Fontana Week-end
Oct 1-2, 2005
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Fontana Week-end |
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Rev. 1.0 issued 6-20-05 In response to popular demand, CMC has scheduled a weekend hiking trip to the Lake Fontana area over the weekend of October 1-2, 2005. Bruce Bente bbente@cytechusa.com We will stay in Fontana Village or nearby campgrounds on Friday and/or Saturday nights, and will hike nearby trails on Saturday and Sunday, including some in the Great Smoky Mtns. Natl. Park. Details of the trip are: Lodging: Make your reservations directly with Fontana Village (1-800-849-2258), and ask for the CMC discounted rate. A block of different room and cottage types will be held for CMC until 8/1/05. Fontana Village offers a range of accommodations. They have quoted the following rates for CMC attendees: •hostel-type beds: (bare bed frames, no mattress, with kitchen) (approx. $15/night) •Camp Cabins: 2BR, 1BA, with kitchen (without bed linens or kitchen utensils) ($43/night/cottage) •Dogwood Cottage: 2BR, 1BA with kitchen (with bed linens and kitchen utensils) ($58/night/cottage) •New Dogwood Cottage: 2BR, 1BA with kitchen (with bed linens and kitchen utensils) ($68/night/cottage) •Laurel Cottage: 2BR, 1BA with kitchen, with bed linens, utensils, TV, air cond.) ($75/night/cottage) Azalea Cottage: 2 or 3 BR, 2BA with kitchen, bed linens, utensils, TV/VCR, air cond. ($145/night/cottage for 3BR) •Fontana Inn: 2 double beds ($68/night/room) •Campground with hookup ($18/night/campsite) •Campground w/o hookup ($13/night/campsite) CMC will have use of the swimming pools and other Fontana Village facilities. Mountain bikes and horses are available for rental. Fontana Village has an indoor swimming pool, free for people staying at the Village. Bring your swim suit! Please look at their website www.fontanavillage.com for more information. Campgrounds are also available, as follows: •Fontana Village Campground next to Little Tennessee River (see rate schedule above) •Cable Cove Campground five miles north of Fontana Village (approx. $8 / night/campsite) Check-in at Fontana Village: We will have a CMC table set up in back of the Fontana Village registration counter. This table will have sign-in sheets for each of the planned hikes (The hikes that people sign up for will be the ones hiked) Please sign in and make your hike selections after you register. Our central “Information Center” will be Bruce Bente’s cottage. The cabin number will be posted at the CMC table by the registration counter. Meals: Friday: A number of people are going over earlier on Friday to do some early hiking and to explore the area. We will get together Friday for supper at the Fontana Village Inn restaurant. CMC invites anyone who will be at Fontana by 6 PM to join us. Meals are available at the Fontana Village restaurant in the Lodge (breakfast $8.95; lunch $7.95, supper entree $13-15). The Fontana Village restaurant will prepare box trail lunches for $7.95 with advance notice. If you want a box lunch, tell Bruce Bente so he can place an order with the restaurant. Saturday: We will make supper reservations at the restaurant in the Lodge for 7 pm Saturday night, so CMCers can eat together and exchange stories about the day’s hikes. (See note above about Friday night supper.) For a nice Sunday night supper on the way home, the historic Jarrett House in Dillsboro is recommended. Meals are served family-style and the food is good and plentiful. Take US 74 north to the US 23 South exit, go one mile, then turn left at the first traffic light and Jarrett House is immediately to your left. Hiking: NOTE: This list is preliminary only and will be revised as plans progress. Check at the CMC table on Friday to learn of any additional changes. Saturday 10/1 strenuous hike Haw Creek, Tali Gap, Little Fork. Come see the other copper mine, the one on Haw Creek. Many know of it, but few have ever been there. If time permits, we will return via the larger group of mines on Little Fork. Some moderate bushwhacking. Ferry trip across Fontana Lake. Saturday 10/1 strenuous hike Shuckstack – Lost Cove – Lakeshore Trail loop 13 mls This hike goes 3.5 miles north on the AT from the trailhead just over Fontana Dam, to the magnificent view of Lake Fontana and the surrounding mountains from the summit of Shuckstack. After Shuckstack, descend on Lost Cove trail and return to cars via Lakeshore Trail. Saturday 10/1 moderate hike AT from Yellow Creek Gap to Fontana 7.5 mls Saturday 10/1 Easier hike Twentymile loop trail from Twentymile trailhead 6.5 mls. Sunday 10/2 10 am at Marina, returning about 4 pm Lance Holland will lead a boat excursion to the head of Hazel Creek and a hike around the abandoned townsite of Proctor and the Proctor Cemetery. Afterwards, the boat will travel to the head of Eagle Creek and will hike around the abandoned Ecoah Branch copper mine. Cost is $10. This excursion was very popular when we did it in 2003. This year there will be a limit of 35 people on the trip (25 in the big boat and 10 on a second smaller boat if needed.) In addition, Fontana Village has 20 miles of trails around the village for those who want to hike nearby on their own. A trail map will be available at the CMC table next to the registration counter. Transportation: The driving time to Fontana Village from Asheville is about 2 hours via I 40 - US 23/74 - US 19/74 - NC 28. It’s all 4-lane divided highway except the last 18 miles of NC 28. Ferry service across Lake Fontana is available from the Marina, near Fontana Dam. The 20-minute ride across to the hike trailhead will cost about $10-12 per person (round trip), depending on the number of passengers and the time of return. The Marina opens at 8:00 am, and the last scheduled pickup for return is 3:30pm. However, they will pickup as late as 5:30pm, for an extra charge of $40/boat for overtime. (for example, if the Saturday Hazel Creek hike has 15 people, the round trip, returning at 5:30pm, will cost $12/person.) Misc : For anyone wishing to learn more about the history of the Fontana area, you are invited to look at the following websites: www.worldisround.com/articles/9485 http://aam.wcu.edu/hogue/index.html Bruce Bente bbente@cytechusa.com
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