All Day  Saturday & Sunday

ALL DAY No. A0804-373 Nov. 9
Yellow Mountain 8:00 AM
Hike 10, Drive 125, 2900 ft. ascent, Rated A-AA Carroll Koepplinger, 828-667-0723, carrollkoepp@bellsouth.net
We’ll hike in the Cowee Mtns on a heavily forested high altitude trail that ascends four peaks going in and three on the way back. Views from the Yellow Mtn. observation tower are great – a fine lunch spot. Strenuous but rewarding. Second meeting place: rest area beyond Waynesville at 8:30 AM. Topos: Highlands, Glenville

ALL DAY No. A0804-336 Nov. 16
Mt. Cammerer from Big Creek *8:00 AM
Hike 12.2, Drive 110, 3300 ft. ascent, Rated A-AA+ Cindy McJunkin, 828-712-9646, mcjfive@aol.com 900M, LTC
This great hike from Big Creek to the historic fire lookout atop Mt. Cammerer goes up the Chestnut Branch Trail and AT. Strenuous, but the payoffs are first class: a good workout and superb views. *Meet at Westgate at 8:00 AM to form carpools, and meet leader at Pilot Truck Stop at Exit 24 off I-40 at 8:30 AM. Topos: Waterville and Hartford; also Natl. Geo. GSMNP Map #229

Scouting Report: This hike on 11/16 will be led by Scott McJunkin, Cindy's husband. Five people scouted the Mt. Cammerer hike on a warm and sunny 11/2. The trails are in good condition and evenly graded, which makes the 3,600' ascent much easier to do. The first 2 miles climb steeply up alongside Chestnut Branch to the A.T.; the A.T. is followed uphill to the ridgeline; a right turn took us onto a 0.6 mile up-and-down trail over to the Mt. Cammerer lookout. The combination of the view from the lookout and seeing the restored stone-and-wood lookout building makes this hike well worthwhile. The building interior is enclosed with windows and is a good place for lunch if the actual hike day is cold and/or windy. Expect a 3+ hour uphill hike and less downhill. Bruce.

Half Day Sunday Hikes

(Note: the following hike is missing from the Let's Go paper newsletter. If you know regular Sunday Half-Day hikers, give them a call to make sure that they know that there is, indeed, a hike on Nov. 9).
HALF-DAY No. H0804-630 Nov. 9
MST loop from French Broad Overlook 12:30 PM
Hike 4-5, Drive 20, Ascent 500 ft, Rated C-C
Nonmembers call Gerry McNabb,274-0057, gerrymcnabb@charter.net
*Note early start time. This loop hike will start at the BRP ramp at the French Broad Overlook, go up the Shut-in MST to the point it meets the Hard Times Road, and return to exit the Arboretum and walk back to the cars up the BRP ramp. Hikers - form car pools at Westgate. Second meeting place: Meet Leader at the BRP Overlook at 12:45.

HALF-DAY No. H0804-347 Nov. 16
Twin Falls *12:30 PM
Hike 6, Drive 80, 1000 ft. ascent, Rated B-B
Nonmembers, call leader, Lee Belknap, 828-698-9394, rivergypsy@sprintmail.com
P400 *Meet at Westgate at 12:30 PM to form carpools, and meet leader at Pisgah Ranger Station, US 276 at 1:05 PM. This is a moderate hike in the Pisgah National Forest, starting on the Buckhorn Gap Trail, taking the Twin Falls Bypass to view two nice waterfalls and completing a loop on a Forest Service Road and the Clawhammer Cove Trail with its large but abandoned beaver dam.

All Day Wednesday

WEDNESDAY No. W0804-627 Nov. 12
Montreat Ridges and Greybeard *8:30 AM
Hike 11, Drive 30, 2500 ft. ascent, Rated A-AA
Ames Tryon, 828-669-3805, tryonaf@charter.net.
*NOTE: Strenuous hike. Meet at Westgate at 8:30 AM to form car pools and meet leader at parking lot just inside the Montreat gate on NC 9 at 9:00 AM. This hike is a variation on several Montreat hikes, commencing at Big Piney parking area on Greybeard Rd, ascending to East Ridge Trail via Rocky head and following the Old Trestle Rd to the Greybeard trail. After lunch on top of Greybeard, we will descend to Montreat via the West Ridge and Big Piney trails. There will be lots of views and great samplings of Montreat hiking. Topo: Montreat; also MTC Montreat Trail Map

WEDNESDAY No. W0804-460 Nov. 19
Pilot Mtn. to Courthouse Falls 9:00 AM
Hike 9, Drive 60, 1300 ft. ascent, Rated A-B
Mary Beth Gwynn, 828-254-2042, mbgcmc@gmail.com
P400 This in and out hike begins with a short bushwhack below Pilot Mtn. and follows FS 140A through interesting forest to FS 140 and on to Courthouse Falls. This route affords a different view of Devils Courthouse. There is one easy stream crossing (Kiesse Creek). Second meeting place: PRD Ranger Station at 9:30 AM. Topo: Shining Rock, Sams Knob; also Nat’l. Geo. PRD Map #780.

Scouting Report: Larry Ballard who “created” this hike and I had a fine scouting hike on Friday, October 24. Courthouse Falls, our lunch destination, is beautiful. 98% of the hike is gentle and on FS roads. At the beginning and end of the hike is a short steep bushwhack between Deep Gap and FS 140A. Since some of the FS roads are unmarked, we marked the trail with orange ties, which I’ll remove on the way back from the club hike. It was raining off and on all day, but stream crossings were manageable by stepping on stones. If we have much rain close to the hike date, hikers should wear or carry waterproof shoes.

The forests in that area are lovely and Courthouse Falls is a real treat. There is plenty of stone to sit on and view the falls and the deep pool it pours into while enjoying lunch. We didn’t get a good reading on the GPS for the hike for location, total ascent or mileage. If someone who has a GPS is interested in going on the hike, it would be good to add the updated information to the hike description on the CMC database.

A note about the bushwhack: it isn’t long but it is steep and on the return trip may require holding onto trees to pull oneself up the hill. One other note: my car clocked 90 miles round trip from Westgate to Pisgah Ranger Station to the parking area at Deep Gap. The current write-up on the trip reports 60 miles. People at the Pisgah Ranger Station should expect the Westgate group to arrive about 9:40 a.m.  Mary Beth

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.