Greenville County High Point Trip Report

Little Rich Mtn

Date: June 27, 1999
Author: Edward Earl

Where US-276 crosses the border of NC and SC south of Brevard, a side road heads east for several miles amid private developments and a youth camp. Just past the paved entrance to a posted private development is a large dirt pullout on the north (left) side of the road, practically the only place on the entire road where one can comfortably park by the roadside.

I parked here and headed a short distance east until the crest of the dirt face behind the pullout dropped to the road level, then turned north uphill, first through brush in a clearing under a power line, then continued uphill through open forest. Two houses came into view on the ridge above. I worked my way around these to the right (this may be private property). The ridge continued NNE through open forest to the summit. Nowhere on the route did I encounter any signs, fences, people, or other indication that my route traversed private property.

The highest contour on the topo map (3320') is an oval measuring about 100' N-S by 200' E-W. In order for Little Rich Mtn to match Coldbranch Mtn in elevation, it would have to rise at least 37' above this level within a horizontal baseline of 100'. The summit would have to be pointed, probably with a rock outcrop, in order to do this. In fact, the summit is gently rounded. When I walked about 50' N or S of the summit (measured by counting paces), the summit was only a foot or two above my eye level, placing the summit elevation at about 3327'. Unless the topo contours on Little Rich Mtn are in error by 30' relative to Coldbranch Mtn (highly unlikely since topo map evidence is usually taken as gospel), I can eliminate Little Rich Mtn as a possible contender for the Greenville county HP.

When this evidence is combined with field observations on Slicking Mtn, Coldbranch Mtn is definitely the Greenville county HP, and I think that future Greenville county HPers should only have to climb Coldbranch Mtn.