Advice on hiking part of Section 8/9

[TonyRL]

Hello, I'm looking for some advice on a 3 day hike on the MST I want to put together for next month. I will be staying at Montreat for a week, as I have the task of driving a church youth group down to the college for a retreat/conference. I am not participating in the conference but I am planning to do some hiking/backpacking while I'm there. The thought at the moment is to get someone to drop me off somewhere convenient on the Blue Ridge Parkway outside of Asheville early one morning and set off on the MST towards Craggy Gardens. I will need an overnight camp location for that night. The next day continue in an Eastward direction and find another camp site somewhere around 128 into Mt Mitchell state park. The final day should be a hike over Pinnacle, Rocky Knob to Greybeard and back down into the Montreat valley to finish. So my questions are: Is this section a decent hike, one thing I read was that the MST at this point is tracking the parkway fairly close and I'm not fond of hiking right next to the road. It also veers some way off into Mt. Mitchell state park, so can I continue to Greybeard etc. without having to use the Parkway? There is no camping along the MST here, but camping is allowed on Pisgah Nat forest land - how feasible is this, how far off the trail do you have to go to get to forest land? Is this even the best hike to do. Should I instead head up out of Montreat over Greybeard, Rocky Knob and Pinnacle and head into Mt Mitchell state park, with the furthest destination being Mt Mitchell itself. I'm not afraid of rugged hiking. If I do this how much hiking along the Parkway would i have to do to link up trails, can I make a loop in the state park or will I have to do an out and back along the same trail? Is this reasonable for a three day outing without pushing for too long of a length of hike? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

[Ox97GaMe]

Although the trail follows the general route of the BRP, you are seldom hiking beside the road. You will cross the road in some areas about every 2-3 miles. In between, you are going down below, or well above the parkway. You may hear the traffic occassionally, but will not be able to see the traffic along most of this route. There are some camping options along this route that are short hikes off the MST. there were a couple of places where I camped 40-50 feet off the trail, but a couple others that I had to hike .3 - 5 to get to (primarily for water reasons). Camping at Mt Mitchell State Park is at designated campgrounds only, if I recall correctly. The restraunt at Mt Mitchell has pretty good food. Treat yourself to a great view from the dining room while you enjoy a lunch or dinner. This is not too challenging of a hike once you are on the parkway/MST. I havent hiked up to the parkway from Montreat valley, but can imagine that would be some pretty intense uphill hiking.

Have a great hike.

[TonyRL]

Thanks for the response. Is the Parkway park area then really quite narrow enough that it's always a short distance to Forest land? Any specific recommendations on sites and water sources?

[Grits]

Is this even the best hike to do. Should I instead head up out of Montreat over Greybeard, Rocky Knob and Pinnacle and head into Mt Mitchell state park, with the furthest destination being Mt Mitchell itself. I'm not afraid of rugged hiking. If I do this how much hiking along the Parkway would i have to do to link up trails, can I make a loop in the state park or will I have to do an out and back along the same trail? Is this reasonable for a three day outing without pushing for too long of a length of hike? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

check out http://www.thru-hiker.us/2012-mountains-to-sea-trail detail hiking guide to the MST
Montreat Hiking Trails http://www.graybeardgraphics.com/ima...sLegal1109.pdf

Be sure to include the Black Mountain Crest Trail From Mt. Mitchell Parking lot north
Enjoy your hike