Well folks, it's an exciting week of anticipation here at the Hollar household as we prepare for a backpacking weekend at Mt. Mitchell. Mt. Mitchell is the highest peak east of the Mississippi. The last time we were there was the day that Aaron proposed marriage, and that was quite a day let me tell you.
The headline might have read something like this:
Well meaning boyfriend fails to make camping reservation for intimate evening proposal, she says yes regardless!
We left on July 3rd, 2010 for Black Mountain after a Phish concert the night prior. The drive to Black Mountain is roughly 3 hours from our then hometown of Charlotte, however as we got lost once on the way up, it really took closer to 4 hours before we slowly crept through the packed Black Mountain campground. Aaron had read online that this was the penultimate spot for camping in North Carolina, but since the campground did not take reservations, it was completely full by the time we arrived and we had no recourse but to drive on to try to find another spot. Mt. Mitchell State Park was the closest to where we were, but driving from Black Mountain to Mt. Mitchell took another hour on the already packed Blue Ridge Parkway. With our dogs cramped in the backseat of Aaron's Chevy Trailblazer we made our way slowly to the peak, noting as we drove that the air was getting cooler, and it was getting foggier. On a clear day anywhere else in NC, Mt. Mitchell remains typically fogged over and when we arrived at the visitor center, the surrounding hills were all shrouded in a dark mist. It was, suffice it say, less than romantic. Aaron, having the good sense that he does, elected to turn back back down the mountain in hopes of a better spot.
After roughly 6 hours in the car when it should have been 3 and with daylight quickly fading around us, a decision was made to turn into the parking lot of "Bob's Fish Farm" where there appeared to be some tents set up near a creek on the same property. "Bob" was perched in a fold up chair outside his main building, and though I understood little of his grunts as we asked "can we camp here?" somehow we negotiated the reasonable rate of $10 per night to camp on Bob's land.
Let me tell you about Bob's land. On Bob's land, there were several 1970's trailers and RV's, clearly no longer functional yet clearly occupied by some of North Carolina's finest. There was a gorgeous creek that sat back about 100 yards off the main road and a couple of picnic tables by the river that suggested one might camp in those spots. And so we proceeded to set up camp.
Once it got dark I didn't mind the camping spot so much. The threat of a crystal meth tweeker/wife beater seemed a tad less ominous, though we did overhear a man yelling and pounding on one of the trailer doors "I know you're in there you slut!"
Aaron made a delicious meal of lamb and potatoes and we relaxed by the fire. Then I knew something was up. Aaron was putting all of the firewood we had procured on the fire, for no apparent reason, and was suddenly acting very strange. He came up next to me, got down on one knee and proposed. Never saw it coming. I said yes.
Now we are returning to Mt. Mitchell with backpacks, which is a handy alternative to counting on accessible car camping. We will venture up about 3 miles to the Commissary Ridge Campsite, which will be no easy feat. The Mt. Mitchell trail leaves the Black Mountain Campground parking lot trailhead and climbs roughly 3600 ft in 5.5 miles. A small price to pay for adding the east's highest peak to your list of hikes, but let's just see how we feel shall we?
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