John Takes a Hike: Pilot Mountain

Hike: Pilot Mountain-Ledge Spring Trail
Location: Pilot Mountain State Park
Nearby Town: Pinnacle, NC (25 minutes north of Winston-Salem)
Elevation (Max): 2,200'
Elevation Gained: 440'
Mileage: 2.2
Difficulty: Moderate
Trailhead: From Winston-Salem: Take Route 52 N for 21 miles, take the Pilot Mountain Exit, turn left on Pilot Knob Park Road, turn left on Pilot Mountain Park Road and follow to the summit parking lot (you could park in the lot at the base and make the 4 mile hike up for a longer, more strenuous outing). Hit the trail from the southwest corner of the parking lot.
Web Site: http://www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/pimo/main.php

E and I decided to spend a day in the Triad region (as opposed to the Triangle, where we live, the Triad is made up of Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and High Point). We decided we would begin the day with a quick hike of Pilot Mountain which had been intriguing me since we saw its distinctive pinnacle on our Moore's Wall hike months earlier. The drive out to the mountain was pretty easy and the highway provided some nice head on views of the pinnacle.

When we got to the base of the mountain we were stopped next to the ranger residences and park office where we told the parking lot on the summit of Little Pinnacle was full so we could either drive up and wait or park at the base and hike up. Since we planned on making this a quick hike, we drove up. The road to the summit is narrow and windy with precipitous drops just off the road. We hit the line of traffic waiting to get to the summit lot with about a dozen cars ahead of us. Initially, we were discouraged, but cars left the summit lot at a fairly quick rate so we only waited about 15 minutes to get in.

Pilot Mountain

Pilot Mountain and some other Sauratown Peaks

We parked the car, left everything behind but my camera, and set out on the Ledge Spring Trail which essentially does a loop on and around the Little Pinnacle. Foolishly, we assumed a 2.2 mile hike would be easy enough that we could do without water--a regrettable decision. The trail begins with a moderately steep descent (always a worrying way to begin a hike) toward the Grindstone Trail (be careful, the trail initially leads to a picnic area, so pay attention to where the trail breaks off to the left). Once the trail reaches the junction with the Grindstone Trail, turn left to remain on the Ledge Spring loop, with the descent now mostly over.

Ledge Spring Trail after the Grindstone Junction

The second half of the hike is pretty impressive with towering cliffs constantly overhead on the left and views out to the flatland of the Piedmont to the right. This portion of the hike is also significantly more strenuous than the descent portion with lots of small ups and downs that really add up. This area is extremely popular with rock climbing and we encountered at least half a dozen groups of people attacking the cliffs. They were all pretty impressive and if I was a rock climber, I would definitely head out there often. About halfway through the cliffs portion, we really started to fade for lack of water. Anytime a breeze would blow up the mountain we paused and spread our arms like vultures airing out our wings to get whatever coolness we could. Finally, we arrived at a great view of the pinnacle of Pilot Mountain. I wanted to do the loop trail around the base of the pinnacle--no one is allowed on top of the pinnacle--but we were short on time if we were to fit in the rest of the day's activities so we turned left at the junction and returned to our car. We went on to enjoy donuts at the first Krispy Kreme, tour the Moravian village of Old Salem, and then walk the loop around Guilford Courthouse Battlefield in Greensboro. A good day in the Triad, indeed.