CMC Weekly Hike News
02/09/05
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Looking Ahead....
All Day Saturday & Sunday
ALL DAY No. A0501-331 Feb. 13 Cantrell Lodge site via Sharpy Mtn. 8:30 AM Hike 8, Drive 50, 1200 ft. ascent, Rated B-B Becky Smucker 828-298-5013 bjsmucker@charter.net P400 Note later start time. This moderate loop hike starts at Turkey Pen with a warm-up climb over Sharpy Mtn. to Wagon Road Gap, then descends to the S. Mills River Trail where we hike upriver to our lunch spot where Cantrell Lodge was originally located. We値l return via three interesting pedestrian footbridges over the S. Mills River. Second meeting place: Turkey Pen parking area at 9:00 AM. Topo: Pisgah Forest; also Nat値. Geographic Pisgah Ranger District map. Sunday's hike will be changed due to bridges being washed out!!!
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. H0501-433 Feb. 13 Mill Ridge Ramble 1:30 PM Hike 5, Drive 65, Rated C-C Tom Sanders, 828-252-6327 mel&tgs@main.nc.us We will go through woods and along woods roads but also along some official trails in the area between Mill Ridge and Pump Gap. No steep uphills, just some great walking and views into the Big Laurel-French Broad River valleys.
Half Day hikes submitted by Paula Robbins 828-687-1651 paularww@bellsouth.net and Pat Elias 828-281-3253 patelias@bellsouth.net . Leaders: Mail please mail your sign-up sheets. Meet at Westgate unless otherwise noted.
All Day Wednesday
ALL DAY No. W0501-101 Feb. 16 Big Laurel River 8:45 AM* Hike 7.2, Drive 50, Rated B-C Becky Elston, 828-749-1886 belston@cytechusa.com Trail follows Big Laurel River to the confluence with the French Broad River, lunch here. Pass thru Runion, which was a thriving logging town in the early 1900's. Fairly rocky in spots. Meet at Westgate at 8:45 AM to form carpools, and meet leader at Ingles on Hwy. 25/70 at the Marshall Bypass at 9:30 AM.
ALL DAY No. W0501-399 Feb. 23 John Rock-Cedar Rock Loop 8:00 AM* Hike 10, Drive 80, 2000 ft. ascent, Rated A-A Brad Van Diver, 828-669-2740 bravandi@cs.com P400 A lovely winter hike. Beginning at the fish hatchery, we first skirt the eastern side of John Rock to Cat Gap, then follow the Art Loeb Trail through Sandy Gap, and then pass the stunning white cliffs of Cedar Rock. We'll continue to the shelter at Butter Gap for lunch, then return to our starting point via Grogan Creek and Picklesimer Fields. *Meet at Westgate at 8:00 AM to form carpools, and meet leader at Pisgah Fish Hatchery at 8:30 AM. Topo: Shining Rock; also Nat'l Geographic Pisgah Ranger District Map.
ALL DAY No. W0501-440 March 2 Mountains-to-Sea from French Broad Overlook 9:00 AM Hike 8, Drive 25-50, Rated C-B (subject to change) Elisabeth Feil, 828-684-8719 hofeil@brinet.com A nearby winter wandering with Elisabeth. We値l decide what looks best, depending largely on how far the Parkway is open. This may be a car shuttle. Hike may be strenuous. Second meeting place: French Broad Over-look on Blue Ridge Parkway at 9:15 AM.
Wednesday Hikes are submitted by Paula McNabb, 828- 274-0057 gcmcnabb@charter.net and Ann Gleason, 828-859-9387, cowbonetail@yahoo.com . 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.
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Looking Back......
All Day Saturday & Sunday
ALL DAY No. A0501-001 Jan. 23 Case Camp亡eniard Ridge Loop 8:00 AM Hike 9, Drive 80, 1300 ft. ascent, Rated A-B Tom Bindrim 828-299-1572 P400 This loop hike features a short steep climb up to the MST, some MST hiking, and 50 ft. frozen cascades along the closed BRP. After lunch with a great view of the surrounding mountains, we値l hike through some beautiful woods on the Seniard Ridge Trail. Topo: Shining Rock; also MST Trail Profiles pg. 50 and Nat値. Geographic Pisgah Ranger District Map
Half Day Sunday
HALF DAY No. H0501-004 Jan. 23 Glassmine Falls to Greybeard Overlook and return 1:00 PM Hike 5, Drive 55, Rated C-C Marlene Santa Maria, 828-299-9095 marlena98@hotmail.com Note early start time. Great winter views of the high peaks on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, weather permitting. If the Parkway is closed, we will hike a section of the MST in the Asheville area.
All Day Wednesday
ALL DAY No. W0501-296 Jan. 19 MST: Parkway HQ to Folk Art Center 10:00 AM Hike 5, Drive 0, Rated C-C Paula McNabb 828-274-0057 gcmcnabb@charter.net Note later start time. A good winter hike. Will begin at Parkway headquarters. Only meeting place will be the Blue Ridge Parkway Headquarters parking area, north end of lot.
ALL DAY No. W0501-438 Jan. 26 Rich Mtn., Round Top Ridge Trail, Lover痴 Leap 9:00 AM Hike 9.5, Drive 70, Rated A-B Tom Sanders 828-252-6327 mel&tgs@main.nc.us From Tanyard Gap we will go north on the AT to the beautiful Rich Mountain views, then descend to Hot Springs via Round Top Ridge Trail, and culminate the day with a short climb to Lover's Leap, finishing on the AT in Hot Springs.
ALL DAY No. W0501-330 Feb. 2 Ravencliff Falls, The Cathedral, Dismal Trail Loop 8:00 AM* Hike 9 Drive 95, Rated A-B Ann Gleason 828/859-9387 cowbonetail@yahoo.com Hike to 412-ft Raven Cliff falls in Caesar's head State Park where we cross a bridge and descend 120 ft down "the cathedral". We then cross Mathews Creek with a steep ascent on the Dismal Trail to a large rock outcropping with great views of the falls, and return to the parking lot. *Meet at Westgate at 8:00 AM to form carpools, and meet leader at Bi-Lo parking lot in Pisgah Forest at 8:30 AM. Additional meeting place: Ravencliff Falls parking lot on US 276 at 9:00 AM. Note: $2 fee per person for park entry.
Post Hike Report: The
last minute change in the weather reports predicting sleet coming earlier in the
day than previously thought, had many hikers canceling out except for five
hikers and the leader. The sky looked very ominous at the start (9:30 am) so we
decided to hike down into the Dismal and do the Mathew s creek part of the loop
first. Once down, it began to sleet in earnest, but we voted to move on.
Everyone crossed the two-cable crossing over the fast- moving creek just fine
and we installed two more foot holds on the
landing tree to ease getting off the cable. It was
still sleeting small pellets of frozen rain as we began the climb up the Raven
Cliffs and the Cathedral.
There has been a fair amount of trail damage from the
2004 hurricanes which has been repaired. But many huge oaks had fallen in the
canyon and one landslide to the right of the falls area is plainly visible.
We had some ice on sections of the cliff trail, especially as we got closer to
the top of the cliffs where the sun does not reach this time of year. The
Cathedral section of the hike required a very careful crossing over a 40 foot
field of broken and refrozen ice that had fallen from the cliff above. The most
dramatic and precipitous drop- offs on the cliff trail are at the top as you
near the overhanging rock near the top of the 412 foot Raven Cliff Falls. Ice
was more common in the last section of the cliff trail just before you climb up
and then down to the bridge
over the top of the falls. We had lunch after
crossing the falls and walked up into clearing skies and even some brief
glimpses of sunshine, relieved that the bad weather had moved on. The trail back
was Gum Gap Trail which is mostly an old road, then back onto the Raven Cliff
trail and the parking lot at 2:45 pm.
Post Hike Report: Twenty people showed up to hike in Montreat on a
beautiful Sunday afternoon. The shuttle hike involved dropping some cars on
Lookout Rd. and shuttling up the Graybeard Road. We started on the brand-new
Graybeard Trail, which included a new bridge. It was a great improvement over
the old trail, with an old bridge with some slats missing. The trail still
included four water crossing which took some time with 20 hikers. At Pot Cove
Gap, the leader talked a little about the history of Montreat, with the help of
Tommie Boston who grew up in the area. Then it was down, down, down the Toll
Road and right at the gap and down Appalachia Way onto the Montreat College
campus. Unfortunately the Chapel was closed. It is closed on weekends in the
winter, though some looked through the windows to see the fresco. Danny
Bernstein
Post Hike Report: Newton Bald-Kanati Fork. Six people went on this absolutely perfect hike. From near Smokemont we ascended Newton Bald Trail, picking up snow about half way up, which we trudged through ( 2-4 inches ) most of the rest of the way. On a beautiful day we were able to enjoy the frequent panaromic views of practically all the main Smoky ridge, plus the numerous mountains in all directions. Lunch was at campsite 52, which for a change was sunny and windless. Along Thomas Divide the snow highlighted the beauty of hemlock and rhododendron groves. With about 3600 ft ascent we had a great winter workout. And those of you who decided not to go really missed a good one. Tom
Post Hike Report: Bent Creek Loop Hike: Chestnut Cove, MTS, Sleepy Gap, and Explorer Loop. Five hardy CMC hikers showed up on Sunday afternoon, January 30, despite the dire weather predictions and were rewarded with a delightful hike of about 900 feet of elevation and descent. In many places the trail was covered with an inch or two of fresh snow without a sign of a previous foot print. At one spot we found the tracks of several turkeys that had preceded us. The footing was sometimes a bit slippery but still passable since the temperature remained above freezing. Occasional rays of sunlight through the wind-driven clouds made the snow crystals sparkle against the green of rhododendron and laurel. Four of the group ended the day with buffet supper at a local Chinese restaurant. Paula Robbins
Post Hike Report: Report: Rich Mtn., Round Top Ridge Trail, Lovers Leap. Jan. 26 Sixteen hikers set off from Tanyard Gap on a vaguely drizzly day. By 11:30 we reached the fire tower on Rich Mtn and the rain had stopped, but views were zero, and the frigid temp was not encouraging for lunch. So we descended on the Round Top Ridge Trail, which was the original route of the AT, and found a good luncheon spot at 12:20. Most of the hikers had never been on this trail, which was downhill, varied, beautiful, and in good shape. At around 1:00 things cleared, the sun came out, and we enjoyed good views of the many mountains around Hot Springs. After walking through Hot Springs, we rejoined the AT going north along the French Broad, taking in the several overlooks commonly called Lovers Leap and descended by the Trail of that name. This particular route was totally new for CMC, though it incorporated some elements familiar to many. We were all awed by that great 84 year old role model, Sherman Stambaugh, who was right in there all the way, including the two solid uphills and some patches with a lot of rocks. Tom Sanders
HikingNews....
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