An Introduction to the Carolina Mountain Club

Everyone who participates in a CMC hike is completely responsible for themselves – their health and their safety. In particular this means being healthy and fit enough, before the hike, to go on the particular hike without damaging themselves or slowing down others significantly. Each person is responsible for their own health and safety during the hike. Each person should carry all the medications that they might need during a hike. For example, someone that is allergic to bee stings must carry whatever medications might be necessary in case of multiple bee stings.

A few new hikers may have difficulty with even our easiest hikes. We ask new hikers to call the hike leader beforehand so that the leader can be confident that the hike will be comfortable for the hiker. We want to make sure that every new hiker has a good experience from the beginning. Sometimes a new hiker will bite off more than they can chew at that time, thereby getting discouraged from future hikes. That’s unfortunate because every reasonably healthy person can get in shape, in time, to do even our difficult hikes and enjoy them. Please contact our CMC Hike Committee Chair, if you are unsure if you can do a half-day hike – typically 5 miles and 1000 feet of climbing.

Hiking is an easy and enjoyable way to get exercise. However, if you do not exercise regularly or have a health-related condition it is important that you consult with a doctor before starting on a new exercise program such as hiking.

Hikers Schedule:

CMC has at least three hikes each week:

  • An all day hike on Wednesday and Sunday
  • A half-day hike on Sunday
  • Twice a month we offer a Saturday hike

Once a month we offer 2 all day hikes on Sunday, one difficult and one moderate. Occasionally there are other hikes scheduled. Go to our Hiking Schedules to find out what we are doing. The schedules have been saved back to 2000. Occasionally we schedule a two or three-day backpack, usually in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Often, hikers that attend a CMC hike will meet others who hike at their level and organize their own hikes together.

Hike Difficulty:

Each hike is rated for difficulty. Each hike is rated in length and total altitude gain. The criteria for these ratings are at the top of each schedule.

Rated as follows:

It’s important for you to know what you are capable of before you select and attend a hike. This is easy if you have some experience going on our hikes. It may not be clear for people that are new to hiking, particularly hiking in North Carolina’s mountains. For new hikers or people who are not sure of their capabilities we suggest beginning with a half-day hike and using that experience to assess how they feel on and after the hike. New hikers can gradually increase the difficulty in length and altitude change on subsequent hikes. Most people that have been doing other exercise programs, like long walks in the hills, running, biking and sports can start with the half-day hikes without much difficulty.

Hiking with Animals:

Our policy regarding hiking with animals is that pets are not allowed on CMC hikes. Service dogs are not considered pets and must, by law, be allowed to hike with their owners. We can ask what services the dog performs for its owner. We require that all service dogs be on a leash and in their owner’s control at all times. We require that all service dogs be well behaved. If the above two conditions are not met, we can exclude the dog from the hike.

Hike Search:

You can do a Hike Search in our database to find hikes that may be of interest to you.

Find a Hike

Go to this graduated list of hikes (TBD) to find very easy and easy hikes to start with. Start with the ones higher on the list and work down until you are fairly comfortable with the ones at the bottom.

What to Bring:

Go to What to Bring for a list of items to bring on a hike.