Cowee Bald, Standing Indian, and Yellow Mountain and Bald: April 23rd-24th, 2023

Cowee Bald, April 23rd

I drove most of the way up to Cowee along Colley Creek Road to Cowee Bald Road. Conditions were pretty good, but there are two shallow fords you need to do along the way, so be sure to have high clearance if you go this way. The way down I took Cowee Bald Road the whole way and found it to be in similarly-good conditions and without the necessary fording. If you have a sedan, approach from the south via Letherman. Anyhow, I parked about a quarter mile form the summit, which was gated, and walked up to the Bald. Good views, a fire tower, and a nice start to my day :)

Standing Indian, April 23rd

I took most of the afternoon off as I let myself refresh and recuperate, and decided to head up Standing Indian with my remaining time. I parked at Deep Gap and headed up the AT. Splendid trail conditions and a good view at the summit. This was the 17th most prominent mountain I've climbed up to this point, and it was quite satisfying, if a littler cold at the summit. Not gonna lie, I don't love the name, and although I don't know the reason for naming it that, I'm nearly certain it was a white dude who did it cause this is Cherokee land and I couldn't imagine it was an indigenous person who chose that name. I guess at least it's not directly offensive? I've seen some fucked-up mountain names in my day

Yellow Mountain, April 23rd

Yellow Mountain I was planning on doing the next day, but I was so close that I couldn't resist. I pushed through my soreness and got up to the summit after a brief bushwhack after following the AT. OVerall meh mountain with a relatively-dense brush. Photo taken at the trial before the summit in order to have enough daylight before the final ascent - which was too dark to take any good photos at

Yellow Bald, April 24th

Yellow Bald, which I did the morning after the nearby Yellow Mountain, was a breif bushwhack up from the road between it and Albert. Normally this would be a cakewalk, but I was seriously in need of a rest, and I was pushing myself hard just to get myself up the shallow and clear ramp to the summit. Anyhow, I did get there, and I got a good photo out of it, but I had to take the rest of the day off to nap and eat just to get my strength back. At a grocery store later that day I got catcalled for the first time, which you can find my reddit-post about that experience, but suffice to say: burn the patriarchy to the ground