What a difference a couple of weeks can make! When we hiked the Appalachian Trail from Brown Gap to Max Patch Road in early January 2019, the weather was warm and dry. When we returned in late January the road was icy and the trail we had already hiked was covered in snow. Since the hike from the road to the summit of Max Patch is only 0.8 miles, the forecast was sunny, and we had proper clothing and footwear, including MICROspikes®, we decided to hike. Except in the deep shadows, the snow quickly melted turning parts of the trail into a muddy mess.
Max Patch is a large grassy bald near the Tennessee border. A gravel road leads from the Harmon Deen exit of Interstate 40 north eight miles to a parking area located in Tennessee near the bald. If you don't want to hike on the AT, a 0.6-mile trail leads around the northern side of the bald from the parking area to the summit in North Carolina at 4629 feet.
To reach the trailhead on Max Patch Road, we walked back down the road one-third mile from the parking area. From the summit of Max Patch, we walked down the western face to the parking area. This direct, short, and steep access trail is no longer in use.
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Topographic map with GPS route
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Trail profile
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Looking back at the trail we hiked two weeks before
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The trail continues across Max Patch Road
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The stile gives hikers access without a gate
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Typical early trail conditions
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Max Patch is our goal for the day
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More snow...
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...and ice
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Switchback down toward a creek
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Creek crossing
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Snow has mostly melted on the south facing slopes
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By spring, the AT will live up to its "Green Tunnel" nickname
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A patch of snow in open forest
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The trail crosses an old single-lane dirt road with an offset requiring a road walk
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The old road is still covered in snow
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Timber and gravel stairs lead up from the road
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Into the thicket again
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A muddy mess
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Awe-inspiring view
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Forest and farmland of North Carolina
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The old trail is out of service awaiting restoration
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A fence blocks access to a restoration area
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Rank upon rank of Tennessee mountains to the west
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The new trail - still climbing
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Another muddy mess
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The new trail is so bad hikers have made a newer one to the right
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| US Coast and Geodetic Survey triangulation marker installed in 1933 |
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Looking west
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Looking north
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Looking north northeast
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Looking northeast
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Looking east
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Looking southwest at the bulk of the Great Smoky Mountains including Mt Guyot (6621' 18 miles)
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There is no fee to enter the Pisgah National Forest.
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