Chimney Tops -- Short and Sweet and Soar the Next Day

Chimney Tops main peak with one person standing on it

This is the Chimney Tops main peak photographed from the lower south peak. The rocky ridge can be hiked across. A person is sitting on a rock next to the pink bush at the very top of the peak. They are the small rise in the exact center. The last thirty vertical feet are very steep. One area requires a ten foot pull up (or down) on one side, or an easier climb that happens to be right next to the left shear drop off. The pink flowers are the rhododendron and mountain laurel that cover this area.
My brother and I got caught up here once in what started as light rain. When we got to the top, it was light snow and WINDY. We went up the old trail that goes over the front peak. We hid behind the large rock in the foreground and ate lunch. Then, cold and semi-hypothermic, we climbed up and over.

There is a natural chimney in the main peak that gives this area it's name. The tube is 3 to 4 feet wide and falls down about 100 feet. Wind comes up the shaft and is nice a cool after the end of the long hike up to the top.

South peak in the winter with 3 to 4 inches of snow

South peak in the winter with 3 to 4 inches of snow

South peak in summer with blooming laurel and rhododendron

This is the shorter south peak. A fog bank covers the valley behind the winter picture. This hike is only two miles long, but gains 1,700 feet in the climb. The old trail up the front of the south peak is now closed. A sign stated that since 1988, one person died and fifty-one people were injured at a cost of $20,000. Again I am glad to have been able to get such fabulous pictures from these areas before they have been closed.

The photo at left is also on my PHOTO page. I like it so much that I put it here too. If you click on it, you can see foot print in the snow next to me from the birds running around looking for food. There is about 3 or 4 inches of snow.