9:00 - 26.7 miles / 53 minutes - 9:53
Coming to the mountains is one of the authentic experiences in life, like going to the sea. It brings you closer to nature, to yourself. So now that you've come to the mountains, keep on coming. You simply haven't had the whole experience until you stand at the top of a 500 million-year-old rock on the edge of a tall mountain with the wind in your face and the world spread out beneath you, as you feel in your knees how high you are. You'll stand in awe of the view - 1200 vertical feet down - along Hickory Nut Gorge to Lake Lure and, on a clear day, as far as Kings Mountains, seventy-five miles to the east beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains.
9:53 - 4.5 miles / 9 minutes - 10:02