Appalachian Trail
Typical Trail Path
Creek Crossing
Siler Bald View

My brother and I planned a hike on the Appalachian Trail on June 18, 2022 to complete an item on our bucket list. It was a classic example of the 'best laid plans' syndrome. There are no signs at the parking lot to indicate it was parking for the Appalachian Trail....at all! We stopped there but finding no signs continued up the road. Eventually we had to get gas and the attendant had no clue where the trail parking was. Fortunately a customer knew and we headed back to the parking lot. After walking up and down the highway I stumbled upon the trailhead metal post marker. My plan was to load all my camera gear on a luggage trolley to lighten my load. A few feet into the trail and I realized this was not going to work. I eventually just carried my camera pack in my hand. About an hour into the hike I realized I was in trouble. I was not physically prepared for this hike. Three weeks of a series of Lovenox injections, not hiking the entire winter and my age caught up with me. Despite having plenty of water I found myself dehydrated, extremely fatigue and in a very foul mood. A two hour hike took over 3 and a half hours. We made it and I guess that is the important part of completing a bucket list item.

Note: Click on the pictures for a larger view or here to scroll through the photo gallery consisting of 9 photos plus the topographic map. The Photo Album will pop up in a separate window and there is a link at the bottom of the page in the navigation icon area to get back here but I suggest just closing that window. The link is provided for those who turned off allowing websites to open a separate window. The photos were taken with the PENTAX K-70 DSLR camera.

  • Locating the Appalachian Trail

    The paved parking lot off U.S. highway 64 is void of any signs and the gravel parking lot at the trailhead to Siler Bald has a short metal post marking the trail and is easy to miss in the tall grass. From the paved parking lot hike a short distance north and to your left is the trailhead to Siler Bald. There is a gravel road blocked by a gate that leads to the trail but the actual trail is to the left of the parking area. I did not see the other trail that leads south to Wallace Gap but believe it is a short distance south from the paved parking lot. This wooden sign is found at the Siler Bald Shelter located below the bald in the valley. There are two trails off the AT leading to the shelter, each a half mile hike.

  • Crossing the Moore Creek

    There are several creeks in this area. Moore Creek flows down the mountain towards the highway. This is one of several creek crossings along the trail. At the start of the trail, not far from the highway, the trail crosses a bridge over this creek. At that point I was grumpy and didn’t take any photos of the bridge.

  • Typical Trail

    The trail is marked by white rectangles painted on trees along the way. If you are in reasonable condition the trail is not that strenuous. Obviously I was not in reasonable condition and found it very difficult. My brother on the other hand (70 years old) had no problems with the hike other than his constantly complaining brother. The weeds along the trail were about waist high but mostly the trail was much the same as in the photo to the left.

  • Siler Bald Shelter

    From the Appalachian Trail a path splits off down the valley to the Siler Bald Shelter for a little over half a mile hike. The shelter sleeps maybe a half dozen people in an open porch style cabin. This is a first come first serve arrangement. There is an area where hikers can pitch tents as well. My brother and I set up our tents there and spent the night.

  • Hike to the Siler Bald summit

    According to Wikipedia a bald is a mountain summit or crest covered primarily by thick vegetation of native grasses or shrubs occurring in areas where heavy forest growth would be expected. The summit of Siler Bald is at the 5216 foot elevation.

  • Siler Bald

    According to Wikipedia a bald is a mountain summit or crest covered primarily by thick vegetation of native grasses or shrubs occurring in areas where heavy forest growth would be expected. The summit of Siler Bald is at the 5216 foot elevation.

  • Siler Bald Summit View

    Here are a couple of photos I took from the summit. The trees in the photos are further down the mountain. There were no trees at the top of the summit. That means no shade and a very hot sun baking the summit.

  • Topographic Map

    Siler Bald via the Appalachian Trail from Winding Stair Gap (North Carolina). This is a 9.4 miles there and back day hike taking approximately 5 hours with a 1990 foot elevation gain from the highway.