Pilot Mountain via Grindstone, Ledge Spring and Jomeokee Trail
pinnacle, NC | Pilot mountain state park
Trail Date: November 27, 2019
Difficulty |
Distance |
Time |
Elevation |
|---|---|---|---|
Moderate |
6.5 Miles |
2:39 Hours |
1,286 Feet |
Things to Know
| Dog Friendly |
| Out&Back |
| Marked |
| Mountain |
Welp.
This took the award of being the longest trail I've done to date. We (Devonte and I) didn't know if we were going to actually do this trail because it was sprinkling/raining the whole drive there. Lucky for us it stopped raining when we pulled into the parking lot. The trail was COVERED in fallen leaves! But any regular human being could figure out what was the trail and what was not. So we weren't hindered in any way. The only thing I was worried about was slipping on the leaves. Kiara, on the other hand, didn't have a care in the world. Nevertheless, we started following the blue markers towards the mountain.So in my
personal opinion
trails that have an end goal (i.e. a mountain top view) appeal more to me. They just bring a tad bit more satifcation to me completing the trail. But again that's just my personal opinion. So along those lines that's why I wanted to do this trail because I wanted to see Pilot's Knob.But because the weather never cleared up, we saw pretty much just fog at the top. The wind also was picking up so we didn't go all the way to the end of the trail. Wind, fog, cold, rain.... just wasn't a good mix. Plus we had the dogs, so it was just too much risk.
Not to knock the trail itself though. It had it's moments with the steep hills and abnormally large stairs we had to climb up. Another thing to note is that there are times you are walking on the side of the mountain and if your dog decides (s)he wants to test you they could go running down the side of the mountain if they wanted to. I warned you.
Much like Morrow Mountain, there is a paved road that you can drive up and just skip the whole hiking thing if you wanted to. At the top of the trail, it opens up to a parking lot, which you keep walking around which takes you the Jomeokee part of the trail. This is where we had to say, "yeeeaahhh maybe we should turn around and just come back a different day."
If you thought you were walking on the side of the mountain on the way up...just wait until you get to Jomeokee Trail.
So we headed back to our cars.
AND THIS IS WHERE I LOST MY PHONE!
We were so close to finishing the trail when I realized that I no longer felt the weight of my phone in my pocket. And to make matters worse. I had lost my phone at the top of the steepest hill (insert upside-down face emoji here). But luckily Devonte had the patience to turn around and go get it.
Biggest Takeaway: You can still go hiking if its overcast, just don't hold your breath on the veiw at the top.
**Be sure to hold on to your phone**
