Looking Ahead

All Day  Saturday & Sunday

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

Scouting Report: Jay Bretz and I scouted this hike on January 19. It started to snow lightly around 11:00 AM. Deep Creek was beautiful. The trail gets close to the creek most of the way and climbs away at other places. We ate lunch at campsite 37 at the junction of the Deep Creek and Martins Gap trails. On the way along and down the Sunkota Ridge trail there was up to an inch of snow. That trail hasn't been properly maintained for awhile - it needs quite a bit of tread work in places. It was quite narrow and sloping a bit to a steep dropoff. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a problem, however the new snow on top of dry leaves made for precarious footing. I reccommend hiking poles for this hike if it appears that there may be snow or ice. Charlie

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

Half Day Sunday

HALF-DAY NO. H0801-499 Feb. 3
French Broad River Greenway 1:30 PM
Hike 4, Drive 10, Rated C-C
Paula Robbins, 828-281-3253, paularww@bellsouth.net
Asheville’s Greenway System now provides several opportunities for city walking. The leader, a former member of the Greenway Commission, will describe plans for extending this riverfront trail and other existing and planned greenways within the City.

HALF-DAY NO. H0801-278 Feb. 10
Kitsuma Peak 12:30 PM*
Hike 6, Drive 60, 2000 feet ascent, Rated B-A
Nonmembers, call leader, Renate Rikkers, 828-298-9988, rerikkers@aol.com
*Note early start time. Meet at Westgate to form carpools, and meet hike leader at parking lot adjacent to McDonald’s in Black Mountain off exit 64 of I-40 at 12:50 PM. This trail from the Old Fort picnic ground to Kitsuma Peak follows Youngs Ridge and is a steady and demanding climb with an elevation gain of 2000 ft. before descending to Ridgecrest - a good winter hike to keep warm! Enjoy long range views of Greybeard, Green Knob and the Mt. Mitchell region with the Swannanoa River Valley below. Car spotting at Ridgecrest for return shuttle.

All Day Wednesday

WEDNESDAY NO W0801-594 Feb. 6
KagleStone Ramble 8:00 AM
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 8:30 AM. This will be a moderately paced hike (expect late return) in a Figure 8 loop 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. Topo: Shining Rock and Rosman. Nat'l Geo. PRD trail map #780 marginally useful

WEDNESDAY NO W0801-304 Feb. 13
Shut-In Trail to Garenflo Gap to Hot Springs 8:30 AM
Hike 8.6, Drive 80, 2100 ft. ascent, Rated B-AA
Jay Bretz, 828-658-1220, williambretz1220@msn.com
We’ll start by hiking up the East Fork Shut-in Creek trail to the AT, doing 16 stream crossings and then a pleasant AT hike down Deer Park Mtn. 5 mile car shuttle. Topo: Lemon Gap, Spring Creek, Hot Springs; also Nat’l. Geo. French Broad & Nolichucky Rivers map #782

Looking Back......

All Day  Saturday & Sunday

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

Five hardy fools embarked on a bone chilling winter hike from Bull Gap at approximately 9:00 A.M. One wise hiker turned around at Rattle Snake Lodge due to the cold. But four of us continued up to Lane Pinnacle hastily to stay warm. Trail breaks were seldom since movement was the best deterent to hypothermia. Ambient temperatures were mostly below 10 degrees with wind chills well below zero. Upon arriving at our lunch spot at Lane Pinnacle, we were pleasantly surprised to find surface temperatures in the low 30's due to sunny skies on an exposed rock face and fortunately being sheltered from the wind. Snow drifts of 12 to 18 inches were near the top of Lane Pinnacle. After lunch we rushed back down the trail to warm up again and to avoid some of the high winds on the ridges. Nobody fell on the snow covered trails and we all made it back to the cars safely somewhat fatigued but with no signs of frostbite. The snow covered trails were beautiful but it was too cold to take pictures. I feel we all had a great review session in hiking in bone chilling temperatures and adapting our outer wear for the most protection. Jay Bretz

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

The day was cold and overcast, but 11 people showed up for this ramble in the Tanyard Gap area. We began near the Mill Spring Pond, following a manway along a ridge and then a couple of woods roads. By chance, the leader took a wrong turn, but cleverly managed to connect to the AT down to where the Pump Gap Trail intersects.

We hiked the entire Pump Gap Trail, the southern part of which had recently been cleared by the Friday crew. We lunched on a knoll and then followed woods roads back to our cars. On the way the sun came out, which enhanced the good views we enjoyed. For info, on the last couple of miles of this hike, large construction equipment is widening the woods road as part of what appears to be a big development down the mountain. We should keep an eye of this because we may have to work out alternative routes. For the record, this hike was 9.1 miles and 1,700 ft elevation. This is a good hike among other reasons because of the diversity of environments. Tom. Photo by Ted Connors.

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

We were just four, including a guest so we were able to explore and go down to the river and creeks. We walked to the second bridge on South Mills River Trail, which had been repaired after the 2004 flood. We looked at trees and explained them to our guest who was eagerly taking it all in. Our route had several clumps of American holly which you don't usually see in the woods.

If you look at this carsonite sign, you'll see that it's not a conventional trail sign. I called the Pisgah District and asked them what it was. When the Forest Service repaired several bridges that were washed away by the 2004 flood, they brought in equipment by helicopter. The sign is pointing into a field which doubled as a helicopter pad. Very clever! This loop hike might be done the other way, so that the group can decide how far they want to go on the South Mills River Trail at the end of the hike, instead of the beginning. Danny. Photos by Danny Bernstein.

Half Day Sunday

HALF-DAY NO H0801-490 Jan. 20
Craven Gap to Folk Art Center 1:15 PM*
Hike 5.4, Drive 11 miles, 750 ft. ascent, Rated C-C
Nonmembers, please call Pat Elias, 828-687-1651, patelias@bellsouth.net
*Note early start time, and that the only meeting place is the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway, lower parking lot. A pleasant winter hike along the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, with a gradual 1640 ft. descent.

Because the BRP was closed north of the Folk Art Center, we conveniently started our hike, which would now be an in/out hike, from the lower parking lot of the FAC, which was our only meeting place. At 1:15 in the afternoon, it was still pretty chilly, so my plan was to start the hike quickly before we got too cold standing around. Assembling eight people does require a little time, and we experienced some delays, but eventually we were fairly comfortable marching along at the initial fast pace I set to warm the body. There was, however, an occasional wind blast that was uncomfortable. We walked up past the Lunch Rock (Haw Creek Overlook - much too windy to stop there) and on to the next level area where we stopped briefly for a snack.

After our snack, I planned to turn around and head back, leaving the trail at a convenient exit to walk along the BRP. However, Barth Brooker suggested that we could continue north on the trail and reach the BRP quicker than heading back along the trail. Glad we took his suggestion, because we then passed through a lovely winter scene of mountain laurels amidst snow covered grounds. We hadn't seen this much snow on the trail earlier, so this was my "hiking in the snow" experience. We soon found a path to the BRP and had a fast-paced walk back to the FAC. In all, it took around three hours. Pat

HALF-DAY NO. H0801-485 Jan. 27
Old U.S. 70 and the Railroad 1:00 PM*
Hike 5, Drive 60, 1000 ft ascent, Rated C-B
Nonmembers, call leader, Gail Lamb, 828-350-0450, galmb46@aol.com
*Note early start time. We will walk up on old U.S. 70, now blocked off from traffic, to Swannanoa Gap, where we will enjoy a view of the valley, the railroad and tunnel, featured in The Road by John Ehle, a book about building the railroad up to Swannanoa Gap. Second meeting place: Parking lot adjacent to McDonald’s in Black Mountain at exit 64 of I-40 at 1:20 PM. Topos: Old Fort, Black Mountain

A beautiful, sunny day was enjoyed by 26 hikers for a 5 1/2 mile walk up historic U.S. 70. This road is closed to motor traffic and gives access to railroad tunnels and some long distance views. We had to walk carefully over some snow and icy areas. We had an unexpected experience of standing next to the tracks and one tunnel in sight of 2 other tunnels when a train came. Amazing timing! Danny, thanks for introducing me to this hike. I wish we had your historian along. Gail. Photos by Bruce Bente.

Wednesday

WEDNESDAY NO W0801-511 Jan. 23
Florence Nature Preserve 8:30 AM
Hike 8, Drive 40, 1000 ft. ascent, Rated B-B
Don Walton, 828-654-9904, donwalton@bellsouth.net
Walk all of the trails in the new 600+-acre Florence Nature Preserve that may become part of a larger plan to establish a new NC State Park in the Lake Lure area. This hike has easy loops with moderate climbs. Second Meeting Place: Nita's Grocery in Gerton, near the Preserve at 9:00 AM. Topo: Bat Cave; also Florence Nature Preserve Trail Map

Twelve hikers showed up for a beautiful day sandwiched between two not so nice days. We walked all of the mapped trails in the preserve. We only needed to duplicate 3 small sections of trail yielding a total of 7 miles to hike all of the trails. We had 4 hikers who had not been to the preserve before making it a nice way to become familiar with the area. Don Walton. Photo by Don Walton.

WEDNESDAY NO W0801-278 Jan. 30
Kitsuma Peak 9:00 AM
Hike 8, Drive 25, 2200 ft. ascent, Rated B-A
Ken and Carol Deal, 828-281-4530, cnkdeal@charter.net
*Only meeting place: Parking lot next to McDonalds at exit 64 of I-40 at 9:00 AM. Our hike up Young’s Ridge offers great views of Greybeard, Green Knob and the Mt. Mitchell area. We will start from the picnic area near Old Fort. Also we’ll enjoy a grandstand view of the Swannanoa valley from our lunch spot. Topos: Old Fort, Black Mtn