Black Mountain Crest Trail - "The Death March" SB6K Ep. 8

I started Day 2 at the Bowlen Creek parking lot and set out to hike the Black Mountain Crest Trail also known as "The Death March". The start of this trail up to Horse Rock Meadow is around 4.5 miles with an elevation gain of just over 3000 feet. There aren't any views along this section of the trail. Once I reached the meadow I was greeted by a friendly brown snake. From there I found the manway that leads to the summit of Celo Knob. It was pretty straight forward in finding the wooden sign and the geo marker. I snapped a few photos and headed back to the Crest Trail. There wasn't any views due to it being a socked-in day. So I continued on to my next summit which is Gibbs Mountain. This summit was also an off-trail section. I had to scramble around some low limbs and up a huge rock and back a little further to get to the top. There is no view here just trees. Back on the Crest Trail, I headed for Winter Star Mountain this is where the trail changed from being a ridgeline hike in the grass to more of a trail of ups and downs. There were sections of the trail throughout the day that required a rope to either get down or get up the trail. Once at Winter Star Mountain I snapped a few photos and ate my first lunch. This summit is right on the trail. For me it was on my right side headed toward Mitchell. Next up was Cat Tail peak. NOTE that there is a faint trail that leads up to the summit where there is a geo marker. Once back on the Crest Trail I passed a wooden sign that read Summit of Cattail Peak. THIS IS NOT THE REAL SUMMIT! From there you'll go down into Deep Gap and Big Tom Gap, Both are very hard climbing out. Balsam Cone was my next SB6K peak. Luckily this summit is right on the trail. Once I got to Big Tom I thought I was going to die. what a climb there were two sections of ropes that helped me climb up the trail. This is the first time all day that I've seen any other human or talked to anyone. I needed the breather break. Next up the second tallest mountain east of the Mississippi Mt Craig. Once I got there I knew that I had about a mile left. I snapped a few photos and ate a few snacks and drank some water. still no views. From there it was on to Mt Mitchell. I can't believe I was doing this...joy just filled my soul. omg omg omg...ha and there it was the parking lot of Mt Mitchell. So why not add one more summit to the day so on up to the top of Mt Mitchell for my seventh summit of the day. I bought a dr pepper and changed shirts, socks and put on my toboggan and waiting for my shuttle to take me back to my truck. Just a wow of a day! I will definitely hike this again. Hopefully next time I'll have some views. I hope you're enjoying these South Beyond series videos. If you do please consider subscribing to my channel. Also, press that "Bell Notification" so that you don't miss any future videos. My very best, Johnny SUBSCRIBE and learn about the Great Smoky Mountains or hiking and backpacking in general, with an occasional cycling video or two.    / @johnnyonthetrail   Lets Connect!   / johnnyonthetrail     / johnnyonthetrail   https://sites.google.com/view/johnnyo...   / kf4pch   [email protected] Johnny on the Trail 1471 West Millers Cove Road Walland, TN 37886 MY HIKING & BACKPACKING VLOGGING CHANNEL    / johnnyonthetrail   I want to thank everyone who has supported this channel. I'm grateful that you choose to support me with your viewership and time. I hope that I'm giving my audience exactly what they want to see. with a promise of no clickbait or misleading thumbnails. I am open to suggestions for content so drop me a comment and let me know what you are interested in seeing. I will be traveling more this year so expect to see some new hiking/backpacking locations other than the Smokies. ******************************* Camera: GoPro Hero and iCamera X Gimble: DJI Osmo II Video editing: Filmora