It’s been two years since Mount St. Helens with Dad. Clearly that was long enough to make me forget that ordeal… It was time for another hike.

In North Carolina? Ideal.
Highest peak east of the Mississippi? That’s cool.
Timing going to work out? Let’s do this!

I first learned of Mount Mitchell when Dad mentioned it a few years ago. East Coast mountains are kind of off my radar; I grew up that way, never heard anything about them, and assumed they all topped out at  less than 4,000 like Old Rag, which was our “regular” (a few times) hike we did as kids. At 6,683, Mitchell is a real mountain. At ~6 miles and ~4000ft of climbing, this was going to be a real hike, but only about 50% of Mount St. Helens.

Prior to the hike, I made sure Dad was going to eat breakfast, did no recon, showed up with a Camelback of water and food for the two of us, was lucky they brought me a pair of trekking poles (can’t fly with them), downloaded the trail map, and up we went. With a race a few days away and a parking lot at the top, we made the wise decision to only ascend; descending wasn’t going to add anything other than fatigue and risk of injury. Besides, it started pouring as soon as we finished. Karen met us at the top with the car.

The hike itself was pretty straightforward. Nothing technical, but lots of roots and rocks. If you’re an experienced hiker, it’s truly a walk in the park. A long one, but nothing to be concerned with. With stops every 45 minutes, our ascent took four hours. Poles are highly recommended.

Unfortunately, like a lot of hikes on the AT corridor, the entire way was wooded and we were afford zero views. It was also a slightly overcast day that would turn into a cloud and downpour at the summit; we couldn’t see more than 100ft in front of us. Conditions were similar for Dad’s Mount St. Helens hike too so he’s now two for two climbing large mountains with zero visual payoff.

We shared a cream soda and drank a bunch of beers (yes, that’s him drinking a purple one below) back in Asheville to celebrate. Shout outs to Wicked Weed and Bhramari for the tasty suds.

Next? Mount Washington is likely. There has been a suggestion of Half Dome, which sounds awesome, but also like a heck of a day. Dad, if we’re going to do that you’re going to be regularly reporting in with your stair climbing training results.