sweetwilder

August 6, 2017

It’s been a month since my last posting, which is quite unusual. This is primarily because of the weather and family. Kids are in camp, we took a vacation to Charleston and the weather has been unbearably hot. Secondarily, September and October will be filled with backpacking trips: I’ll be finishing the South Beyond 6000 peaks, camping in Shining Rock, finishing the Pisgah 400, hiking the Fire’s Creek Rim Trail and thru-hiking the Bartram Trail.

Nevertheless, it had been too long since I’ve hiked in the woods. As we adjust to life in Boone, we are starting to experience more and more of the trails in the area. The Nuwati Trail is a gem and perfect for all ages.

Located in Grandfather Mountain State Park, the trailhead is located at the Boone Fork Parking area off of the Blue Ridge Parkway at mile 300. The first .4 miles are on the Tanawha Trail and are easy hiking.

At the junction, take the right or east trail. The Nuwati is only 1.1 miles, with an oh-so-slight uphill grade. The trail is rated moderate, because of the large number of roots and rocks on the path. Nuwati means “medicine” in Cherokee. In modern times, the trail was used as a logging road, and remnants such as old cables can be spotted along the way.

There are four campsites along the trail: Streamside, The Hermitage, Storyteller’s Rock and The Refuge, making it a nice area for families.

The highlight of the trip is Storyteller’s Rock. It’s a slight rock scramble to the top, but well worth it. From the vantage point, we saw north towards Boone and East towards Calloway Peak. The view caught me off-guard and was purely delightful.

GPS Link: https://www.movescount.com/moves/move170153713

Total mileage is 3.34 miles.