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For the last weekend of September this year (Sept. 27-28), we are going to reactivate a weekend hiking trip that CMC used to schedule years ago. Bernard Elias tells us that these trips were very popular with CMC at the time.

Our plans are to stay in the Fontana area on Friday and/or Saturday nights, on the south side of Fontana Lake, and take the pontoon boat ferry across the lake to hike some of the trails on the north shore of Fontana Lake in the Great Smoky Mtns. Natl. Park. Depending on what people are interested in, we plan to schedule easy, moderate and strenuous hikes on Saturday 9-27 and Sunday 9-28.

We’d like to find out the amount of interest in attending this trip. Please e-mail Bruce Bente at bbente@cytechusa.com as soon as possible to express your interest, to ask questions or make suggestions.

Lodging: Fontana Village offers a range of accommodations, including: •hostel-type beds ($15/night) •cabins sleeping 2-3, with kitchens ($50-70/night/cabin) •rooms with 2 double beds/room in Fontana Lodge ($60/night/room)

There are also campgrounds as follows: •campground next to Little Tennessee River ($15/night/campsite) •Cable Cove Campground five miles from Fontana Village ($8/night/campsite) Meals are available at Fontana Village at either their restaurant in the Lodge (supper $10/person buffet) or the Fontana Village Cafe.

Transportation: Ferry service across Lake Fontana is available from the Marina, near Fontana Dam. The 15-minute ride across to the hike trailhead will cost about $10-15 per person (round trip), depending on the number of passengers.

All of you should know that a guy named Cave Dog ( real name: Teddy Keiser )has arrived in WNC, planning to set a record for climbing the 40 over 6000 peaks. In an initial telephone conversation with him a few months ago ( he somehow got my name and number ) I wasn't certain that he was legit. However, now that I have met him, he is a class act, in spite of some of his eccentricities like sleeping in his van. He is 31, from Oregon, and a graduate of Brown University, where he was President of the Student Government. He is an extraordinarily athletic person who walks and sometimes runs for up to 20 hours a day. He is a very competitive person who somehow got interested in the records for the peaks around the country. He has already broken the records for the Whites in New Hampshire, the Adirondacks, the Colorado over 10,000, and others out West. For example, he did the over 4000's in the Whites in 3 days and 17 hours. He will be here for a couple of months familiarizing himself with the peaks ( climbing each of them several times ) and the routes to them. He perceives how fantastic the Western Carolina Loop is ( that's for Don ) and has the idea of basing his record on getting all the peaks with a continuous walk, following trails whenever possible, though recognizing that he'll have to walk some road in the Soco Gap-Balsam Gap area and coming off Bohlen Creek Trail, going thru Burnsville to pick up the Roans. He is planning his big hike, which will be 250-300 miles, around June 15, when his support group will come here. He has an appointment with Bob on Monday, and he will certaintly encounter the rest of you while he is here. This is a request for your cooperation and help, and welcome to him, especially in information or assistance in any way. You might consult his website, which is: thedogteam.com .Thanks, Tom

that you can click on the hyperlink hike number (Example: No. A0301-230) associated with the all day Sunday hike listed below and it will take you to the detail information for that hike. The hikes will have pictures, routes, profiles, downloads of GPS routes and other information desirable about the hike. Also, if you go to the CMC web site and look at all CMC hikes there is similar information with most of the 236 hikes listed there. Good luck and tell your friends.

All Day Saturday & Sunday

MST "Out-of-Sequence Hikes" May 3-4 The following two hikes are the two consecutive day hikes we couldn't do at the end of November, to continue a planned traverse from west to east of the completed sections of the Mountains to Sea Trail in the mountains. Come for one or both.

SATURDAY No. A0302-210 May 3 FR-816 to US 276 8:00 AM Hike 11, Drive 70, 1800 ft. ascent, Rated A-A Lenny and Danny Bernstein 236-0192 lsberns@worldnet.att.net Fine views on the back side of Graveyard Fields and of Looking Glass Rock, with lunch at Skinny Dip Falls. Topo: Shining Rock

ALL DAY No. A0302-211 May 4 (strenuous) US 276 to NC 151 8:00 AM Hike 10, Drive 50, 1700 ft. ascent, Rated A-A Lenny and Danny Bernstein 236-0192 lsberns@worldnet.att.net We'll hike past the Pisgah Inn, and over the top of Little Pisgah Mountain. Topos: Shining Rock, Pisgah Forest

Half Day Sunday

HALF DAY #8046 May 4 Christmount Ramble 1:30 PM Hike 4, Drive 6, Rated CC Tommie Boston - 686-5029 tambee2@aol.com This hike will cover a number of trails at Christmount Assembly. Good views atop Glade Mt. ONLY meeting place McDonalds at Exit 64 off I-40 East. (Black Mtn)

All Day Wednesday

ALL DAY #8035 May 7 8:30 AM 3 Best Waterfalls in South Carolina Hike 6, Drive 160(from Exit 22), Rated B,C Jack Fitzgerald, 685-2897 suejack@brinet.com Visit the three highest rated waterfalls in South Carolina on 3 in & out hikes. Best: Yellow Branch Falls . 3 miles, easy hike, beautiful setting & falls. Next best: Issaqueena Falls. 0.1 mile, great picnic lunch spot. Add a visit inside Stumphouse Tunnel. Final best: Lee Falls. 3 miles, several stream crossings, final 1/4 mile very strenuous rock hopping. Meeting Place: Cracker Barrel at Exit 22, I-26.

ALL DAY #8034 April 30 AT Hike- Lemon Gap 8:30 AM to Max Patch Road Hike 6.2, Drive 70, rated B-C Howard McDonald, 693-8258 hamcdonald@cytechcis.net This car switch hike starts at Lemon Gap on the AT, going to the present Roaring Fork shelter site. Then, one or two of the proposed sites for the new shelter, and on over Max Patch to Max Patch Road . We will have time for exploration of the sites. Easy. First meeting place: Ingle’s, US 25 N. Hendersonville. Second meeting place: Pilot Truck Stop, exit 24 off I-40 at 9:30 am . Topo: Lemon Gap.

ALL DAY No. A0302-164 April 27 Hawkbill Creek–Snowball Circuit 8:00 AM Don Walton 298-5084 grovedew@aol.com Hike 8.4, drive 54, 2870 ft. ascent, Rated B-AA This exciting spring trip will bushwhack up Hawkbill Creek, then up to Hawkbill Rock and Little Snowball Mtn., site of an old fire tower, and then down to the starting point. The wildflowers and ramps have been spectacular every time CMC has taken this hike. The hike will also feature panoramic views from Hawkbill Rock and Little Snowball and enjoyable open-woods, off-trail hiking. A strenuous climb, but the pace will be moderate. The scouting trip today(4/23) was fantastic. The Indian PaintBrush is out and can be seen. A prize to the first person who spots the Indian PaintBrush. The flowers should be just beautiful by Sunday. There is also plenty of ramps, bring your containers.

17 lucky people went on the most beautiful flower hike I have ever been on. It also was a gorgeously beautiful day. We identified over 50 different wildflowers including three different trilliums and the rare Indian PaintBrush. Once I remember looking across Hawkbill Creek and seeing about 20 acres of trilliums in full bloom. Not many people in this world get to see such a beautiful site as it is about 2 miles back in the woods and a 2500 ft climb to see these beauties. We had lunch on top of the Little Snowball Tower site the the CMC is in the process of getting permission from the Forest Service to cut the trees down on top to bring the beautiful 360 degree view back. This would make the 5 mile hike out from BeeTree Gap (Craggy Gardens) a classic hike close to Asheville. Because the BRP was closed we went around through Barnardsville and the drive in that area was just breathtaking. I got home and was surparised to read in the paper an article about why people are wanting to move to that area. I think I saw why Sunday.

HALF DAY #8045 APR 27 Tanbark Tunnel to Craven Gap 1:30 PM Hike 5, Drive 40, Rated CC Elisabeth Feil - 684-8719 hofeil@brinet.com From Tanbark Tunnel we climb to Rattlesnake Lodge. Then easy hike back to Craven Gap (with a few short climbs). Early wildflowers should be out. Car Shuttle. 2nd meeting place: Craven Gap, BRP milepost 377.4.