Naked Ground Hangover Trail, Nantahala National Forest

Embarked on another doozy of a hike this weekend in the Joyce Kilmer area - one we attempted two years ago, Cortney and I, to no avail. On the first attempt, we made it to the Naked Ground campsite where I immediately spiked a fever that would not relent, and we hiked out the following day in a massive thunderstorm. Not ideal. This go round it was raining when we arrived at Horse Cove campground for night 1, so we figured we just might get lucky with the forecast. And we did!

The hike up the Naked Ground trail is a brutal uphill battle the entire way - not for the faint of heart. But the views at the top are soooo worth it. Last time we were in the area we startled a black bear at the last available water fill-up on the trail. He was just sort of hanging out, but when we made some noise he went running into the woods.

We hiked on further this time, past the first campsite to the Hangover. Prior to arriving at the Hangover there are several campsites, able to accommodate four or five single tent set ups. We picked the most palatial one and enjoyed views of both sunrise and sunset.

We hiked down via the Jenkins Meadow trail, which could be a more sensible way to the top with less dramatic elevation change, but I'm not 100% sure of that. It's certainly longer from a mileage standpoint. As usual the surroundings dazzled with giant virgin growth poplar on display. One note regarding the hangover spot that could help future campers: there is a PVC pipe which drains a small spring for water access if you need it. Just look for the chopped in half tree with exposed ax marks to the left of the central fire pit and follow it down the hill. This came in handy as the alternative is hiking nearly 1000 feet of vertical downhill via Naked Ground trail to water.

Here's video from the journey: