I did this hike on the morning of Sunday, June 26th, 2022. Even though we started fairly early, we still saw several people coming down who seemed to have camped overnight on the trail.

Either end of the trail is fairly easy to find along FR 464 (Pineola Rd). We started from the west end, hitting the more minor of the two outcroppings first. The trail itself is pretty nondescript, starting with a somewhat steep slope.

Just before the trail reaches the first outcropping, you pass through two fields. In the second of those two fields, we came across a pretty taciturn eastern diamondback hiding in the foliage. It's a bit hard to see, but he was looking straight at us.

After visiting with our serpentine friend, we finished the trek to the first cliff, which is not marked on the AllTrails map linked below. It's fairly easy to find on its own: just follow the well-worn side trails. They form a Y perpendicular to main trail and join in a nice looking backcountry campsite.

After a bit more hiking, you reach the second peak. Seeing the fading remnants of the morning sky from the top really made me wish we had thought to get up a bit earlier and stake out for a sunrise.

After relaxing a bit at the top, we turned around and headed back down the way we came. We didn't stick around too long because I wanted to attend the final incarnation of Singing On The Mountain, a gospel sing which was held at Grandfather Mountain every year from 1924 until 2022, with a two year hiatus due to Covid. On the way down, we checked back in on our snaky friend; he was still where we had left him, though a little better covered. Can you find him?

For a map of the trail, click here.