Coach Steven McHone soaking it in at the top of Mt. Mitchell.
15 years ago I fell in love with trail running in Western North Carolina. Any chance I got I would spend hours running along the ridges and valleys in Pisgah National Forest. Being inspired by the local legends of the running community @jaycurwen @willharlan
@jusrunningavl was my go to running shoe store to talk trails and adventures with the staff. One of those folks was Adam Hill, aka the mastermind of Pitchell. At the time I had yet to run an ultra much less traversing 65 miles of trail with over 13,000ft of vert.
Over the next couple of years I checked off some local races as I pursued bigger adventures on the trails. With the looming Pisgah to the south and Mitchell to the north I got familiar with all of the sections. Unfortunately this vision of taking on Pitchell seemed to vanish into the back drop of my life. Injuries, pandemic, business, family and more injuries seemed to be taking me away from the possibility of Pitchell.
In 2022 after a long build back up on my fitness and run training me and my crew set off on the challenge. Unfortunately I wasn’t ready for Pitchell and bonked with just 5 miles from the top of Mitchell. I took a year off from another attempt in 2023 with the goal to show up ready for 2024.
Helene hit the mountains of WNC 2 weeks before my next planned attempt. Two years later the MST trail is almost fully clear on the Pitchell route so it was time to take care of some unfinished business.
This time around my training had been much more consistent as well as my sleep and recovery being a priority. My goal was to complete the route in one big push, possibly sub 24 hours if all went well. Seth White, one of the Goat Hawks Crew came out to pace me for the first half. Our start time this time was around 7pm just as the sun was setting.
The previous attempt I stated down Mt. Pisgah at Midnight as this was the traditional start time. This year o chose to start around 7pm to catch the sunset on Pisgah and start the technical descent without the fatigue I felt from the midnight start.
Steven and Seth posing for the sunset start on Mt. Pisgah.
Seth and I caught an epic sun set as we dropped into the growing darkness of the forest canopy. Even though the majority of the next 16 miles would be downhill the steep techy roots and rocks kept the pace held back. The temps cooled as we ran through the night. Stopping for sort snack breaks we would feel our core temp start to drop so we had to keep moving to fight off the shivers. 5 minutes see to be about the max we could stop before our sweaty shirts cooled off and gave the sign to get moving.
The first 18 miles took just over 5 hours. We had set a bear line with our resupply snacks and water in a tree off the MST. With our bottles full and snacks restocked we continued our journey to our next resupply at the Folk Art Center(FAC) around mile 32. The closer we got to the FAC the more I felt my legs go into auto pilot. The next section we were coming into is where I didn’t most of my trail running training.
At the FAC Seth’s running mission was done. He switched over into crew mode and helped me resupply and refill my water bottles. I set a 15 minute timer for me to get resupplies and lay on the ground with my eyes closed for 5 minutes. As I came to there were some other Pitchell runners coming into the FAC parking lot. First of which was non other than Adam! It was so rad to be out there taking on Pitchell with others! This crew was moving much faster and had caught up to us despite our 5 hour head start. With renewed stoked and daylight creeping in I took back off on the MST.
The next section of trail holds so many memories of running with friends and training runs. Even though I would be doing inning the next 12 miles solo I felt my community in the forest with me. I looked for old bear friends and soaked in the peaks that I often come to for peace. Feeling invigorated I pushed the pace through the flats dreaming of breakfast and coffee. So good to pop out on to the parkway to see a few friends cheering and coffee! My crew was multiplying and now Rodrigo and his son had joined the Pitchell mission.
From craven to the start of Rattle Snake Lodge there were two short sections that intersected with roads. It was nice to now see my crew more often helping me ride the cheers and sound of a cowbell to keep moving. With fall leaf season in full effect the section of the MST to Rattle Snake Lodge was very congested. I found it hard to get into a good rhythm due to having to step off the trail so often for large groups. Once I cleared the crowds it was time for the real climbing to begin.
Climbing up to Rich Knob on the MST.
From Rattle Snake Lodge to Potato Gap would be my last long solo stretch. This section felt extra long due to how remote it feels. Not many tourists make it over here so it was a nice change but it seemed to slowly tick off the miles. I must have been moving a bit slow, Coach Gina popped out up ahead of me to make sure I was moving. We were met by Rodrigo and Alan at the gap. After another resupply my Crew nudged me to get going. Alan and I hiked up to craggy gardens together before he had to break off.
Craggy was swarmed with tourist. I stopped to help orient a few folks back towards the parking lot and let some others know that taking random trails is a bad idea. I must have been moving a bit quicker now, Rodrigo and Gina were coming down from the parking area just as I was coming up. From here Rodrigo and I would be teamed up for the final 18 miles.
Fumbling as I navigated the rocky/rooty terrain ahead of me I tried to pick up a pace of some kind but also being mindful of not going over any edges or slipping on rocks. Even though this section didn’t have much elevation gain it was still one of the slower sections to navigate.
Popping up on the ridge that connects Craggy and Mt. Mitchell State Park Rodrigo and I got to see the mountains showing off with brilliant colors as the sun began to set for the second time on the run. These high country rock slabs decorated with beautiful flowers that only appear in the high mountains. I tried to soak it in knowing that the next section was the crux that broke me on my last attempt.
Rodrigo and I reached the section of MST going up to Blackstock Knob. This 4 mile stretch would take us over 2 hours to ascend and descend in the dark. The most recent storm had devastated so many big trees up on the ridge. We ran past root balls that were 10 feet tall. The smell of fresh sawdust and pine lingered in the air. The trails must have been cleared very recently to which I was very grateful. Traversing this section with tons of blowdown trees would have potentially ended my mission.
Rodrigo helping navigate Steven through the void of Blackstock Knob.
It was so good to see Coach Gina’s car lights below as I continued to awkwardly navigate the boulder slabs that made up the trail. Rodrigo, Gina and I got into the car for one last reset before the 5 mile push to the summit of Mt. Mitchell. Again I set a 15 minute timer, added layers, scarfed down some snacks and shut my eyes for 5 minutes. It was go time, I gave myself a little pep talk and began to give my best shuffle up the Buncombe County Horse Trail. This section was about 4 miles long and mostly a general road grade. I ran/shuffled as much as could with the occasional pause the try not to dry heave. My feet were extra fumbly so I took extra caution on the wet rocks and creek crossings. The stoke was so high when we reach the last section on the Mt. Mitchell trail. Dry heaving and hallucinations were kicking up as I navigated the twisted joke of the final climb. This last section included some scrambling, rock hopping and giant step ups on the remnants of what once use to be a well maintained trail. The light from my headlamp was catching little shimmers of light that kept me pushing forward the summit.
Rodrigo and I popped out on to the pavement just as Coach Gina joined us. We ran as a team to top of the observation deck. Flooded with emotion I stood victorious on top of the highest mountain on the east coast. Mission accomplished.
