Ascent of Snake Mountain on 2014-08-03| Date: | Sunday, August 3, 2014 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Peak: | Snake Mountain | | Location: | USA-North Carolina | | Elevation: | 5560 ft / 1694 m |
Ascent Trip ReportI climbed Snake Mountain and it's north summit from Meat Camp Road. This climb is nearly all on private property, and appears to be hiker friendly though I did NOT ask for permission. There's a gravel lot on the right side Meat Camp road about 0.9 miles past Elk Knob State Park. If you park here you'll reach the North summit first followed by the main peak. To get on the trail I had to cut under a fence by a locked gate (no private property signs) the trail is clear and kept mowed (I assume the property owner keeps the trail up for hikers, though it could be for their needs, the mowed path follows the trail perfectly.) Eventually you reach a point where the path is too steep/rocky to mow, here the path becomes more overgrown an a little more difficult to follow. Many rock ridges give nice views of Elk Knob and The Peak (The high point in Ashe County, NC).
At the rock outcroppings the trail split and I was unsure which direction to go, I made a decision which ended up being a dead end. From here I knew I was close to the ridge, so I decided to walk uphill till I reached the ridge to see if I could spot a clear trail. I found one, on the ridge. From here I followed the ridge easily the rest of the hike, there were good views to each side of the ridge. The trail led through small fields filled with wildflowers, blackberry thickets, and small trees. The trail was partially overgrown in places, but still fairly easy to follow. The trail eventually met a poorly kept barbed wire fence, then a paved road with pastures and houses, buildings along it. eventually this road meets Meat Camp at a chained gate directly across from Elk Knob State park. The hike, including what I did on the roads was just over 4 miles in 2 and a half hours.
The high point of this hike is about 1,300' above the low point. I met no one else on this hike, which I like, there were nice views to both sides of the ridge, this is a hike I'd consider doing again. |
| Summary Total Data | | Total Elevation Gain: | 1330 ft / 405 m | | Round-Trip Distance: | 4.2 mi / 6.7 km | | Quality: | 4 (on a subjective 1-10 scale) | | Route Conditions: | Maintained Trail, Unmaintained Trail, Bushwhack | | Weather: | Hot, Calm, Partly Cloudy | | Ascent Statistics | | Gain on way in: | 1330 ft / 405 m | | Distance: | 2.6 mi / 4.2 km | | Start Trailhead: | 4230 ft / 1289 m | | Time: | 1 Hours 42 Minutes | | Descent Statistics | | Distance: | 1.6 mi / 2.5 km | | Time: | 54 Minutes | Ascent Part of Trip: Snake
Complete Trip Sequence:
Total Trip Gain: 1330 ft / 405 m | GPS Data for Ascent/Trip
 GPS Waypoints - Hover or click to see name and lat/long
Peaks:  climbed and  unclimbed by Bradley R
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