We had been planning on going up to Grandfather to hike the profile trail up to Calloway Peak for about 3 weeks now. Since the weather has been so mild this winter, we didn’t think we would have any issues with snow. We already had Sarah’s mom arranged to come watch the kids for us so that we could get out by ourselves, which we seldom do.  This was going to be our Valentines Day getaway and in my head I was going no matter what….and after a bit of reassurance to Sarah that it would be OK, she was on board too.  According to Ray’s Weather, the high for Linville was 27 degrees and calling for light snow and 20-30 mph winds. So when you add another 1500 ft. or so elevation, I expected it to be a bit worse the further up we got….and it was.

We got to the trail head about 10 am or so and got our permits filled out, gloves on and also threw our gators on.  I’ve never hiked the profile trail before, but had heard a lot of good things about it.  It starts off pretty moderate following a creek for about half mile before turning up towards the summit.  I would say the first 2 miles are pretty moderate with a few spots that had some steeps in it. The snow at the bottom was probably about 2 inches deep or so and really dry.It wasn’t sticking to anything which was nice because it kept our boots dry the whole time. At about the 2 mile mark we came up on a group of 4 people that were making there way up a pretty technical section but seemed to be moving fairly slowly. I thought to myself that maybe it was an elderly couple out exploring or something. The closer we got I noticed that the last guy in their group was holding onto a rope that the person in front of him was also holding.  It took me a second and then it hit me….This guy is Blind….and he is hiking up the profile trail in a snow storm.  Holy Shit! Talk about someone that is making the best of their situation! As we walked by him he said….”I guess we’re not the only one’s crazy enough to be out here huh?”  From then on neither one of us complained about the conditions. That was probably one of the most inspiring things I have seen in person in a long time.  As we got up above 5500 ft. elevation and into the spruce forest, the weather got pretty gnarly. Winds were probably gusting up to 50 or 60 mph and the snow was coming down heavy. There was probably 6-8″ on the ground by now.  We got to then end of the profile trail and headed up the Grandfather Trail. This is where it got steep and rocky, hiking up through the boulder fields with all of the snow on top of them was slow going, but do-able. Luckily there was a guy in front of us that must have known his way pretty well, so we were able to follow his tracks in a few places where the trail seemed to disappear.

As we got up to the main ridge that runs across all of the other peaks on Grandfather, the wind was pretty strong and visibility was probably about 100 ft. It was kind of an eerie feeling knowing that we were so high up, but unable to see anything. We made our way up the last half mile towards Calloway Peak.  On the way up we passed the guy that had been in front of us on the way up, heading back down.  A few minutes later we passed two guys that had been out there the night before. They looked like they were hurting pretty badly, but they were at least moving and making progress so we didn’t worry too much.  We were probably about a tenth of a mile from the actual summit in near white out conditions and decided it wasn’t worth the last ascent to get up top and deal with the wind/snow/ice and zero visibility.  Sarah threw down a bar and we headed back down, which was seeming to be a bit more difficult to navigate than going up.  Off camber rocks covered in 8″ of snow with a base layer of ice along with gravity pushing at your back proved to be a challenge.  As we got back down Grandfather Trail to the top of the Profile Trail we ran back into the two guys that weren’t looking so well.  Not to knock anyone’s gear, but one guy was wearing running shoes, blue jeans and a leather jacket with a furry hood. His jeans were soaked up to about thigh high, face completely red as well was soaked shoes.  We stopped and talked with them for a minute and made sure they were OK and then headed on down. About 15 minutes down the trail we started discussing whether or not we should try to call someone to come get them. As we were discussing and navigating down a little rock chute we came up on a ranger and 2 search and rescue guys that were already looking for them.  Apparently one of the guys parents had called the ranger station concerned about them because they had originally planned on staying for two nights. We told them where we saw them last and assured them that they were on their way down. They headed on up and we continued on down. The last 2 miles down was pretty laid back. The snow and wind died down a bit the lower we got which made it a bit more enjoyable. We made our way back to the car and headed back into town for a nice warm meal at Proper.

So maybe this wasn’t a typical Valentine’s Day getaway….but it was probably one of the most enjoyable ones I’ve ever had!

Enjoy the pics…..my camera lens froze up halfway up the mountain….and still isn’t working….so I didn’t get as many as I would have liked.