Important Notice:  If you are parking at Westgate park only in the far north line of parking spaces beyond Earth Fare. Click here for a map.

All Day  Saturday & Sunday

SATURDAY NO. A1003-369 Aug. 14
Buckeye Gap - Bearpen Gap *10:00 AM
Hike 6, Drive 80, 1000 ft. ascent, Rated B-B
Kathleen Hudson, 828-698-5208, mstish1325@gmail.com
P400 Form carpools at Westgate, and meet leader at Pisgah Ranger Station at 10:40 AM. We will start by hiking a section of the MST that leads through a lush forest of spruce and birch. The forest floor is covered with mosses and ferns. We will hike through areas that in past years have yielded abundant blueberries, and will stop to do some picking. Short car shuttle. Topo: Sam Knob; also NatGeo map #780

SUNDAY NO. A1003-473 Aug. 15
Mt. Mitchell – Maple Camp Bald loop 8:30 AM
Hike 8.5, Drive 70, 1600 ft. ascent, Rated B-A
Janet Martin, 502-494-9309, jaykaymartin@msn.com
SB6K We’ll do a moderate loop with great views, starting at Mt. Mitchell, following the MST, Mt. Mitchell, and Buncombe Horse Range Trails. We’ll stop at Maple Camp Bald to pick blueberries, then take the Big Tom Gap Trail #191-A up to the Crest Trail, and return via Big Tom and Mt. Craig. Second meeting place: Craven Gap at 8:50 AM. Topo: Mt. Mitchell; also PNF South Toe River, Mt. Mitchell & Big Ivy trail map

SUNDAY NO. A1003-698 Aug. 22
NC 128 – Mt. Mitchell via Potato Knob *8:00 AM
Hike 9, Drive 55, 2100 ft. ascent, Rated A-AA
Paul Benson, 828-251-1909, pdbenson@charter.net
SB6K *NOTE: The only meeting place is Folk Art Center back parking lot. We’ll take a new route to a familiar place and bag three 6k peaks. From the MST trailhead on NC 128, we’ll hike west on the MST to the old Boundary Trail, then ascend the very steep (800 ft. in ½ mile) ridgeline manway past Potato Knob to 6571 ft. Mt. Gibbes. Next we’ll descend the gravel road to Stepps Gap and ascend the Old Mitchell Trail to the summits of 6300 ft. Mt. Hallback and 6684 ft. Mt. Mitchell, and descend on the Camp Alice Trail (MST) with our return to the trailhead on the Buncombe Horse Range Trail (MST). Topos: Montreat, Mt. Mitchell; also PNF S. Toe River, Mt. Mitchell & Big Ivy Trail Map

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Half Day Sunday

HALF-DAY NO. H1003-666 Aug. 15
Pink Beds – Barnett Branch - Cradle of Forestry Loop 12:30 PM
Hike 5.6, Drive 80, 550 ft. ascent, Rated C-C
Nonmembers, call leader, Tom Crook, 828-670-7251, tmc3017@gmail.com
P400 From the left branch of Pink Beds Loop Trail, we will go over the Barnett Branch Boardwalk, built by the CMC Friday Pisgah Crew. After hiking the Barnett Branch Trail and Soapstone Ridge around Rich Mountain, we will descend on a Forest Service road to the Cradle of Forestry. We will visit a logging machine, a logging locomotive and logging history placards before returning to the cars. Second meeting place: Pisgah Ranger Station at 1:10 PM.

HALF-DAY NO. H1003-464 Aug. 22
Balsam Gap to Greybeard Overlook *1:00 PM
Hike 4, Drive 44, 900 ft. ascent, Rated C-C
Nonmembers, call leader, Chris Allen, 828-645-0357, chrispallen@me.com
*Only meeting place: Folk Art Center back parking lot. Great views and blueberries will reward hikers on this portion of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Car shuttle.

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All Day Wednesday

WEDNESDAY NO. W1003-367 Aug. 18
Art Loeb, Grassy Cove Ridge to Bridges Camp Gap 8:30 AM
Hike 8.5, Drive 65, 1650 ft. ascent, Rated B-A
Laura Frisbie, 828-337-5845, laurafrisbie@charter.net
P400, SB6K, WC100 Beginning with a climb up to Black Balsam (6214 ft.) we’ll follow the ridgeline to Tennent Mtn (6040 ft.) and Ivestor Gap. Then we’ll hike down Grassy Cove Ridge to the Big East Fork of the Pigeon River. Two stream crossings, one or both of which will be wet. From there we’ll hike to Skinny Dip Falls with a possible swim, and then end at Bridges Camp Gap. Car shuttle. Wilderness area hike, limit ten, so contact hike leader for reservation. Car Shuttle Second meeting place: BRP Cold Mountain Overlook at 9:20 AM. Topo: Shining Rock; NatGeo #780

WEDNESDAY NO. W1003-151 Aug. 25
Shining Rock from Big East Fork 8:30 AM
Hike 8.5, Drive 60, 3100 ft. ascent, Rated B-AA
Jim Ariail, 828-505-0443, jimariail@yahoo.com
SB6K, P400 We’ll hike from the Big East parking lot up the steep Chestnut Ridge trail over Dog Loser and Old Butt knobs to lunch at Shining Rock (6040 ft.) with its exceptional views. We’ll return via a steep descent to and then along the North Fork of Shining Creek. Wilderness area hike, limit ten, so contact hike leader for reservation. Second meeting place: Big East Fork trailhead at 9:20 AM. Topo: Shining Rock; also NatGeo map #780

Email your hike reports to Dave Wetmore.The deadline for reports is 9:00 p.m. on the Tuesdays before an eNews comes out. Reports for Wednesday hikes during the eNews publication week will appear in the following eNews--The Editor.

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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 appears in the hike description. Driving mileage is round trip, based on the first designated meeting place. Meet at Westgate unless otherwise noted.