Page Type Page Type: Mountain/Rock
Location Lat/Lon: 35.14236°N / 83.72684°W
Additional Information County: Clay
Activities Activities: Hiking
Additional Information Elevation: 5240 ft / 1597 m
Sign the Climber's Log

Overview

Tusquitee Bald sits in Clay County in western North Carolina.  At 5240 feet of elevation it is one of many 5000 foot peaks in NC.  Making it a bit more of an important peak to NC peakbaggers is that Tusquitee holds 1720 feet of prominence, good for the 16th most prominent peak in NC, and one of 83 with 1000 or more feet of prominence in NC.

Getting There

I placed Chunky Gal Trailhead 77 into Google Maps and it took me to the trailhead.  This is along the Tuni Gap Rd.

Route

From the Tuni Gap Rd. head west on the Chunky Gal Trail (CGT).  For about the first 1-1/4 miles you will follow the Big Tuni Creek, crossing the creek five times in the first mile.  In typical weather it should be fairly easy to make it over this creek dry. 

Big Tuni Creek
Big Tuni Creek

 After the first 1-1/4 miles the CGT leaves the creek and begins up some fairly steep terrain via several switchbacks.  After the switchbacks you soon reach the top of Dead Line Ridge, this is about 2-1/3 miles into the hike.  You've gained just under 2000 feet of elevation to this point. 

From the top of Dead Line Ridge you lose a bit of elevation, maybe 100 feet, then regain around 300' all in just under 1/2 a mile.  Now the trail leads to the ridge between Tusquitee and Signal Bald. To get to Tusquitee continue to the left and shortly (maybe a tenth of a mile) the trail reaches the top of Tusquitee Bald.  From Tusquitee there's one nice view in the SE direction. 

Tusquitee Bald
Tusquitee Bald

From Tusquitee Bald there's relatively easy access to Potrock Bald, Peak 5149, Signal Bald, and Cherokee County's county highpoint.  There is some discussion about which is actually higher Tusquitee or Signal Bald.  The sources I use give Tusquitee the nod, but the contour maps I've seen show both on the same contour.  If you're just out for a hike it doesn't matter, but if you're bagging peaks it would be a good practice to touch both.  Touching both requires little extra effort.

Note: At the time I completed this hike, 2018, the CGT just before Dead Line Ridge was in poor condition and the trail was difficult to follow.  Outside of this section the trail was pretty clear to Tusquitee.  If you were to continue on to Peak 5149 or Cherokee County's highpoint there was further damage to the trail.

Red Tape

None

When to Climb

Anytime

Camping

I don't recall any camp sites, but something could be worked out.

External Links

https://peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=18531