Wilson Creek Trail, Pisgah National Forest

[dropcap style="font-size: 60px; color: #9b9b9b;"] T [/dropcap]hink of Wilson Creek as Linville Gorge lite. A long, rugged wilderness gorge running from the nearly 6000′ mountain peaks at its north, Wilson Creek shares many similarities with its bigger brother to the west. Wilson Creek was named a National Wild and Scenic River in August, 2000. The gorge area is a haven for recreation including hiking of course, but also fun for kayaking, camping, fishing, tubing, you get the picture. There are dozens of trails throughout the recreation area, including this one that follows the upper reaches of the gorge for six miles. Much of this region is backcountry, so the trail can be confusing. This is one of those hikes where map and compass are your friends. Don’t leave home without them. This hike occurred on Wednesday, October 10, 2012 from 9:30am to 11:30am. My plan was to start at the trailhead for Wilson Creek Trail #258 and go for a couple hours.

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Hike Length: 3.7 miles Hike Duration: 2 hours Blaze: Orange, none

Hike Rating: Moderate, rugged Hike Configuration: Out and back

Elevation Gain: 570 feet

Trail Condition: Rugged and poorly marked. Difficult to follow.

Starting Point: White Rocks Trailhead #264 on Edgemont Road.

Trail Traffic: I did not encounter anyone else on this hike.

How to Get There: From Asheville take I-40 East to Morganton. Use Exit 100 (Jamestown Rd.) north. Follow Jamestown Rd. to the junction with NC Hwy 181 and turn left. Follow 181 north for 12 miles to Brown Mountain Beach Road and turn right at the Smyrna Baptist Church. Go about 5 miles just past a bridge over Wilson Creek, then turn left to stay on Brown Mountain Beach Road. Follow Wilson Creek through the settlement of Brown Mountain Beach, then into the protected gorge section. The Wilson Creek visitor center is on the left 5.5 miles past the left turn. From there, continue on Brown Mountain Beach Road to Edgemont Road (Hwy 90) and turn left. Go past Mortimer to the end of Hwy 90, but continue straight ahead on Edgemont Road for another 3.7 miles. The trailhead is on the left with parking for 1-2 cars. The trailhead is not signed.[/box]

It was a gorgeous morning as I drove north from Morganton to the Wilson Creek Wild and Scenic River area. As I turned onto Brown Mountain Beach Road, the early sun was striking Smyrna Baptist Church just right, so I stopped for a picture. The congregation must be very proud of their church. The maintenance is immaculate. Further down the road, I entered farm and horse country and stopped for a few more pictures. This was going to be a nice day.

So I drove past the Wilson Creek Visitor Center on Brown Mountain Beach Road and I kept driving util I reached Hwy 90 then turned left. I passed Mortimer campground and reached a sign that said it was the end of Hwy 90. But Edgemont Road continued straight ahead, so I kept looking for the trailhead for the Wilson Creek Trail. The road began to climb steeply, switchback after switchback, and still no trailhead.

Stopping every 5 minutes or so to check my map, looking for any kind of landmark, I was still clueless about where the trailhead might be. Eventually I reached the height of land and started down the other side. Realizing this couldn’t be right, I turned around to make another pass at finding the trailhead.

Finally, there was a small place on the side of the road with enough room for a car, maybe two, and it almost looked like there was a worn path heading off into the woods. So I parked, headed down the path a bit, and guess what… I found a blaze mark. So this was a trail! On my map, the White Rocks Trail #264 is designated with an orange blaze. The blaze I had seen was orange. This was another way to access the Wilson Creek Trail, so I put on my pack and camera.

Much as I discovered the day before when I went to Harper Creek Falls, the trails in this area are not very well marked. There was no trailhead sign that I could find anywhere. I found more orange blazes as I continued farther down the trail, but they were worn and barely visible.

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