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Note that this hike has been changed because of heavy hurricane damage to the original route

ALL DAY NO. No. A0501-460 Mar. 20 Hospital Rock to Pretty Place and Falls Creek 8:30 AM Hike 9, Drive 80, 2500 ft. ascent, Rated B-A

Note later start time. This is a challenging hike in Jones Gap State Park in S.C. We will place cars at the Falls Creek trailhead past the Palmetto Bible Camp, then drive to Jones Gap State Park. We will climb up the Hospital Rock Trail – very steep with great views, walk to a famous lookout at lunchtime from Pretty Place. After lunch we will return to the Hospital Rock Trail which connects with Falls Creek. The Falls on Falls Creek are outstanding. The hike will be taken at a comfortable pace for all. There is a two dollar entrance fee per person. Please have exact change. Second meeting place: Jones Gap State Park parking lot at 9:15am. Topos: Cleveland, Standingstone Mtn. Danny Bernstein 828-236-0192 danny@hikertohiker.org

All-day hikes submitted by Bruce Bente 692-0116, bbente@cytechusa.com . 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 No. H0501-436 Mar. 20 Mt. Pisgah from Pisgah Inn 1:30 PM Hike 4.5, Drive 36, 700 ft. ascent, Rated C-C Elisabeth Feil 828-684-7819 hofeil@brinet.com P400 This is a moderate in-and-out hike. There will be a short car shuttle. If the Parkway is closed, we'll hike the MST from the French Broad River Bridge about two miles uphill and return via the Hard Times Trail.

Half Day hikes submitted by Paula Robbins 828-687-1651 paularww@bellsouth.net and Pat Elias 828-281-3253 patelias@bellsouth.net . Leaders: Mail please mail your sign-up sheets. Meet at Westgate unless otherwise noted.

ALL DAY No. W0501-442 March 23 Montreat Ramble #3 9:00 AM* Hike 5-5.5, Drive 25, Rated C-B Diane Hankins, 828-298-2870 (before 9pm) Very leisurely paced hike on Montreat trails. Suitable for anyone over 10 years old (those under 18 MUST be accompanied by an adult.) *Only meeting place: Oteen Ingles parking lot at the post office flagpole near the VA hospital on Tunnel Road (unless other arrangements made with leader before March 22.)

ALL DAY No. W0501-375 March 30 AT: Sams Gap to Rice Gap 9:00 AM Hike 7.5, Drive 60, 1200 ft. ascent, Rated B-B Pat Elias, 828-687-1651 patelias@bellsouth.net Note early start time. An in-and-out hike in the beautiful open forest from Sams Gap to Rice Gap. We'll lunch at the Hog Back Ridge shelter. Topo: Sams Gap

Wednesday Hikes are submitted by Paula McNabb, 828- 274-0057 gcmcnabb@charter.net and Ann Gleason, 828-859-9387, cowbonetail@yahoo.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.

ALL DAY No. A0501-423 Mar. 13 Pilot Rock, Laurel Mtn., Slate Rock Creek Trails 8:00 AM Hike 10, Drive 90, 1600 ft. ascent, Rated A-A Ruth Hartzler 828-251-0886 ruthmtn@aol.com P400 We will hike up the Pilot Rock Trail, stopping to enjoy the views. Then we’ll turn downhill on the Laurel Mtn. Trail and a no-name trail to the Slate Rock Creek Trail, one of the gems of Pisgah Nat’l. Forest. Short car shuttle. Second meeting place: North Mills River Recreation Area parking lot at 8:30 AM, but call leader beforehand. Topo: Dunsmore Mtn.; also Nat’l. Geographic Pisgah Ranger District map.

ALL DAY Mar. 13 Note change due to road closure. Pilot Rock, Laurel Mtn., Thompson Ridge Trails 8:00 AM Hike 8-10, Drive 90, 1600-2000 ft. ascent, Rated A-A Ruth Hartzler 828-251-0886 ruthmtn@aol.com P400 We will hike up the Pilot Rock Trail, stopping to enjoy the views. Then we’ll return on the Thompson Ridge Trail. If the snow is not too deep, we will also do the Laurel Mt. - MST loop at the top. We will NOT go to the North Mills River Recreation Area parking lot. Call leader for second meeting place. Topo: Dunsmore Mtn.; also Nat’l. Geographic Pisgah Ranger District map.

Post Hike Report: Yellow Gap Road is closed at Wolf Ford Road on the western end and at Yellow Gap on the eastern send. So we scouted Plan B, an alternate loop hike – From Wolf Ford Road up Yellow Gap Road, up Pilot Rock Trail, Laurel Mountain Trail, MST, down Pilot Rock Trail, down Thompson Creek Trail to the cars. However, Laurel Mountain Trail was covered with six inches of snow when we scouted it the week before the scheduled hike date. The footing was treacherous, since the trail is rough and on the edge of steep drop-offs in places. We decided Plan B was too dangerous for a group, so we devised Plan C and Plan D, depending on trail conditions on hike day.

When hike day dawned sunny and balmy, the leader happily met five hikers for a warm-weather romp. Before we started hiking, all hikers took off every layer that they could decently take off. The plan was to stop for a snack to enjoy the great views from Pilot Rock., one the leader’s favorite spots. However, the leader unintentionally sped past the best view spots. I guess it was anticipation or “being out front syndrome.” The group enjoyed many other views on the way up. The connector to the Laurel Mountain Trail was free of snow. So we proceeded with Plan B. Along the trial, however, we encountered many patches of scary ice, but all traversed safely. We stopped for lunch on Little Bald Mountain, the highest point of the hike. We enjoyed conversation with the new hiker in the group. She had lived in Colorado, and offered useful tips for hiking in ice and snow. The steep trek down Thompson Creek afforded views of Asheville. We crossed Thompson Creek and a tributary. We appreciated the patterns of white against brilliant blue as we watched the sunny clouds on the pleasant walk back to the cars. -- Ruth

ALL DAY No. A0501-421 Mar. 6 Canebrake Trail (strenuous) 8:00 AM* Hike 10, Drive 95, 2000 ft. ascent, Rated A-AA Bruce Bente 828-692-0116 bbente@cytechusa.com We’ll start the hike at the Frozen Creek Rd. parking lot in Gorges State Park, and hike down the Canebrake Trail to our lunch spot at the Foothills Trail pedestrian bridge where the Toxaway River enters Lake Jocassee. *Meeting places: Meet at Westgate at 8:00 AM to form carpools, and meet leader at Bi-Lo parking lot in Pisgah Forest at 8:30 AM. Topo: Reid; also Gorges State Park map

Post Hike Report: Ten hikers, including a hiker new to CMC from Brevard who decided to try this nearby hike, enjoyed the 10 mile hike starting at Frozen Creek parking lot of Gorges State Park. The weather was gereat with clear skies and 50s temperatures. We hiked in on old roads, now identified as Auger Hole Trail and the Canebrake trail, down, down, down to the intersection with the Foothills Trail. The general feeling that this hike is sorta boring on the old roads, but the beautiful lunch spot on rocks where the Toxaway River flows into Lake Jocassee makes it all worthwhile. The 225 foot long pedestrian footbridge over the Toxaway River is an impressive construction to see, and gives a good ride when a number of people are crossing the bridge. Becky was lucky enough to find a couple of yellow and purple halberd-leafed violets in bloom too.

ALL DAY No. A0501-422 Mar. 6 Big Laurel–Pump Gap 9:00 AM (moderate) Hike 7, Drive 70, 2400 ft. ascent, Rated B-AA Amy Treverton 828-298-1882 athikerbabe@yahoo.com Paul Benson 828-251-1909 pdbenson@charter.net Note later start time. This will be a new hike for CMC. Starting at Hurricane, we’ll hike the Big Laurel Creek trail down to the French Broad River, then up Pump Branch to Pump Gap, and the AT past Lover’s Leap before ending at the hot tubs in Hot Springs. Nice scenery along the creeks and river. Bring your swimsuit and plan on stopping at either the hot tubs and/or supper. Car shuttle. Topo: Hot Springs

Post Hike Report: Nine hikers had a beautiful day for this beautiful trail. This hike has it all: a beautiful river walk, interesting ruins at Runion, and beautiful views of the French Broad and Hot Springs from Lover's Leap. Fortunately, everyone on the hike must have a good love life, there were no leapers. A perfect hike was followed for some of us by refreshments in Hot Springs and a relaxing soak at the hot springs. Paul

HALF DAY No. H0501-435 March 13 Turkey Pen – Pea Gap ramble 1:30 PM* Hike 5-6, Drive 50, 700 ft. ascent, rated C-C Bruce Bente, 828-692-0116 bbente@cytechusa.com P400 This will be a moderate hike in the Turkey Pen area. We'll cross the S. Mills River pedestrian bridge, and hike up the beautiful Pounding Mill trail and return on the Mullinax Trail. No river crossings and we may see some early flowers. *Meet at Westgate to form carpools at 1:30 PM, and meet leader at Turkey Pen parking lot at 2:00 PM. Topo: Pisgah Forest; also National Geographic Pisgah Ranger District map.

Post Hike Report: This hike was a case of switching and unswitching. When it was realized that the schedule called for the same hike as was done on Jan. 2, it was switched to another routing from the same trailhead at Turkey Pen. Then 22 people showed up at Turkey Pen to hike, and it turned out that only one had been on the Jan. 2 hike, so the hike was unswitched to the original route as listed in Let's Go.

The hike went down to and across the one remaining S. Mills River pedestrian bridge, and then on a loop route along the river, over Pea Gap and Squirrel Gap trail, and then back via the Mullinax Trail. We stopped for a break at the open field at the intersection of the Squirrel Gap and Mullinax trails, where Greg Goodman explained that the ruins around the field were from the foundation of an old hotel that was used by the loggers back in the early 20th century.

The hike was noteworthy for two other reasons--the unusual 70 degree temperature in mid-March, and the large number of new hikers. I had never met 9 of the 23 hikers before. At least three of the new hikers found out about the CMC hike from the 2/24 article in the Spartanburg newspaper. Bruce

ALL DAY No. W0501-441 March 16 AT: Up and Down Snowbird 8:30 AM Hike 9.4, Drive 100, 2700 ft ascent, Rated A-AA Curt Holladay, 628-9477, caholady@bellsouth.net Start at the Waterville School Rd, hike northbound on the AT up a pretty well graded slope 4263 ft elevation to the to top of Snowbird Mt. We will have lunch, rest and hopefully have a relaxed descent back down. Nothing like a stiff hike to welcome in the Spring!

The CMC is starting a Hike Information exchange system on www.Yahoo.com which can be used to exchange information relating to hiking. This group system is intended to help coordinate off schedule hiking activities that benefit the club and it's members. For example, a hike leader may need to scout a hike but cannot find anyone to go along or maybe someone needs directional help to adequately hike a trail.

The email address used to communicate is cmchikeinfo@yahoogroups.com . The address to use to join is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cmchikeinfo/ You have to be a yahoo member (free) to join. When you join you will need to provide your name in the setup in the "Real Name" field. This is desirable for people to know who you are. If you have any questions please contact me. Don Walton