CMC Bi-Weekly Hike NewsCMC Bi-Weekly Hike News
February 15, 2008
| All Day Saturday and Sunday Hikes |
| Half Day Sunday Hikes |
| Wednesday Hikes |
Looking Back ... with hike reports
| All Day Saturday and Sunday Hikes |
| Half Day Sunday Hikes |
| Wednesday Hikes |
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ALL DAY NO. A0801-592 Feb. 17 #780SATURDAY NO. A0801-593 Feb. 23 ALL DAY NO. A0801-420 Feb. 24 HALF-DAY NO. H0801-591 Feb. 17 HALF-DAY NO. H0801-225 Feb. 24 WEDNESDAY NO W0801-428 Feb. 20 WEDNESDAY NO W0801-599 Feb. 27 ALL DAY NO. A0801-502 Feb. 3
Ten hikers went on this longish hike. We arrived at the Camp Creek Trailhead about 9:00. The sun was out and the temperature was cool. We hiked on the trail along Camp Creek, passing Tom Falls and two campsites. Six miles and a thousand feet of climbing took us to the junction of that trail and the MST (Martin's Gap trail at that point). For lunch we stopped at campsite 57, Bryson Place, where Horuce Kephart had his last permanent campsite. The Bryson City Boy Scouts placed a memorial there in 1931 which we looked at before leaving for Martin's Gap. A thousand foot climb over 1.5 miles provide a good workout for everyone. We left the MST behind and hiked south on Sunkota Ridge to the 3,860 foot high point an unnamed peak a little bit off the trail. On the way back down, the sun gradually hid behind a high layer of clouds, but the temperature continued to rise. There was no snow or ice on the trails. The thick cover of dry leaves still made short parts of the trail slippery. At the end of the Sunkota Ridge trail we turned left to go down to the Indian Creek Trail, a wide road.
That took us past Indian Creek Falls, which we visited for awhile.
Then we were back at Camp Creek and returned to the trail head.
It started to rain when we were about a hundred yards from our cars. Other than that we had great hiking weather.
Seven of us stopped at Bogarts, in Waynesville, for supper.
Our first choice of pizza at Nick and Nate's was preempted by the Super Bowl. Charlie. Photos by Charlie Ferguson
As a hike leader, I scout a hike at least once, preferably twice. For the first scouting, thanks to the generosity of Bruce Bente, who put together a knowledgeable crew, I was able to cover the turns and twists of the trail with no difficulty. Three days before the hike, one of those crew members,
Ashok Kudva, volunteered to return and search out the
last mile or two so that I could eliminate the short
hike down a car road. And because there was an ice
storm two days before this Sunday hike, I redid the
entire hike the day before the hike, just in case the
ice and blowdown had made the trail impassable at the
higher elevations. Because there was an unsafe amount
of ice combined with blowdown and a narrow path, I
decided to change the highest part of the trip by not
going higher than the Blue Ridge Parkway (eliminating
about a mile of climbing). The Sunday group was
understanding about the change based on hiker safety. It was a gorgeous day to enjoy the beauty of North Carolina. It was pleasant to hear the appreciative comments about knowing the trail, and putting hiker safety first. Ruben. Photos by Ashok Kudval ALL DAY NO. A0801-505 Feb. 10
Other than the high winds which started right after we got to the trailhead, it was an enjoyable trip for the nine of us. The clear skies allowed great views both of the Pisgah Ledge and the Nantahala area. There was one sad note. On the way out we noticed a sign on Carleton McNeill's house saying he had died last summer. Anyone who has hiked much in Panthertown will remember Carleton for the two friendly dogs that always heralded his approach, his affability and his willingness to share knowledge. He was a good host in his valley. Dave. Photo by Bruce Bente.
HALF-DAY NO. H0801-499 Feb. 3 Thirty-three folks, including several newcomers, enjoyed a four-mile, two-way walk along the French Broad River on the Carrier Park and French Broad River Greenways off Amboy Road in 63-degree weather. Paula Robbins, hike leader, explained plans for extension of the greenway south to the Hominy Creek Park and north to the West Asheville/RiverLink Bridge as well as RiverLink’s master plan for development along the Wilma Dykeman Riverway, including future greenways. Paula. HALF-DAY NO. H0801-278 Feb. 10 Eleven intrepid folks in high spirits braved the high winds that developed late morning and continued throughout this 6-mile hike from the Old Fort picnic grounds to Ridgecrest, a steady climb along Young's Ridge that kept our hearts pumping and our bodies warm. With efficient car shuttling, we were on the trail at 1:30 and kept up a steady pace that everyone agreed to and was comfortable with. This is an excellent winter hike, demanding steady energy output for the 2000' ascent to the highest point of the ridge - with rewarding long distance views along the way. The high winds kept our rest stops brief, and we completed the hike in a little over 3 hours, picked up the cars at the starting point, and had everyone on their way home by 5:15 PM. We enjoyed a somewhat international group, with a guest hiker from London, an AMC member from Argentina, and a German hike leader - no problems getting along! Renate Rikkers WEDNESDAY NO W0801-594 Feb. 6 With severe weather and thunderboomers and 90% chance of rain forecast and raining already, we were very thankful that no all-weather crazies showed up for the Wed 2/6 KagleStone Ramble. Bushwhacking through that stuff is a good way to shred an expensive set of rain gear. One new member did show tentatively at Westgate but his heart was no more in it than ours. He called us at 8:15 to get told we'd cancelled out. No one else was at Westgate or Pisgah Forest anyway, so we went home and did rainy day plan B stuff. Next morning we had 27.9 mm in the rain gauge. We're hoping for better on Sun 3/2. It's really a neat hike. Tom & Joan WEDNESDAY NO W0801-304 Feb. 13 We arrived safely in Hot Springs and immediately visited the Smokey Mountain Diner and warmed up with coffee, tea, hot chocolate and warm homemade pies and peach cobbler. A few of us ventured to the Hot Spring Spa for the Hot tubs while the rest of the group headed back to Asheville. We all agreed that the snow laden scenery was enjoyable and that the day turned out to be a successful romp in the woods with friends.
Optimistically
Jay Bretz. Photo by Lee Silver. 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 Paula Robbins 828-687-1651 paularww@bellsouth.net and 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. |
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When we met at Bi-Lo in Brevard we stood around joking about the
reliability of weather forecasts, strong winds having been predicted. At
lunch near High Bethel we crouched in the laurel, trying to keep our packs
and smaller hikers from being blown away.
Eight optimistic hikers met me at Westgate on an overcast raining morning for a romp in the woods. We all agreed to take our chances with the weather to pursue fellowship and fun in the woods outside of Hot Springs. I did though cancel the section of the trail with the 16 creek crossings due the recent rains and discovering on my Friday scouting that the creeks were full. Thus we started our hike at Garenflo Gap. After driving through some showers on our way to Hot Springs, we were pleasantly surprised at the trailhead to find a gentle winter snow shower. We proceeded with the hike stopping at the Deerpark shelter for lunch(see picture). After lunch the temperature began to drop precipitously but we remained warm with constant movement.