North Carolina - Mount Mitchell - 6684 Feet - June 25, 2002

Wednesday, June 19, 2002 - We took 362 back to 58 west and drove to Damascus, VA. My stove had fallen apart so we stopped at Mount Rogers Outfitters. They repaired the stove for free. The Appalachian Trail passes through Damascus. The Trail Days Festival is held here in May. We drove on 91 south to Mountain City, TN and 421 south to Boone, NC. The Ritz Camera store in Boone had a battery for my camera. We drove on 321 south to Blowing Rock, NC, 221 south to Linville, NC, 181 south to Gingercake Road, and dirt roads to Table Rock. Gingercake Road parallels 181. We turned onto Gingercake Road at the north end. We should have turned onto it at the south end. The road to Table Rock off of Gingercake Road is a short distance off of 181 at the south end of Gingercake Road. We hiked to the top of Table Rock and also hiked around Table Rock to check out climbing routes. There is primitive camping at the end of the parking lot at Table Rock. There are toilets at the parking lot. A youth group was camping there also. They were there to climb and were generally quiet.

	Thursday, June 20, 2002 - We climbed Jim Dandy, a three pitch 5.4 climb. This was Angie's and Missy's first time climbing multi-pitch and my first time leading multi-pitch. The first and second pitches were bolted. I placed one cam on the second pitch. The third pitch was a long, runout, easy, traverse. It was very exciting with a lot of exposure. We walked off the right side of lunch ledge.
	Friday, June 21, 2002 - We backpacked into the Linville Gorge. We took the Little Table Rock Trail to the Spence Ridge Trail which led to the river. The Little Table Rock Trail was extremely steep. This was our first time backpacking and this was probably not the place to start. We found a secluded campsite by the river with a small stream cascading into the river. We treated our water with iodine and hung our food in a bear bag.

Saturday, June 22, 2002 - We hiked half way back and camped for the night by a small stream. Angie and Missy caught crayfish. Missy and I heard a hoot owl that night. The Linville Gorge is a wilderness area. It was very quiet. The only sounds of civilization were airplanes passing overhead and once we heard a train far in the distance.

Sunday, June 23, 2002 - We hiked the rest of the way back to Table Rock. We drove on 181 to the Comfort Inn in Morganton, NC. We had pizza and did laundry.

Monday, June 24, 2002 - We drove west on 40 to 221 North to 70 west to 80 north to the Blue Ridge Parkway south to 128 north to the Mount Mitchell Ranger Station. The van's radiator blew a leak here. Another traveler suggested I take the radiator cap off and limp it into Asheville, NC. This I would do, later. We backpacked two miles on the Commissary Trail to Camp Alice. Camp Alice was once a resort. Only a foundation remains. There is a small stream with water. A youth group arrived after us. They set up camp at a distance and did not bother us.

Tuesday, June 25, 2002 - We left our backpacks in the tent and took daypacks to the summit of Mount Mitchell. It was about 1-1/2 miles one way. There is a road to the summit, museum, gift shop, snack bar, and bathrooms with water. The lady at the gift shop said the USGS marker had been stolen. Replicas were for sale. We returned to Camp Alice, broke camp, hiked back to the ranger station, and drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Asheville. We took the van to the Dodge dealer in Asheville. They ordered a radiator and took us to the Best Western.