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Start 2026 with a CMC Adventure!
Greetings Members & Friends,
CMC is proud to announce we are now 1,400 members strong! What a way to start the year!
For many members, an occasional hike or trail workday may serve them well and that’s great, we’re glad to be here for you when it works for you to participate. As we move into 2026, I’d like to remind you about all the offerings of a CMC membership and outline several ways you can get involved in your club, perhaps in a new way for you.
Take a Hike
The length of our hikes and levels of difficulty vary, allowing something for everyone. Click here for hike schedule.
Join a Hiking Challenge
So many to choose from, ask a fellow CMC Member to join you! Learn more here.
Take a Trail Run
A new category for CMC this year – Trail Running.
Join our Conservation Team
Collaborate to conserve our trail systems and the ecosystems that surround them. Click here to email our team.
Join our Membership Team
Engaging and retaining CMC members. Click here to email our team.
Maintain a Trail
We are responsible for maintaining 440 miles of trails in Western North Carolina. We have multiple crews going out six days a week. Or join us for one of these specialized workdays or crews. Click here to email our team.
2026 Quarterly Workdays
- Saturday, April 25th – Pisgah Project Day
- Saturday, June 6th – National Trails Day
- Saturday, August 15th
- Saturday, September 26th – National Public Lands Day
2026 Remote Overnight Crews
- April 18/19 – Appalachian Trial
- June 27/28 – Shining Rock Wilderness
- October 10/11 – Appalachian Trial
Preparedness Team
New Team for CMC this year – includes Search and Rescue and specialized volunteer and member training. Click here to email our team.
Volunteer with us in a variety of ways Click here for more information.
We invite you to start your 2026 adventure with CMC—connecting with nature and preserving it for the future.
See you on the trail!
Karen Schultz, President
CMC and ATC Build Historic Staircase at Green Corner Road
These steps were built with heart and soul. May they be enjoyed forever!
In June 2025 a torrential flood raced down Green Corner Road from a microburst on Snowbird Mountain. The flood destroyed the road, unearthing 8 foot diameter culverts. It inundated the Standing Bear hostel, damaging some buildings and destroying others. It overwhelmed I-40 closed it for 10 days. And it heavily damaged the bottom of a masonry staircase rising from Green Corner Road on the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) near the beginning of the Carolina Mountain Club (CMC) section.
Art Loeb Challange
Patch Design Competition
To mark the launch of their new challenge, we’re calling on artists, hikers, and maintainers in our community to help define the visual identity of the challenge.
Submit an original patch design inspired by the Art Loeb Trail – its terrain, history, culture, or the spirit of those who take it on. The winning design will become the official Art Loeb Thru-Hike Challenge patch, revealed at our Spring Launch Party. Design submissions are open now. Deadline: February 15th, 2026.
Check out the Patch Design Competition Guidelines for rules and submission criteria.
Whether you hike, maintain, design, or all three, this is your invitation to be part of something lasting.
Stay tuned and keep your boots by the bed, the trail is calling.
Hike Leaders’ Appreciation & Education
Dinner – Save the Date!
Attention all Hike Leaders!! The annual Hike Leaders’ Appreciation and Education Dinner has been confirmed for Friday evening, February 27, 2026 at the Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park. Always a fun time, this event is for any hike leader who will have led or co-led a hike during 2025 or the first quarter of 2026. CMC Council members are invited as well. Our featured speaker will be CMC’s own superstar A.T. Maintenance Supervisor, Paul Curtain, and all trail crew leaders will be invited too! Be sure to mark your calendars and look for your invitation in January.
Save the Dates
Friday, February 27th – Hike Leaders Dinner
Saturday, May 23rd – Spring Social
Saturday, September 12th – Maintainers Picnic
Saturday, November 14th – Annual Meeting and Dinner
Volunteer Opportunities
The Club is currently seeking both section maintainers and members for our weekly trail crews.
Section Maintainers “adopt” a portion of trail and are responsible for tasks such as quarterly walk-throughs, routine maintenance (including tread work, trimming, and clearing water diversions), and reporting any downed trees or other trail obstructions.
Weekly crew members join scheduled group outings to help with a variety of trail maintenance projects. It’s a great way to learn trail skills, meet other volunteers, and make a meaningful impact.
Like to join a weekly crew or become a section maintainer? Like more information?
