Pinnacle Park is an 1,100 acre tract of land owned by the town of Sylva in Jackson County, NC that was previously used as the community watershed. In 1991 it was leased to the Pinnacle Park Foundation for developing hiking trails that pass by streams, waterfalls, and beautiful long distance vistas. The Pinnacle, where the park got its name, is a large rocky outcropping that rises above 4,900 feet and offers 270° views of the town, the Plott Balsams, the Great Balsam Range, and even Clingmans Dome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This hike occurred on Tuesday, February 18, 2014 beginning at 9:50AM and ending about 2:40PM. Our plan was to take the Pinnacle Trail to The Pinnacle, then return the same way.

This was my first trip to Sylva. Despite living in Western North Carolina for nearly 10 years, I’d never managed to make it to this small town at the foot of the Great Balsam and Plott Balsam mountain ranges. After seeing the views from The Pinnacle and the other hiking trails that are available in the area, I most certainly will return.

Pinnacle Park used to be the town watershed for Sylva until 1991 when a larger water source was required to supply the growing community. The east and west forks of Fisher Creek were the primary suppliers of the fresh mountain water, and you’ll see both as you follow the nature trails that were constructed at the bottom of the park for those who enjoy a brief walk in the woods.

The groomed trail really only covers the first quarter mile of the Pinnacle Peak hike however, and you will soon meet what is called the “Main Trail” or “West Fork Trail.” It’s simply the old roadbed that was leftover from the watershed days. Because it was a road, and is all uphill, it is quite rocky. The rocks were needed for traction back in the days when town maintenance vehicles needed to get to the top.

This main trail climbs mostly due north and has purple and gold blaze marks, a tribute to nearby Western Carolina University. After climbing for 10-15 minutes you will reach a trail junction where Fisher Creek splits to West Fork and East Fork. To get to The Pinnacle, stay on the West Fork Trail. The East Fork Trail goes to a large waterfall that will be on our agenda for another day.

The West Fork of Fisher Creek will be on your left as you continue to climb the mountain. The next landmark is a house-sized granite formation known as “Split Rock” because of a large fissure right through its heart. Keep this large rock in mind, because you will actually be able to see it from The Pinnacle later (in winter that is, when the leaves are off the trees). Over the next mile there are several very photogenic spots along Fisher Creek with small waterfalls and multi-tiered cascades.

The trail maintains a relentless climb at a rate of about 800’/mile totaling 1,800′ of gain in 2.1 miles to the junction with the Blackrock Trail. I was having one of those hikes when the legs and lungs want to take a day off, but the trail says oh no you don’t. And to make it even more difficult, at about 4,000′ elevation we encountered snow that was left from the previous week’s storm. Time to put on the Yaktrax ice traction device over my boots. Two other hikers passed us… two we would meet again on The Pinnacle.

The higher we climbed, the deeper the snow got, eventually reaching about four inches when we approached the junction of the Pinnacle Trail with the Blackrock Trail. By now my breathing was quite labored and there was still 1.4 miles to The Pinnacle. I stopped for a five minute respite, then resumed my snail’s pace climb.

The Pinnacle Trail continued climbing, now in a southerly direction, for about another 100 feet of gain. Then, much to my surprise and relief, it leveled out and remained that way for the duration. Whew! There was still quite a bit of snow covering the trail, but at least it was flat, and I was moving at a pretty good pace now.

From the top of the ridge, it was now possible to see the surrounding mountains through the trees. While I’m sure this trail is dotted with wildflowers and a beautiful hardwood forest during the green season, you can’t beat winter for views you would not see in summer.

You will know you’re getting close to The Pinnacle when the rhododendron starts getting thicker and thicker. During the bloom season, this canopied area along Pinnacle Ridge is no doubt quite flowery. You will reach a 30-40 yard clearing at the top of the ridge that you may think is the destination, but you still need to pick your way through a tight rhododendron forest to get to the precipice of The Pinnacle.

When you finally pop out of the rhodies you will definitely know you’ve reached the prize. The Pinnacle is a very craggy, and dangerous, outcropping with substantial cliffs on each side. You will make a dip on a narrow crossing, then up and over the knob of The Pinnacle and down the southern side about 30 feet. Be sure to carefully watch each step, especially when snow or ice covered, as it was on this day. It’s a long way down if you misstep.

We encountered the two women, Sue and Janice, who had passed us before and sat down to break bread with them. There are plenty of naturally made rock seats here that enable fabulous viewing while enjoying your lunch. Sue and Janice are Sylva locals, so it was our good fortune to learn a lot about what we were looking at in each direction.

To the east you can see the Smoky Mountain Parkway snaking its way through the valley, and far in the distance to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Straight ahead to the south are the massive mountains of the Great Balsam Range, and the town of Sylva directly below. Sylva is the county seat of Jackson County, and their beautiful white courthouse is visible on its hilltop perch far below.

Looking westward yields the left shoulder of the Plott Balsam Range that runs across the northern horizon to an eventual meeting with Waterrock Knob on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There is a trail that crosses the Plotts and comes out at the Parkway Visitor Center on Waterrock Knob. That is definitely a hike that has been added to our list of future endeavors. Just peaking out above Pinnacle Knob to the north is Clingmans Dome, the highest point in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Thanks very much to Janice and Sue for sharing their neighborhood with us.

The Pinnacle is one of those places you hate to leave. We could have enjoyed the scenery for hours, but we still had two hours of hiking and another hour of driving ahead of us, so we geared back up and started the reverse trek. By now it was a perfect day for hiking… clear skies with a gentle breeze and temps in the low to mid-50s. It doesn’t get much better.

The snow was already beginning to melt as we retraced our steps across Pinnacle Ridge. The snow was squishy now and tended to give way on the canted terrain. We could hear the melting trickle down dozens of tiny waterways making their path to Fisher Creek. We saw firsthand why this had been a watershed decades ago.

On the way down the trail traffic picked up. We first encountered two young guys, probably students from WCU, then a trio of more senior hikers more in our age group. Our final hiker encounter was a young women and her two beautiful German Shepherds who were just as friendly as could be. Getting started several hours after us, I suspect all these other hikers were in for a wet and mushy descent later.

Though going downhill was a whole lot easier for me, after a couple hours the continuous down takes a toll on the knees and thighs. My calves and lungs were definitely feeling it on the way up, and the descent let the other parts of me know that they had a workout as well. You will definitely get your exercise on this hike.

To summarize, The Pinnacle Trail at Pinnacle Park is a wonderful way to discover the Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina. The Pinnacle Park Foundation has done a nice job of turning the former watershed into an area of recreation for Sylva locals and anyone else who wishes to enjoy the captivating views. The Foundation has this hike measured at 7 miles, but my GPS recorded an 8.5 mile track, so bring supplies accordingly. It took me a long time to make it to Sylva, but I will certainly be back to try some of the other trails in the area.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

Acrophobia? Then you may want to stay home for this one, or at least don’t go all the way. That was my choice when my life-long fear of heights (that I thought I had conquered) kicked in. Devils Causeway, the destination for this hike on East Fork Trail in Flat Tops Wilderness, is an extremely narrow backbone atop a rocky ridge named the Chinese Wall that drops precipitously 800 feet on each side. That would be your first bounce, then you would roll another 700 feet before coming to a rest. The good news is the trail to get there is quite beautiful with magnificent views of the surrounding Routt and White River National Forests. Get acclimated to high altitude before tackling this hike as you will be above 10,000 feet the entire way. Our hike occurred on Tuesday, October 1, 2013 from 8:15am to about 2:25pm. Our plan was to take East Fork Trail to the pass below the Chinese Wall, then climb the final pitch to Devils Causeway. We would return on the same trail.

This isn’t the first time my brother and I have been to Flat Tops Wilderness. A couple years ago we started at the same trailhead, but instead went to North Derby and Hooper Lake. The drive up into the wilderness from Yampa past the three reservoirs into the Flat Tops area was again quite scenic, although the water level in the reservoirs was 8-10 feet lower than our last visit. This is a beautiful area for camping and fishing, not to mention all the great hiking trails.

For this hike we started on the joint Bear River Trail/East Fork Trail that follows the north side of Stillwater Reservoir for about three quarters of a mile. We reached a junction where Bear River Trail continues west along the reservoir, and East Fork Trail turns north toward the wilderness. That was our choice.

Another quarter mile later, East Fork Trail enters the Flat Tops Wilderness boundary and passes a scenic mountain meadow that sits at the base of the Chinese Wall. The wall is a mile-long mesa that rises 1,500 feet above the valley. On the eastern end was our destination, the Devils Causeway. From this vantage point, the climb looks quite imposing.

For the next half mile East Fork Trail passes through a lodgepole pine and fir forest that will awaken your senses with the delightful aroma of evergreen. On this crisp October morning the air was very fresh. At the end of the forest, we reached Little Causeway Lake, another reservoir filled with cool mountain water much smaller than the others along Bear River Road.

From this point along the lake the climbing begins in earnest. The trail winds through a talus field, the crumbly remains of the breakdown of the cliff above and to the east. The lake remains on the left, and after climbing above the level of the pines that surround the lake, the view is quite splendid. All through the talus you can see the Causeway Pass straight ahead that is just below the Chinese Wall.

When we reached the end of the talus we entered a grand high mountain meadow shaped like a bowl and surrounded by cliffs to the east, north and west. It is a nice place to pause for a snack and survey the setting. Behind is the first glimpse of Flat Top Mountain and the pass we went through a couple years earlier on our way to North Derby and Hooper Lake. You can see the pathway to Causeway Pass… a series of long switchbacks that climb the steep bowl.

Climbing is never my favorite part of hiking, but I realize it’s a must if you want to view the scenery. So I sucked it up as we charged into the switchbacks, figuring I would be stopping frequently for breathers. 30 minutes later, it turned out not to be as strenuous as I imagined. While the pitch of the bowl is very steep, the designers of the switchback trails did a very nice job of minimizing the exertion.

So about two hours after we started, we reached Causeway Pass and got slammed with a wall of wind. No surprise. You have to figure this is a place that is always windy. It is very exposed, and surrounded by taller, flat mesas that help to swirl the wind through the pass. That wind was the first thing that made me nervous about the final pitch up the Chinese Wall.

The view north from the pass is stunning. The north side of the Chinese Wall mesa curves around forming a gull-winged-shape. The valley below is mixed forest and meadows and lakes, the closest being Lost Lake. That is the photo at the top of this post. You may click it for a larger image. The pass has patches of willow that added to the color of the scene on this mid-autumn day.

Looking back the way we had climbed, we could see the entire pathway. Flat Top Mountain is in the distance with Stillwater Reservoir below. Little Causeway Lake looked even smaller from this height above it. The bowl beneath the pass looks a long way down, and we noticed a couple of hikers coming up the talus field behind us.

Then, there is the final pitch up to the Devils Causeway. I would estimate about 300 feet of elevation gain in a quarter mile. There is an extreme drop off on each side. On this day it was snow and ice covered. Combine that with the wind and an extremely steep grade, and I wasn’t too keen on the idea of continuing. My brother tried to settle my nerves, suggesting it would be a shame to come all this way to stop short.

So I gave it a try. We took it very slow. The snow was quite slippery… occasionally we would take one step forward and slide two steps back. That is what concerned me the most. I kept imagining myself slipping and beginning a slide that wouldn’t end until I was an unrecognizable heep 1,500 feet below.

The higher we got the more jittery I became. My breathing was more like panting. All of my muscles were tense. I felt the dizziness of vertigo beginning to onset. We reached a point about two-thirds of the way up the pitch where I simply could go no further. I plopped down in the snow and told my brother I would wait for him right there, to take as long as he wanted up top.

It’s amazing how our phobias can completely control us. I could see the top from where I was, but my mind wouldn’t let my body continue. Had it been summer, I probably would have made it, but all I could envision was sliding off the mountain on the snow field. So I sat there. I took some pictures, but every time I looked up I got that queasy feeling that comes from acrophobia.

Instead I focused on the snow-covered ground in front of me. To my amazement I saw a small spider crawling across the snow… and then a fly… and then another fly. What in the world were these insects doing at 11,600 feet? A lone raven hovered in the wind above the pass. As long as I looked at the ground, or the sky, I was okay.

I waited patiently, about 25 minutes, while my brother explored the Devils Causeway. The pictures below of the views from the top were taken by him. Thanks to him for allowing me to share them with you. The picture captioned “looking down from the top” has tiny me in the center of the shot hunkered down in my snow seat.

As soon as he hollered at me from above that he was back, we both began our descent. I took a deep breath and carefully planted my boots in the snow, making sure I had solid footing before taking the next step. The sense of relief that washed over me when I reached the pass again and felt I was on solid ground was incredible. My muscles relaxed, my breathing returned to normal, and I whispered a little thank you to whoever was listening.

About the time we returned to the pass from above, the hikers we had seen behind us reached the pass. A young couple, we chatted for a moment, then they set out on the final pitch through the snow. We watched as she just zoomed right up, but he looked more trepidatious, like me. He paused several times to survey his surroundings before finally proceeding. To his credit, he too eventually made it to the top.

We grabbed a bite to eat and began the descent back into the south-side bowl. We could see another pair of hikers approaching and our paths crossed about half way down the switchbacks. Later, when we reached the talus field, we could see this 2nd couple actually crossing the Devils Causeway. There’s a photo of them below. Ah, the courage of youth.

The air had warmed considerably since the morning and made for near perfect hiking weather. We took our time, enjoying the scenery on the way down. We could see the wind whipping across Little Causeway Lake creating that shimmering effect as it raced across the surface.

With the afternoon light, the meadow at the wilderness boundary had an awesome golden glow. The marshy little ponds reflected the azure blue sky. Our eyes followed the rim of the Chinese Wall as it curved from west to south thinking it might be a nice future hike to approach from the other end.

When we reached the junction with Bear River Trail, I said let’s go out this way a bit and see what the west end of Stillwater Reservoir looks like. That’s also how you get to the other end of the Chinese Wall. The trail along the reservoir was mellow, and the willows were glimmering a bright yellow in the sunshine.

We setup the tripod, took some self-portrait photos, and enjoyed the lake-side scene.

To summarize, I have thoroughly enjoyed both of my visits to Flat Tops Wilderness. It is unique country with a little something for everyone. There are plenty of lakes to enjoy, high mountain meadows, both willow and evergreen forest, and vistas as far as the horizon. The geology of the flat tops on the mountains is quite fascinating.

Now, having said that, do you want to do this hike? If you have the slightest fear of heights, this one might be tough for you. Perhaps consider just going as far as Causeway Pass because the view on the north side is magnificent. If acrophobia doesn’t bother you, then be one of the brave who crosses the Devils Causeway. It will be a rewarding experience.

I would be remiss if didn’t give a tip of the cap to Penny’s Diner in Yampa. After we finished our hike, we were kinda hungry, so we stopped at Penny’s in this tiny old-west town. I ordered a jalapeno burger and have to say it is the best hamburger I have had in the last 25 years. My brother’s grilled chicken salad was also scrumptious. So if you go hiking in Flat Tops Wilderness, I highly recommend stopping at Penny’s Diner either before or after. They are open 24 hours.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.