The Vertical Mile Challenge Trail at Rocky Face Mountain Recreational Area - Hiddenite, NC
“It ain’t about how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward.” - Rocky Balboa
Hiddenite : a transparent usually green mineral valued as a gem. Discovered in 1879 by William Earl Hidden, a mineralogist sent to North Carolina by Thomas Edison to look for platinum - Webster
“Are we almost there yet?” Ginger Shields, while taking a break in the middle of The Vertical Mile Challenge Trail.
The Story -
On Sunday morning, after dropping our daughter Amelia off at college after her fall break, Ginger and I traveled to Hiddenite, NC to hike the Vertical Mile Challenge Trail at the Rocky Face Mountain Recreational Area, the site of a former quarry and an unofficial dump site recently transformed into a fabulous park.
Going to Fly Now (Theme Song From Rocky) -
Admittingly, I had never heard of the the Vertical Mile Challenge Trail or the Rocky Face Recreational Area until Saturday evening, stumbling across it on Google while searching for hikes near Davidson College. I am truly thrilled that I discovered it and find it hard to fathom that I did not know of it beforehand. The Rocky Face Recreational Area in Alexander County, a thirty minute drive northwest of Statesville, NC, is a beautiful park, with five gorgeous hiking trails offering a variety of difficulty levels, beautiful views of the Brushy Mountains, a natural play area with a cave and a zipline as well as an impressive sheer rock cliff face offering world-class rock climbing with over sixty established bolted routes.
Vertical Mile Challenge, Are You Crazy? Go Ahead, “Cut Me Mick!” - Rocky Balboa
Pulling into the parking lot of the recreational area, you cannot help but to gawk at the massive sheer rock cliff face in front of you. We literally spent twenty minutes admiring the rock face and the array of abundant wildflowers, all before even starting our hike - Alex would not have been pleased. We finally started our hike on the easy forest-like Grindstone Trail in order to access the Vertical Mile Challenge Trail. After about a half of a mile, you come to a creek crossing and turn right to begin the aptly named Challenge Trail. It starts off modestly, teasing you perhaps, before turning sharply north onto a giant almost vertical slab of never-ending granite (thirty degree incline actually, but vertical sounds better 😂). The unforgiving exposed slab does eventually end, yet not before your heart, lungs and leg muscles are burning, begging for it all to end. We did stop to take several breaks for photographs of course, our code to rest and to catch our breath. Once at the top, the Challenge Trail joins with the Hollow Rock Trail with an option to extend the trail another two miles or return to the parking lot. The trail back to the parking lot starts with a series of switchbacks before straightening out for an easy downhill and enjoyable hike culminating with gorgeous views from the top of the sheer rock cliff face.
“I Pity The Fool” - Clubber Lang
While the Vertical Mile Challenge Trail is strenuous and not for the faint-hearted, the Rocky Face Mountain Recreational Area does have something for everyone. It is well worth a visit just to see the sheer rock cliff face, and there are several other trails that can get you to the “summit” without having to scale a giant vertical slab of granite. If you do opt for The Challenge Trail, you will not be disappointed, yet keep in mind that the vertical climb section of the trail is totally exposed, with temperatures potentially reaching triple digits on summer days. Our hike on Sunday was a cloudy and cool fall day, yet the thermometer on top of the mountain was in the eighties. Also, Bon Jovi was right, the granite slab can be very slippery when wet so be sure to plan your visit accordingly with the weather.
“If I Can Change and You Can Change, Everybody Can Change” - Rocky Balboa
I often write about the many benefits of hiking, mostly about the beautiful scenery, relationship building, and the mental health benefits. Yet it is on hikes like this one that I am reminded of another important benefit - exercise. Hiking is great exercise, offering many health benefits and to me perhaps one of the best kind of exercises you can do because most of the time, you actually forget that you are exercising! The Vertical Mile Challenge Trail has a unique feature that promotes exercise and health in the community - The Vertical Mile Challenge Club. This club offers recognition and prizes for participants who complete one, five, ten and one hundred vertical miles by scanning their phones on several QR code signs placed along the trail. Ginger and I were passed by a woman who obviously had done the trail many times, not even stopping on the strenuous upward climb. I wondered how many vertical miles she had completed and if she was initially motivated by the Challenge Club. I was very impressed. Maybe one day I'll take on the the one hundred vertical mile challenge, only ninety-nine more to go!
