Sunrise at Max Patch: a Backpacking Trip

    Max Patch is one of many balds scattered across the Southern Appalachians, but I am convinced that there is nowhere else quite so otherworldly. Max patch first took its recognizable bald form in the 1800’s when farmers cleared the 350 acre mountain top and used it as pasture. Later on, the mountain lived a second life as the highest airstrip in the East, where bi-plane shows were conducted in the 1930's. Nowadays, Max Patch is a popular spot for picnickers and stargazers. The summit can be accessed by a short 1.7 mile loop from the parking area. If you’re in the mood for a longer trip, though, the Appalachian Trail crosses right over the mountain top and offers endless opportunities for extra mileage with less crowds (start in Georgia anyone?). This lesser-used route from Lemon Gap makes a great one-night backpacking trip with beautiful views and a diversity of landscapes. Camping on top of Max Patch is a truly breathtaking experience that makes the hike well worth it. But first, we have to get there…

The Route

    This route is a great example of the middle road in backpacking. It's long enough that you feel like you've done something by the end, but it's not so long or difficult that you are dead by the time you make it to camp. I found that that I had plenty of time to stop off along the way and thoroughly explore Max Patch once I got there. 

    As far as directions go, the AT is about as straightforward as it gets. Since this is out and back, you simply hop on the trail at the parkinglot and walk until you hit Max Patch. The AT is marked by distinctive white blazes. The blazes are well-maintained and it felt like the markers thoughtfully deposited one at every point where I had even the slightest chance of getting confused. Over all, a very user-friendly, high pay off trail!

Getting There

    Take Max Patch road and park at Lemon Gap, approximately 4 miles beyond the Max Patch parking area. From here, take the Appalachian trail to the South and you will be headed straight for Max Patch. The trail takes a gently sloping course through old hardwood forests. The trees and forest floor greenery are so lush that it feels like you are walking through a green tunnel.

    At 3.5 miles, the trail passes by Roaring Fork Shelter. There are several streams nearby and this is a good place to fill up on water for the night since there is not any on top of Max Patch.

Beer can pack holders at the shelter

Like all the shelters on the AT, Roaring Fork has a trail log. Trail logs are used by AT thru hikers and some day-hikers to write down their thoughts and leave messages. The entries range from accounts of the day, jokes, messages to other hikers, and even recipes! Here are a few of my favorite entries.

For the directionally challenged, at least we know the end goal:

"I was hoping to make it to walnut-whatever shelter today, but will probably be camping somewhere along the way"

"Not sure where I'm headed tomorrow but the end goal is Maine"

Camping in the woods is next level social distancing:

"enjoying our corona-cation"

"P.S. I sanitized this pen after using it."

This useful PSA:

"An octopus has so many chemo-receptors on each tentacle that they can taste how you're feeling, what sex you are, if you're sick, or even if you're pregnant. Better be nice to one if it grabs ya!"

Deep thoughts on the forest life: 

"Its lovely in the morning light. Watching squirrels hiding nuts (badly! I see ya'll!)"

    From the shelter it is about 2 miles to Max Patch. Take a short climb up the mountain and you will emerge onto the grassy, windswept summit of the bald. The 360 degree view is absolutely breathtaking. The bald is ringed by tall mountain ranges that call to mind a court of crouching giants. To the South is the rugged ridges of the Smokey Mountains, and to the East you can see Mount Mitchel, the highest peak on the East coast. 

Camping on Max Patch

    There are several campsites scattered across the top of the mountain, most of which have 360 degree views of the surrounding ranges. Since I was spending the night in my hammock, I settled down just below the tree line.

    Fires are prohibited on the mountain top, and the high elevation can make for windy sleeping, but main draw of camping on Max patch is the view. In the evening, all the campers gathered on the summit to watch the sun slip below the distant mountains. It was surreal to sit on the top of a remote mountain and watch the sunset surrounded by a bunch of other campers. It was one of those times when strangers are bound in an odd, fleeting sense of community as we all experienced the same awe of the landscape around us.

    I’ll be honest, I didn’t get much sleep that night between the near constant rushes of wind shaking my hammock and an inexplicable paranoia of murderers and ghosts. The lucky fringe benefit of my sleeplessness, though, is that I was awake to hear the first bird start singing in the morning. After a night of listening to wild wind roaring up the mountainside and weighing the likelihood of an ax murderer climbing a mountain to murder wayward campers, the first morning bird song is one of the most hopeful sounds I know of.

    I slipped out of my hammock and made my way up the bald, the last of the night's discomfort draining out of me by the seconds. At the summit, I sat bundled in my sweatshirt and watched the faint rays of early morning light peak over the mountaintops. The sky lightened by degrees until, in the space of seconds, the sun sent neon pink shafts of light across the clouds and rose in earnest into the sky. 

    Satisfied, I packed up camp and set off back down the mountain. 

The Takeaway 

   I would definitely recommend the Lemon Gap to Max Patch route. It was physically challenging but not overwhelming. One of the best things about this trip was how much experience it packed into a short amount of mileage. I got to walk through thick forests, see an AT trail shelter, and camp on top of a bald. There's a reason why Max Patch is considered one of the jewels of the AT. It truly is spectacular and in my opinion camping there is the best way to soak it all in.

To see more cool places in Pisgah Forest, click here.