This hike is the opposite side of the road from the popular Blood Mountain side of Neel’s Gap. Parking at the Byron Reese parking area and hiking back up to Neel’s, then on to Levelland, you gain about 1,070′ in about 2.2 miles. Not too much memorable about this hike except that there aren’t many views in the summer. I have hiked this section several times in the fall and winter and the views then are much better. I did see a bearing tree marker and a property corner marker. We also found a salamander on the trail under a log. Elevation at the summit is about 3,900′. As for the radio activation, I was able to make 12 contacts fairly quickly. The pictures usually jog my memory a bit more and on this one I do not recall much more. It has been about 4 months, so details are a bit foggy. I hiked this section with a cousin of mine several years ago and camped on the trail. Lynn and I also hiked this section when we were engaged all the way to Cowrock mountain (I snuck in some photos from that trip about 22 years ago). Nice memories of those hikes. I have a few cool pics to post, which include pictures of the famous Mountain Crossing Walasi-Yi store/Hostel. I have some interesting facts about this site on my Blood Mountain hike. In the pics for this post look above the sign in the trees and you can see the boots that thru hikers have come back and thrown into the trees.
See pics here: Levelland Mountain Pics
Related previous posts from Blood Mountain hike: Blood Mountain
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