View from Max Patch Summit - April 24, 2008.  The site of an old homestead and logging camp,
Max Patch was originally forested, but early inhabitants cleared the mountaintop to graze sheep and
cattle.  The summit also has been used as a landing strip for small planes.  In 1982, the USFS
purchased the 392-acre grassy-top mountain for the A.T. and now uses mowing and controlled
burns to maintain its bald appearance.  The wide summit, at 4,629 feet, offers panoramic views of
the Smokies to the south and a glimpse of Mt. Mitchell (at 6,684 feet, the highest peak east of the
Mississippi) to the east.