Avery County Highpoint Trip Report

Grassy Ridge

Date: January 31, 2001
Author: Patrick Craft

My most memorable climb of Grassy Ridge was a winter hike/bushwhack. I parked in the Roaring Creek valley on the north side of Grassy. We bushwhacked up Sandbank Ridge to the summit ridge of Big Yellow Mountain. We then turned west and followed the old Jeep road to the AT, unfortunately in 2 feet of snow (I knew I should have brought my snowshoes!).

At the AT we turned and headed south along an icy tread. Past Yellow Mountain Gap, the snow again got deeper, we followed a previous hikers post holes, and we ran into a group backpacking south who decided to head back to the gap and find a way to their cars as they had no snowshoes. At Low Gap the AT was again fairly packed down, I assume from the backpackers hiking out from Carvers Gap.

At the summit of Grassy the snow had pretty much melted. To return to the car we bushwhacked northeast down Big Roan Ridge to Roaring Creek Road, then the car. Nice descent, snow allowed some sliding.

Hike statistics: 10 miles; 3,345+ ft elevation gain; 10 hours.