All Day  Saturday & Sunday

BACKPACK NO. B0904-188 Nov. 6 - 8
Clingmans Dome to Mingus Mill *7:30 AM
Hike 26, Drive 150, 5500 ft. ascent, 9000 ft. descent, Rated AA+-AA+
Paul Benson, 828-251-1909, pdbenson@charter.net
SB6K, 900M *Note earlier start time. This two-night, three-day backpack will follow the MST from Clingmans Dome to Mingus Mill near US 441. Stay at campsite #54 on Deep Creek the first night and #52 near Newton Bald the next night. The hike is strenuous and limited to experienced backpackers, limited to a group size of 8. Hikers must contact leader to reserve a space. *Meeting places: meeting place(s) to be arranged with leader. Topos: Clingmans Dome, Smokemont; also NatGeo map #229

ALL DAY NO. A0904-254 Nov. 8
Green Knob via Snooks Nose 8:00 AM
Hike 9, Drive 65, 3600 ft. ascent, Rated A-AA+
Carroll Koepplinger, 828-667-0723, carrollkoepp@bellsouth.net
This strenuous trip from Curtis Creek climbs up, over, and above the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Green Knob fire tower. Great views along the way as well as at the lunch stop on the summit of Green Knob. Second meeting place: Ingles parking lot adjacent to McDonalds at Exit 64 of I-40 at 8:20 AM. Topo: Old Fort

SATURDAY No. A0904-578 Nov. 14
Flat Laurel Creek, Little Sam Knob, MST Loop *10:00 AM
Hike 7.5, Drive 80, 1000 ft. ascent, Rated B-B
Marcia Bromberg, 828-505-0471, mwbromberg@yahoo.com
P400 *Note later start time. This is a pleasant loop trail with views of Big Sam Knob, Fork Ridge and Flat Laurel Creek. We’ll begin on the Flat Laurel Creek Trail, which ascends gradually until we are hiking next to the creek, where we will stop for lunch. Little Sam Knob Trail, with views of Little Sam Knob and Sam Knob, connects to the MST. A one-mile side trip to Devils Courthouse will offer good views before we return on the MST to our cars.  Bear hunting season - hike in groups and wear bright orange.

Notice: There has been a change of meeting places for November 14th 3/4 day hike. The only meeting place will be Westgate at 10am. We will not go to the Cold Mountain Overlook. We will drive from Westgate directly to the beginning of the hike on NC 215 just north of the BRP.

ALL DAY NO. A0904-142 Nov. 15
Jerry Miller Trail to AT to Fork Ridge Trail *8:00 AM
Hike 9.5, Drive 92, 3300 ft. ascent, Rated A-AA+
Tish Desjardins, 828-656-2191, desraylet@aol.com
*Meet at Westgate at 8:00AM to form carpools, and meet leader at US25/NC208 intersection at 8:45AM. *After the hike there will be a potluck supper in the nearby Bear River Community Lodge. Hikers are requested to contribute food for the supper. Food will be taken to a refrigerator before the hike. Please phone the leader to coordinate what food to bring. We’ll hike up the Jerry Miller Trail to Bearwallow Gap and right on the AT to Andrew Johnson Mountain. Right on the Fork Ridge Trail down to FS 111 and a short walk to the cars. Topo: Greystone; also NatGeo map #782

--Back to Top

Half Day Sunday Hikes

HALF-DAY NO. H0904-101 Nov. 8
Lower Laurel River *1:00 PM
Hike 6 miles, Drive 60, Rated B-C
Nonmembers, call leader, Tom Sanders, 828-252-6327, tomary.avl@gmail.com
*Note early start time. This in-and out hike near Hot Springs follows a beautiful rushing stream to the historic logging camp at Runion.

HALF-DAY NO. H0904-325 Nov. 15
Tanyard Gap to Rich Mountain *12:30 PM
Hike 5, Drive 72, 1360 ft. Ascent, Rated C-B
Nonmembers, call leader, Jorge Munoz, 828-658-0606, jmunoz@buncombe.main.nc.us
*Note early start time. After a moderate climb on the Appalachian Trail, we will be rewarded with an outstanding view of the Hot Springs area from the fire tower.

--Back to Top

All Day Wednesday

WEDNESDAY NO. W0904-276 Nov. 4
Street Gap to Big Bald 8:30 AM
Hike 9, Drive 80, 2300 ft. ascent, Rated B-AA
Paula Massey, 828 299-0226 massey.paula@gmail.com
In-and-out hike on the Appalachian Trail, heading north. We will have panoramic views of the Blacks, Smokies and other ranges in WNC and TN. once we reach Big Bald as well as the Wolf Laurel area enroute. Topos: Sams Gap, Bald Creek  Deer & Bear hunting season - hike in groups and wear bright orange.

Scout Report: What a Great Day on Big Bald! We started our scouting hike from Street Gap, having taken the Tenn. Flag Pond Exit 50 and traveling on a paved road and then 0.9 miles on a well maintained gravel road . We enjoyed the scenic long range views of both Tenn. and NC as we walked along the 4 miles of gradual inclines and descents, until the last half mile to the Bald with a 500 ft ascent--and the panoramic 360 degree views on Big Bald made that last stretch of climb well worth it. It is true-"on a clear day you can see forever"! This was an 8-mile in-and-out with less than 2,000 elevation gain. Please join us for a "fall" walk in the woods and experience the AT at its best. (Although the gravel road up to Street Gap is in good condition, it is narrow and steep in places - we will encourage carpool vehicles to have high clearance and/or 4WD if possible).  Paula

WEDNESDAY NO. W0904-673 Nov. 11
Coontree - Pink Beds *8:30 AM
Hike 9.5, Drive 80, 2200 ft. ascent, Rated A-AA
Ashok Kudva, 828-698-7119, Cell: 828-674-1374, ashok.kudva@gmail.com
P400 *Meet at Westgate at 8:30 AM to form carpools, and meet leader at Pisgah Ranger Station at 9:05 AM. From the right branch of Coontree Loop we will climb up to and on Bennett Gap Trail to our lunch spot with a view of Looking Glass Rock. Proceeding on the Buckwheat Knob Trail to Club Gap, we will approach Rich Mountain and descend via Soapstone Ridge to Barnett Branch Trail. We will go over the Barnett Branch Boardwalk, recently built by CMC‘s Friday Pisgah crew, to the cars at the Pink Beds parking lot. Car shuttle. Topo: Pisgah Forest; also NatGeo map #780  Deer & Bear hunting season - hike in groups and wear bright orange.

WEDNESDAY NO. W0904-268 Nov. 18
Hospital Rock - Pretty Place – Rainbow Falls *8:00 AM
Hike 10, Drive 95, 2000 ft. ascent, Rated A-A
Brenda Worley, 828-684-8656, clworley@bellsouth.net
*Meet at Westgate at 8:00 AM to form carpools, and meet leader at Cracker Barrel at Exit 53 on I-26 at 8:30 AM or at Jones Gap State Park parking lot at 9:00 AM. We will hike up Hospital Rock Trail, then left to lunch at Pretty Place where you enjoy great views over the valley below. Continue on road, then climb down the escarpment on the Rainbow Falls Trail and back to the cars. Note: $2 fee entry fee per person at Jones Gap S.P. Topo: Standingstone Mtn.; also Mountain Bridge Wilderness map  Bear hunting season - hike in groups and wear bright orange.

--Back to Top

Hike Reports should be emailed to Dave Wetmore, dwetmore@citcom.net before the Wednesday preceeding an eNews issue. Reports for Wednesday hikes during the eNews publication week will appear in the following eNews

All-day hikes submitted by Bruce Bente 692-0116, bbente@bellsouth.net . 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 hikes submitted by Lucy Prim 828-693-6580 lucette32@mchsi.com. Wednesday Hikes are submitted by Charlie Ferguson, 828-398-0213 ccf108@gmail.com and Ann Gleason, 828-859-9387, gleason.ann@gmail.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.
Leaders: Mail please mail your sign-up sheets. Meet at Westgate unless otherwise noted.