Max Patch - We Did It!

I know that I said today's blog would be more of the Bush's Bean Visitor Center and Plant but on a whim George suggested we go to Max Patch yesterday thinking if we went early enough we would beat the crowd because it was a cold morning but a clear day and it was going to warm up.  So we decided to do just that.  So we got into the car and drove into North Carolina and headed up to Max Patch Mountain.  Max Patch is a bald mountain where the Appalachian Trail crosses and at the top it is 4629 feet in elevation.  Once at the top there is a 360 degree view of the Smokey and Blue Ridge Mountains.  Now that we have been there I can confirm that is does have spectacular views.  What we didn't anticipate was that there would still be snow at Max Patch.  That did not stop us it just made the climb a little more challenging.  The parking lot at Max Patch is very small and when we pulled into it we were one of four cars.  There are two trails that you can take to the top of Max Patch one is 2.4 miles and circles the mountain before reaching the top.  The other trail is 1.4 miles and goes directly to the top.  Either way you climb another 350 feet in elevation before reaching the top.  We took the more direct route especially since we had to deal with snow and mud on the trail.  When we started our hike it was a cool 32 degrees, the snow was still firm  which made hiking and climbing a little easier.  We brought Shadow with us since dogs are allowed on the trail.  He had a ball running around and when he found his first snow drift his expression was great.  He kind of looked at us like he was saying "what the heck" but then it became a game.  The hike up with the views was beautiful but once we got on top the views were breath taking.  It was not a perfectly clear day, we had some haze, but even so it was beautiful and you could see for miles in every direction.  We spent some time just enjoying the views and walking all over the top.  Max Patch was originally cleared for pasture land in the 19th century.  The one thing we noticed at the top, when we were not talking, was how quiet it was.  There was no sound just peace and beauty.  We met some very nice people while we were at Max Patch.  Some were just day hiking like we were but we also met some that were hiking the Appalachian Trail.  One girl, who took our picture for us, had been hiking the trail for three weeks; she started in Georgia and was on her way to Maine.  She had started with her brother but he got hurt and had to leave the trail so she was on her own.  We spent quite a long time on the top and the sun was melting the snow.  When we decided it was time to leave the real challenge began for us; getting down the trail without getting hurt.  Lisa and I had terrible traction with our hiking boots so Tim and George were there to help us out.  With the sun melting the snow and the ground thawing the trail turned to mud which made it very slippery.  Tim and George did great, they have good boots, and even Lisa did good with the little traction she had with her boots.  I, however, decided to get one with the trail and fell several times.  Even in the snow I could not grip the ground on parts of the trail as we hiked down.  I would not of minded sliding down the side of the trail on my bottom except that there are pricker bushes on both sides.  At one point I did not care and slid down just to get off a part of the trail.  The rest of my descend was walking in the snow drifts and making my own trail down.  We finally got down to the parking lot and the temperature was balmy 50 degrees.  I am so glad we had the opportunity to hike to the top of Max Patch and be able to take in the beautiful views.  We will be returning to Max Patch several more times so we can enjoy all the seasons.  If you are ever in the Max Patch area please take the time to hike the trail to top you will not be disappointed.