All-day hikes submitted by Bruce Bente 828-692-0116, bbente@bellsouth.net. Driving distance is round-trip from Asheville. All Saturday and Sunday hikes assemble at Westgate Shopping Center parking lot near CVS (Exit 3B off I-240) UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. Some hikes will have second meeting places as described in hike listings. Please contact the hike leader if you are not sure of the meeting location.

NEW YEARS DAY NO. A0801-281 Jan. 1
Green River Gamelands 8:00 AM breakfast, 9:00 AM hike*
Hike 6.5 or 8, Drive 70, 1300 or 1500 ft. ascent, Rated B-B
Bruce Bente, 828-692-0116, bbente@bellsouth.net
*Meet at Westgate at 7:30 AM to form carpools and meet leader at times above at the NE corner of the Cracker Barrel parking lot in Hendersonville (exit 53 on I-26). After breakfast, we’ll do a pleasant loop on a series of trails around the Green River Gamelands. We’ll hike down to and along the Green River, with a late lunch at the big rocks on the Green River, and then hike up and out on the Pulliam Creek trail. Short car shuttle. Topo: Cliffield Mtn.; also Map of the Green River Gamelands Trails

ALL DAY NO. A0801-503 Jan. 6
Mt. Sterling via Baxter Creek Trail 7:45 AM*
(strenuous)
Hike 12.4, Drive 110, 4100 ft. ascent, Rated AA-AA+
Becky Smucker, 828-298-5013, bsmucker@charter.net
900M *Note early start time. This major climb in the Smokies is strenuous but on a gradual well-graded trail. After passing through a mixed forest followed by Balsam and Red Spruce, we’ll enjoy fine lunchtime views from the fire tower. With luck, we’ll find some snow at the higher elevations. Second meeting place: Pilot Truck Stop, exit 24 off I-40 at 8:15 AM. Topo: Cove Creek Gap; also Nat’l. Geo. GSMNP map

ALL DAY NO. A0801-283 Jan. 6
Montreat Ramble #2 9:00 AM*
(Moderate)
Hike 8, Drive 40, 1500 ft. ascent, Rated B-B
Marlene Santa Maria, 828-299-9095 marlena98@hotmail.com
*Note later start time. Meet at Westgate at 9:00 AM to form carpools, and meet leader at parking lot adjacent to McDonald’s at exit 64 of I-40 at 9:20 AM. This will be a moderate loop hike starting in Montreat and climbing to the great view from Lookout Mtn. Then on to Pot Cove Gap and down the Graybeard Trail to our cars. This close-to-home hike promises a good workout and nice views. Topo: Montreat; also Montreat Trail Map

ALL DAY NO. A0801-186 Jan. 13
Little Pisgah Mountain 8:00 AM
Hike 9, Drive 36, 1500 ft. ascent, Rated B-B
Kathleen Hannigan, 828-230-4883, kathleen.hannigan@pgnmail.com
A pleasant hike, close to home for our coldest month. We’ll hike from Hickory Nut Gap through part of the Florence Preserve and up into an open meadow to the summit of Little Pisgah Mtn. If the weather is clear, the view doesn’t get any better. Topo: Bat Cave

ALL DAY NO. A0801-504 Jan. 20
Lane Pinnacle from Bull Gap 8:30 AM*
Hike 10, Drive 30, 2900 ft. ascent, Rated A-AA+
Jay Bretz, 828-658-1220, williambretz1220@msn.com
*Note later start time. This will be a challenging winter hike on the MST, past the Rattlesnake Lodge site and up to good views from our lunch stop at Lane Pinnacle. Due to the substantial altitude change, we may find snow at the higher end. Second meeting place: Bull Gap at 9:00 AM Topo: Craggy Pinnacle; also pg. 63-64 of MST Profiles book

SATURDAY NO. A0801-326 Jan. 26
Pump Gap (non-AT) loop 8:00 AM
Hike 9.3, Drive 66, 2000 ft. ascent, Rated A-A
Tom Sanders, 828-252-6327, tomary@charter.net
This will be a moderate low-altitude ramble through the area between Tanyard Gap and Pump Gap. The hike won’t include any of the AT, but we’ll do all of Pump Gap Trail, connecting through woods roads and manways north and south of the AT. Topo: Hot Springs

ALL DAY NO. A0801-439 Jan. 27
Pounding Mill Loop 8:30 AM
Hike 9.5, Drive 55, 1200 ft. ascent, Rated A-B
Danny Bernstein, 828-236-0192, danny@hikertohiker.com
P400 Note later start time. This hike takes the South Mills River Trail to the missing bridge, then backtracks and ascends the Pounding Mill and Squirrel Gap Trail. We’ll continue on to Pea Gap and then return on the Bradley Creek Trail. Second meeting place: Turkey Pen parking lot at 9:00 AM. Topo: Pisgah Forest; also Nat’l. Geo. PRD map #780

ALL DAY NO. A0801-502 Feb. 3
Deep Creek – Sunkota Ridge loop 7:30 AM*
(strenuous)
Hike 13, Drive 135, 2000 ft. ascent, Rated AA-A
Charlie Ferguson, 828-333-5165, ccf108@gmail.com
900M *Note early start time. We will hike alongside Deep Creek, one of the beautiful streams on the east side of the Smokies, and then climb up to and down Sunkota Ridge, which will have good winter views. Second meeting place: Rest area beyond Waynesville on US 23/74 at 8:00 AM. Topos: Bryson City, Clingman’s Dome; also Nat’l. Geo. GSMNP map #229

ALL DAY NO. A0801-106 Feb. 3
Ferrin Knob via Spencer Branch and Bad Fork 8:30 AM*
(moderate)
Hike 9, Drive 42, 1550 ft. ascent, Rated B-A
Ruben Marshall, 828-299-1497, cmcrm08@yahoo.com
P400.*Note later starting time. This moderate jaunt in the North Mills River area is a loop hike that starts at the Trace Ridge trailhead and climbs via Spencer Branch trail past the Hendersonville Reservoir to our lunch spot atop 4064 ft. Ferrin Knob, the former site of a fire tower. We will return via the Bad Fork trail. Second meeting place: Trace Ridge Trailhead at 9:00 AM. Topo: Dunsmore Mtn.; also Natl. Geo. PRD map #780

ALL DAY NO. A0801-505 Feb. 10
The Other Cold Mtn. 8:00 AM*
Hike 8, Drive 120, 2200 ft. ascent, Rated B-AA
Dave Wetmore, 828-884-7296, dwetmore@citcom.net
You may have climbed the Cold Mountain above Waynesville, but have you climbed the Cold Mountain above Panthertown Valley? This is a pleasant hike with good views of the Pisgah Ledge and at our lunch spot down into Panthertown Valley. *Meet at Westgate at 8:00 AM to form carpools, and meet leader at Bi-Lo side parking lot in Pisgah Forest at 8:30 AM. Topo: Big Ridge; also Panthertown Trail Map

ALL DAY NO. A0801-592 Feb. 17
ALT – Butter Gap - Long Branch Loop 8:00 AM*
Hike 9, Drive 80, 1500 ft. ascent, Rated B-B
Stu English, 828-883-2447, stuengo@citcom.net
P400 *Meet at Westgate at 8:00 AM to form carpools, and meet leader at the side parking lot of the Pisgah Forest Bi-Lo at 8:30 AM. This new CMC hike will start at Gloucester Gap and follow the Art Loeb Trail over Rich Mtn. to Butter Gap. At the gap, we’ll turn downhill onto the Butter Gap Trail, then the Long Branch Trail and Cemetery Loop past the McCall Cemetery. There will be a short side trip to a beautiful, but rarely visited waterfall.We’ll finish with a short road walk back to the trailhead. Topo: Shining Rock; also Nat’l. Geo. PRD map #780

SATURDAY NO. A0801-593 Feb. 23
AT: Lemon Gap – Bluff Mtn. 8:00 AM
Hike 7.6, Drive 120, 1900 ft. ascent, Rated B-AA
Don Walton, 828-654-9904, donwalton@bellsouth.net
This AT hike takes us past the historic Walnut Mtn. shelter (built in 1938 by CCC) and recently cleared bald area, through Kale Gap and to the summit of Bluff Mtn. We may also bushwhack to the real peak of Bluff Mtn. Second meeting place: Pilot Truck Stop off I-40 at exit 24 at 8:30 AM Topo: Lemon Gap

ALL DAY NO. A0801-420 Feb. 24
AT: Allen Gap to Tanyard Gap 8:30 AM*
Hike 8.8, Drive 80, 2100 ft. ascent, Rated B-AA
Tish Desjardins, 828-656-2191, desraylet@aol.com

*Note later start time. Meet at Westgate at 8:30 AM to form carpools, and meet leader at parking lot on US 25 at intersection with NC 208 at 9:10 AM. Great views from Rich Mtn. tower, a visit to Spring Mtn. shelter and one of the prettiest sections of the AT in our area highlight this pleasant winter hike. Car shuttle. Topo: Hot Springs

POTLUCK SUPPER AFTER HIKE: A potluck supper will be held after the Allen Gap to Tanyard Gap hike, at the clubhouse in the hike leader's nearby housing development.  All hikers are invited to attend and to contribute food to the meal; every attendee, that wants to participate in the supper, should contact the hike leader to coordinate what to bring.  The leader's husband will meet the hikers at the second meeting place and take the food to the clubhouse for refrigeration.  Call 828-656-2191.

 

ALL DAY NO. A0801-594 March 2
KagleStone Ramble 8:00 AM*
(strenuous)
Hike 10.4, Drive 80, 2100 ft. ascent, Rated A-AA
Tom Bindrim & Joan Lemire, 828-273-3880
*Meet at Westgate at 8:00 AM to form carpools, and meet leaders at Pisgah Forest Bi-Lo side parking lot at 8:40 AM. This will be a moderately-paced hike (expect late return.), in a Figure 8 that will take us to the tops of two more granitic bubbles that together with their more famous companions, comprise our local pluton. Some off-trail hiking, even bushwhacking. Topos Shining Rock and Rosman; Nat’l. Geo. PRD trail map is marginally useful.

ALL DAY NO. A0801-595 March 2
DuPont 3 Waterfalls and 3 Lakes 8:30 AM*
(moderate)
Hike 9, Drive 86, 1200 ft. ascent, Rated A-B
Ashok Kudva, 828-698-7119, ashok.kudva@mchsi.com
*Meet at Westgate at 8:30 AM to form carpools, and meet leader at Pisgah Forest Bi-Lo, side parking lot, at 9:00 AM. Between the Lake Imaging and Buck Forest parking lots we will visit Grassy Creek Falls, High Falls, Triple Falls, Lake Imaging, Lake Dense and Lake Alford. The last two lakes are named for local executives in the DuPont Company's Imaging Systems Manufacturing Department. After an optional half-mile bushwhack to the summit of Joanna Mountain, we will stop for lunch on picnic benches at Lake Dense with a backdrop view of Joanna Mountain. Short car shuttle. Topo: Standingstone Mtn.; also DuPont Forest Trail map, 6/7/05 revision

ALL DAY NO. A0801-330 March 9
Raven Cliff Falls 9:00 AM*
Hike 8, Drive 95, 1450 ft. ascent, Rated B-B
Kathy Kyle-Cornn, 828-698-3672, knkyle@yahoo.com
*Note later start time and that this is the first day of Daylight Savings Time; meet at Westgate at 9:00 AM to form carpools, and meet leader at Bi-Lo in Pisgah Forest at 9:30 AM. We’ll do a pleasant walk to the pedestrian bridge over the top of a beautiful 250 ft. waterfall in Caesar’s Head St. Park in S.C. The hike will follow the Raven Cliff Falls Trail and a portion of the Foothills Trail to the bridge, and then return with a side trip to the spectacular overlook of the falls and Matthew Creek Gorge. Topo: Table Rock; also Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area trail map

ALL DAY NO. A0801-596 March 16
Foothills Trail: Rocky Bottom Access to Lake Jocassee 8:00 AM
Hike 11.8, Drive 103, 1200 ft. ascent, Rated A-B
Paul Benson, 828-251-1909, pdbenson@charter.net
Come to hike in the warm weather at the lower elevations! We’ll do a hike new to CMC on the Foothills Trail in SC, from US 178 to Lake Jocassee. This in and out hike across Laurel Fork Gap and along Laurel Fork Creek features a scenic lakeside lunch spot. *Second Meeting Place: side parking lot of Bi-Lo in Pisgah Forest at 8:30 AM. Topos: Eastatoe Gap, Reid; also Foothills Trail map

SATURDAY NO. A0801-423 Mar. 29
Pilot Rock, Laurel Mtn., Slate Rock Creek Trails 8:00 AM
Hike 10, Drive 90, 1600 ft. ascent, Rated A-A
Les and Catherine Love, 828-658-1489, lesrlove@charter.net
P400 We will hike up the Pilot Rock Trail, stopping to enjoy the views. Then we’ll turn downhill on the Laurel Mtn. Trail and a no-name trail to the Slate Rock Creek Trail, one of the gems of Pisgah Nat’l. Forest. Short car shuttle. Second meeting place: North Mills River Recreation Area parking lot at 8:30 AM, but call leader beforehand. Topo: Dunsmore Mtn.; also Nat’l. Geo. PRD map #780

ALL DAY NO. A0801-597 March 30
Heartbreak Ridge – Rocky Mtn. Loop 8:00 AM
Hike 13, Drive 70, 4600 ft. ascent, Rated AA-AA+
Stuart Tauber and Joanne Tulip, 828-254-0824, sdtauber@charter.net
This very strenuous hike will be limited to ten hikers, and hikers are required to contact the leader beforehand. The hike will start at Graphite, climbs to and up Heartbreak Ridge past Glass Rock Knob to the summit of Rocky Mtn. A spectacular view of nearby mountains appears here. From the ridgeline, hikers must be mentally and physically prepared for a dramatically steep and risky descent (1000 ft. in 1/3 mile) to Jarrett Creek Rd. near Star Gap. From here, the hike will follow the road to Heartbreak Ridge and retrace the route back to the trailhead. Second meeting place: parking lot adjacent to McDonalds at exit 64 of I-40 at 8:20 AM Topos: Old Fort, Montreat