I finally got to High Windy this week, I’ve been putting it off because I knew it’d be a better winter hike. I ventured to 2 peaks not in Danny Bernstein’s book. High Top is always mentioned on the CMC website for the High Windy hike, and at the top of High Windy there was even a sign for High Top. I’d say it was about a mile, with 1 steep descent into a gap then 7 min steep ascent to High Top. No views at the top but the trail continued down. However on the way down I saw a knob jutting out on the north side of High Top and I asked some trail runners about it, and they said a 100 yards further down that trail is a rocky outcrop. I’ve also discovered online that the trail continues down to the Blue Ridge assembly making a loop. This trail is steep and single file, the forest road ends before High Top at this sign.

https://picasaweb.google.com/115273866116539742742/HighWindyBlackKnobYMCABlueRidgeAssembly121713?noredirect=1#5958890614883823666

My main goal was to find a peak called Black Knob, I saw it mentioned once on an Asheville outdoor meetup group. I monitor these things to get new hiking ideas I’ll never see in books. Very nerdy. It was supposed to have the best views for this area. So on my way back from High Windy I explored a forest road that splits off south about 10 min prior to reaching the High Windy summit. The split is here, where the main trail goes left and up to parallel the power lines and the other road dives south.

https://picasaweb.google.com/115273866116539742742/HighWindyBlackKnobYMCABlueRidgeAssembly121713?noredirect=1#5958891138558633314

After a few hundred yards there’s another road split, I took the left road which looked like it would go up while the road straight ahead went down. 15 min later, the road ended at Black Knob. And it was definitely worth it, much better views from anything else on this hike. The trail just ends and the world drops below. One side of the knob gives wide open views west of the Balsams and the westerly Swannanoas. 50 feet down the trail gives open views of High Windy, everything east including Linville area in distance, and directly south the entire northern portion of the Hickory Nut Mountains. The trail runners I met had run this area a lot, and never heard of Black Knob. I won’t do this trail in the near future, but I think the ideal hike would be trail up to High Windy with side trip to Black Knob, head on to High Top and take the steep trail down to YMCA for a loop. The last half of this album is pics from Black Knob.

https://picasaweb.google.com/115273866116539742742/HighWindyBlackKnobYMCABlueRidgeAssembly121713?noredirect=1#

Hi Dwight. There is no fee at the YMCA Assembly if you simply want to hike.