CMC Weekly Hike News
10/15/03
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Looking Ahead....
All Day Sunday
ALL DAY No. W0304-266 Oct. 19 MST Sequence Hike: NC 128 - Black Mtn. Campground 7:30 AM Hike 11, Drive 130, 1300 ft. ascent, Rated A-B Lenny and Danny Bernstein 828-236-0192 lsberns@worldnet.att.net Features one over-6000' peak. This dramatic section of the MST features outstanding views and beautiful woods. Hike up and over Mt. Mitchell, then a long 3600' downhill to Black Mtn. Campground and the eastern end of the MST maintained by CMC. A chance to bag Mt. Mitchell for your SB6K patch and good fall colors along the route. NOTE: Possible key swap hike; to be decided on day of hike. Topos: Montreat, Mt. Mitchell, Celo
All-day hikes submitted by Bruce Bente 692-0116, bbente@cytechusa.com . Driving distance is round-trip from Asheville. All Saturday and Sunday hikes assemble at Westgate Shopping Center near I-240 UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.
Half Day Sunday
HALF DAY No. W0304-089 Oct. 19 Lemon Gap to Max Patch 12:30 PM Hike 5.5, Drive 140, Rated C-B Les Love 828-658-1489 lesrlove@aol.com Note the early start time. This AT hike highlights beautiful fall foliage & panoramic views from the top of Max patch. Suitable for anyone over 10 years old. (Those under 18 MUST be accompanied by adult.)
Half Day hikes submitted by Elisabeth Feil, 684-8719. For the next schedule, please call Anita and Richard Walkey, 681-2967, with suggestions. Leaders: Mail sign-up sheets to this quarter's scheduler. Meet at Westgate unless otherwise noted.
All Day Wednesday
ALL DAY No. W0304-279 Oct. 15 Montreat Trestle Grade Trail 9 am Hike 5-6, drive 3, rated C-C Gerry McNabb, 828-274-0057, gcmcnabb@charter.net From the parking area up to and along the Trestle Grade Trail and return. Meeting place: Black Mountain McDonald's parking lot, exit 64, I-40 east.
ALL DAY No. W0304-284 October 22 Kitsuma Peak, Young's Ridge 8:30 am Hike 8.4, drive 8, rated B-AA Elizabeth Feil, 828-684-8719, hofeil@brinet.com We'll drive to Ridgecrest and park. Hike up Kitsuma Peak and over to Old Fort Picnic grounds, have lunch and hike back. Good scenic views from the peak. Once we've climbed Kitsuma, it's a pleasant moderate hike to the picnic grounds. After lunch we climb gradually back to Kitsuma Peak and from there return to the cars. Total climb: 2600 feet. Meeting place: Black Mountain McDonald's, exit 64, I-40 east.
Wednesday Hikes are submitted by Kenneth & Carol Deal, 281-4530, KMCDeal@aol.com . Next schedule: Paula McNabb, 274-0057 gcmcnabb@charter.net. The meeting place for each hike will be designated by the hike leader and will appear in the hike description. Driving mileage will be listed, round trip, from the first designated meeting place.
Adopt-A-Trail (Section) Maintainers Needed!
We currently have several sections on the Mountains to Sea Trail (MST) that would love to have a caring individual who can adopt a section of their very own. As a trail maintainer, you would be the MST's most important advocate and protector. In this role, you would become familiar with trail maintenance techniques so that you understand the big picture as you perform the simple, recurring maintenance and repairs necessary to keep the trail in good repair. One your most important duties would be the "eyes" and "ears" of your section. The section supervisors are responsible for all of the "heavy duty" work and should be contacted to perform trail work you would not feel comfortable doing.
If you are interested please contact me or any of the following and we will explore finding just the right section of trail for you. Don Walton, walt7258@bellsouth.net , 828-298-5084, Stan Smith, ssmith111728@aol.com , 828-456-3042, D.R. Kulp, kulpdr@juno.com , 828-692-0783, Les Love, leslove@aol.com , 828-658-1489, Jorge Munoz, jmunoz@buncombe.main.nc.us , 828-658-0606.
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Looking Back......
All Day Sunday
ALL DAY NO. No. A0304-265 Oct. 12 Panthertown from West Entrance 8:00 AM Hike 8-9, Drive 120, 1000 ft. ascent, Rated B-B Joe Cirvello 828-627-1797 joec@brinet.com Come to see brilliant fall colors, bogs, waterfalls, plutons and great views in this beautiful valley near Cashiers. We'll do a moderately-paced loop hike in this unique setting. Second meeting place at Bi-Lo in Pisgah Forest at 8:40 AM. Topo: Big Ridge
Post Hike Report: One of the nicest things about starting from the West Entrance to Panthertown is that almost immediately you are rewarded with a spectacular view looking down into the valley and across to Big Green and Little Green mountains from an elevation of about 4000ft. We then hiked down into the valley and over to Warden's Falls on the Tuckasegee River; there was plenty of water flowing and the falls were great. Next we went to Schoolhouse Falls, another beauty on Greenland Creek, and some of us had fun going behind the falls. We then went to the top of Little Green Mtn, (4080ft.) where we had lunch while soaking up lovely views of the valley below. The weather was clear and sunny with temp. about 70 degrees, and plenty of nice leaf color; a perfect Fall day. After lunch, we hiked down the other side of Little Green, along the valley floor, and up to the top of Big Green (about 4200ft.) where we again had great views. We then hiked down to Panthertown Creek, inspected the large A-Frame shelter, went to a smaller falls named Granny Burrell, and then paid our dues with the ascent back up to the cars. There were 18 hikers, our total mileage was about 9.8miles and total ascent about 1800ft. Panthertown is similar to a Wilderness Area in that there are no signs or trail markers, but plenty of opportunities for confusion. However, we had a wonderful hike and I hope to make this an annual event. Joe Cirvello
Half Day Sunday
HALF DAY No. H0304-292 Oct. 12 North Slope Trail 1:00 PM Hike 6, Rated C-B Pat Elias 828-687-1651 peliasy@aol.com Note early start time. An easy to moderate hike in Pisgah National Forest. NOTE: Only meeting place will be the Pisgah Ranger Station new parking lot.
Post Hike Report: Eight CMC members joined the leader on this very pleasant six mile hike. We started our hike directly from the Pisgah Ranger Station new parking lot, traveling north on the Exercise Trail, parallel to Route 276, crossing 276 at the entrance to the English Chapel United Methodist Church (est. 1863, recent structure, 1940s). We stopped briefly at the Chapel. We continued along the Davidson River Exercise Trail to the North Slope Trail and set a nice pace uphill. At the intersection of the North Slope and the Art Loeb Trails, we met a group of students from New Orleans heading toward the Art Loeb trail for two nights of camping. Toward the end of our loop, we stopped at a hillside cemetery. It appeared to have about 13-14 burial sites; most of the headstones were worn and unreadable, but two recently placed tombstones indicated death occurred in July 1916, the year of a devastating flood in WNC. We stopped here briefly and had a snack, then continued our hike back to the Pisgah Ranger Station. While the hike was easy, there were a few slippery spots due to wet leaves and exposed wet roots. All returned safely. Pat Elias
All Day Wednesday
ALL DAY No. W0304-104 Oct. 8 Wolfe Ford Hike 8:30 am Hike 9, drive 30, rated A-C Greg Goodman, 828-684-9703 This hike takes the South Mills River Trail to Wolf Ford, Squirrel Gap to Horse Cove Trail to Funnel Top Rd. Meeting place: Ranger station on 276 near Davidson River. Topo: Funnel Top