Ferns and Trail on Commissary Ridge

The railroad grade keeps going beyond the Commissary Ridge campsite, which is where I am standing to take this picture. Just beyond here is where the Mount Mitchell/Mountains to Sea trail (again) comes down to meet the railroad grade. You can barely see the gray signpost at the bottom of the spruce tree on the far left. Walk from here to that post, and you can turn left to go up to the summit of Mount Mitchell. Or keep straight and then, later, turn right to end up at the Black Mountain Campground. Almost all the trails at Mount Mitchell use this old railroad grade at some point!