Haywood County Highpoint Trip Report
Mount Guyot
Date: May 23, 2002
Author: Patrick Craft
I climbed this mountain as a requirement for the South Beyond 6000, an organized program to climb the 40
peaks over 6000 feet in the southeastern US. I planned a 4 day, 42 mile backpack through the eastern end
of the park, beginning at Catalochee. I spent the first night at the Laurel Gap shelter. The second day I
planned to bag Yonaguska/Tri-Corner Knob, leave my pack at Tri-Corner shelter, bag Mount Chapman,
then head go to the shelter, make dinner, then head over to Mount Guyot; a long day with 3 bushwhacks.
On the AT past Guyot Springs, I found the old man-way and started up. After about 15 minutes I made the
false summit, where the real hike began. It took me 45 minutes to get through the maze of blow-downs
alternating with briars to the true summit. I rested, ate, and decided to save myself some time and
bushwhack down Guyot Spur to the AT. That took me 15 minutes, saving me over an hour on the return;
which was good as I got to the shelter as it was getting pretty dark. What a great summit, very few people
make it up there.
The next day I bagged Marks Knob, the most remote of the southern sixers, 10.5 miles of trail from the
nearest road then a mile of bushwhacking. To make it challenging, rather then going back to the Balsam
Mountain trail, I bushwhacked 3.5 miles down Hyatt Ridge to McGee Springs. This 4.5 mile bushwhack
took me 9 hours through some unreal thick blow-downs and rhododendrons. A thunderstorm woke me
early and I couldn't go back to sleep, so I began my hike out at 5:30 in the morning.
I made it to Asheville in time to meet a friend for lunch before driving home!
Overall a GREAT hike through a remote section of the Smokies. Other than about 15 through hikers on the
AT, 5 people at the Laurel Gap shelter and McGee Springs campsite, I saw 4 people in 42 miles;
all within a mile of my car at Cataloochee.
I suspect Mount Guyot is the most remote county HP in the southeastern US.