W4C/EP-001 Moores Knob

I was back in North Carolina for work and had the day off, so the only thing to do was find some summits to activate. I picked out the two summits in Hanging Rock State Park, Moores Knob and Flat Shoal Mountain. First up was Moores Knob, which is also the county high point.

Start of the trail.

It was extremely foggy, but I eventually found my way to the visitors center parking lot. From here I followed the signs for the Mountains to Sea Trail (MST) towards the lake. The trail goes along the lake shore, with a small jog out to the road to get across the outlet stream. At the south end of the lake I took the trail up to the campground.

Small stream near the campground.

I was surprised to see some campers were there on such a dreary weekend. Near the traffic circle at the campground entrance is the trailhead for the Moores Wall Loop Trail, which goes up to the summit. The trail drops down and crosses a small stream, then starts climbing up. This trail obviously sees a lot of use, and there are a lot of stone steps.

Steps heading up in the fog.

I hadn't looked at the map too closely and thought there was a steep section just below the summit. It turns out that the trail is a constant grade all the way to the summit. The summit is at the end of a short spur that goes by balancing rock. On top I climbed up the tower to have a look around and enjoy the view before setting up.

Incredible views.

I found a spot that was relatively sheltered from the wind and put up my antenna. I didn't have any service on top, so I used RBN for spotting. I had no trouble getting contacts on 30 and 40. I didn't spend a lot of time on top because I wanted to leave enough time to get Flat Shoal Mountain before the rain started in the afternoon.

Balancing Rock.

I retraced my steps back to the parking lot. I saw a lot more people heading up. I imagine this trail can get very crowded on a nice day. Back at the car I headed over to Flat Shoal Mountain for my second summit of the day.

Trailhead: Hanging Rock SP visitors center parking lot. Starting at the lake parking lot is probably the same distance.
Website: SOTA Site. State Park site
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Hike over to the lake. Take the trail along the West side, then up to the campground. Take the Moores Wall Loop Trail up to the summit.
Red Tape: None.

Summit tower from my operating position.