[Journal Entry for March 20, 2010]. Pilot Mountain is a monadnock that rises about 1400 feet above the North Carolina Piedmont. The tough quartzite rock of the mountain forms two prominant pinnacles, the Big Pinnacle, which is surrouded by tall cliffs and which is inaccessible, and the Little Pinnacle, which is accessed by both hiking trails and a park road.

Dallas and I are joined by Paul and Gigi Estes and John Abbott on a morning hike up Pilot Mountain State Park. It's about a half-hour's drive north of Winston-Salem NC, just off of Route 52. We park at the Vistors Center, at the base of the mountain and start up the Grindstine Trail. This trail, blazed in blue, winds up the mountain. We follow it through mostly hardwood woods, with occasional stands of pine. The hardwoods have not yet leafed out, although sone are budding and a few are bloombing, so we can see through them pretty well. We pass a few tents in the little campground, low on the mountains flank. The grade of the trail is fairly low at first. Gigi and I have no trouble maintaining a brisk pace. John joggs ahead. Dallas and Paul take a slower pace behing us. We pass several small streams, one which flows under a large boulder, which forms a natural bridge. The soil here is the red, clay-rich soil typical of the southeast. Fortunately, the weather has been dry lately, so it has not turned to mud.

After about forty minutes we reach a steeper and more rock section of the trail that is more exerting. We have occasional views of the farmland beneath us, as well as the neighboring Hanging Rock State Park, an adjoining highland region. Finally we reach Little Overlook, a series of wide rock ledges that look out onto the Piedmont. We can see many farms below us, the soil of the unplanted fields glowing orange-red in the morning sun.

We are tempted to walk the trail around the base of the Big Pinnacle, but refrain since we're running short on time. Instead, we walk the park road back down to the Visitors Center. Gigi and I arrive before the rest of our party. While Gigi tours the Visitors Center, I walk down to a field near Route 52 where I get a nice view of the mountain as a whole. I then sit on a quartzite slab in the sun, waiting for the others to arrive.

About two and a half hours