Spring Mountain, High Point, English Mountain, and Crabtree Bald: May 23rd-25th 2023

Spring Mountain, May 23rd

Spring was a delightful hike along the AT from Rich Mountain Gap, which some anarchists had graffiti-d the signs as "EAT THE Rich Mountain" - if those people are reading this, keep on being awesome. No views or anything, but a nice start to the day

Hall Top, May 23rd

For Hall Top, I drove along the forest road approaching from the east, and honestly I would recommend hiking from the intersection at around 2700ft unless you have 4wd and high-clearance, though I was able to make it to within 400 vertical feet of the summit without too much problem - but with some stress for the hike down. Very little views, would recommend if you're a prominence-based peakbagger, but otherwise, probably not

English Mountain: May 24th

The previous trip reports for English are pretty accurate, with the whole hike being kinda underwhelming for me. Also multiple mapping apps said there would be a road beyond the first 300 ft, but alas, there really isn't. Would recommend on a dry day

Crabtree Bald: May 25th

For Crabtree, I parked at one of the grass pulloffs on Bald Creek Road, which may not have been 100% legal, but I made sure it wasn't in front of/obviously on anyone's property - I left a note just in case though. Ascending the driveway to the caretakers house along Indian Branch Creek wasn't too bad, although the dog was barking a long way out. I couldn't knock on the door because the dog was in the way, but I figured he would make enough commotion to bring someone out. No one came out though, because I suspect no one was home. I didn't see any *no trespassing* signs (although I did hop a road gate to get there), and knowing how readily access was granted based on previous trip reports, I cautiously proceeded. up to 4600ft was a pure driveway walk, which wasn't the funnest but which was pretty easy. At the ridge it becomes a bald, and you'll follow the ATV tracks to the summit. Also the wire fence is electrified to keep the cattle in, so be sure not to hit that! The cattle were delightful, and the hike on the bald was phenomenal. One of the best hikes I've done around these parts -would highly recommend!