of the stream. This was a great time to have our lunch and enjoy the scenery. But just as we had descended 1800 feet to get to the junction, we now had to climb that same distance up Haywood Gap. The trail followed the river for about a mile and the rhododendron was plentiful. It always grows very well in this region next to a steady water supply. There is plenty of water, and plenty of rhododendron. The trail passed through several snow-covered rhodo canopies that were breathtaking.
The next two miles is a hump, all uphill. We passed Beartrap Knob on our right, and we paused for breath. We crossed the other end of Buckeye Creek cascading down to meet the Middle Prong, and we paused to whine about our burning legs. Don’t get me wrong, I love to hike, and I love the exercise, but y’know steep is steep. It hurts! It’s a long two miles.
Eventually the trail reaches Haywood Gap, and meets up with the Mountains to the Sea Trail to return to Rough Butt Bald Overlook. Also, the parkway is only another 100 yards ahead. We opted to finish the hike on the parkway figuring if it was closed there wouldn’t be any cars. Sure enough, there weren’t. The last .8 mile we walked the silent, peaceful parkway.
As we drove back north on the parkway, when we reached Hwy. 215, just as the maintenance worker had predicted in the morning, they had closed the parkway. So we could not get back to Hwy. 276 to return home. Instead we took 215 off the mountain and then Hwy. 64 to Brevard. It was a little bit longer, but it is always a beautiful drive. The snow made this hike. It was fabulous.
I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, publisher of Meanderthals, and a passionate hiker. I live in western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my doorstep, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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