Wednesday hikes submitted by Charlie Ferguson 828-333-5165, ccf108@gmail.com and Ann Gleason 828-859-9387, gleason.ann@gmail.com . Driving distance is round-trip from Asheville. All Wednesday hikes assemble at Westgate Shopping Center parking lot near CVS (Exit 3B off I-240) UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. Some hikes will have second meeting places as described in hike listings. Please contact the hike leader if you are not sure of the meeting location. Meeting times vary.

WEDNESDAY NO. W0901-631 Jan. 7
DuPont Forest Hooker Falls P.L. #3 (3 Falls & 2 Lakes) 8:30 AM
Hike 9, Drive 80, 1200 ft. ascent, Rated B-B
Jay Bretz, 828-658-1220, williambretz1220@msn.com
WC100 This hike goes to 3 of the best waterfalls and 2 lakes in the DuPont State Forest. We will be going to Triple and High Falls, and then to Lake Dense We will use the newly opened Conservation Road to get to the south part of the Little River, across the dam to Lake Julia. After lunch at Lake Julia, we’ll hike to the old airstrip, horse barn, and then beautiful Bridal Veil Falls. Second meeting place: Bi-Lo at Pisgah Forest at 9:05 AM. Topo: Standingstone Mtn.; also DuPont State Forest Map

WEDNESDAY NO. W0901-101 Jan. 14
Big Laurel River *8:45 AM
Hike 7, Drive 60, 300 ft. ascent, Rated C-C
Becky Elston, 828-749-1886, belston@cytechusa.com
Trail follows Big Laurel River to the confluence with the French Broad River, lunch here. Pass thru Runion, which was a thriving logging town in the early 1900's. Fairly rocky in spots. *Meet at Westgate at 8:45 AM to form carpools, and meet leader at Ingles on US 25/70 at the Marshall Bypass at 9:30 AM. Topo: Hot Springs

WEDNESDAY NO. W0901-053 Jan. 21     Scout date: Jan. 9
East Fork Pigeon River *8:30 AM
Hike 7.5, Drive 74, 1200 ft. ascent, Rated B-B
Barbara Morgan, 828-738-3395, bcmorg@hughes.net
P400 *Wilderness area, limit 10, so contact leader for reservation. A stroll along one of WNC's most beautiful streams, the East Fork of the Pigeon River, which is often spectacular in the winter. We will ascend to Dark Prong for lunch and then return. Second meeting place: Big East parking area on US 276, north of BRP at 9:15 AM. Topo: Shining Rock; also Nat’l. Geo. PRD map #780

Hike Scout Report 1-16-09
Hike # 53, East Fork Pigeon River, to be hiked 1-21-09
Five hikers (Barbara, Charlie, Lee, Ruth, and Ted) enjoyed the scouting trip for this CMC hike scheduled for January 21, 2009 to be led by Barbara Morgan. Recent rains raised the level of the river to give spectacular beauty to the waterfalls, cascades, and pools we could see for most of the hike.

This hike is an in and out of about 8.5 miles, with a gradual ascent of about 1200 feet. The trail was in good shape and ice was not a problem, though it could be at this time of year. We began the scout about 9:30 and finished about 3:30, taking about 6 hours to do the hike, including stops. Most of the hike runs alongside the East Fork of the Pigeon River, with a few detours around difficult areas. There are several crossings over small side streams, and hiking poles may be useful for these and for the rocky trail. Bring your camera!

WEDNESDAY NO. W0901-457 Jan. 28        Scout Date: Friday Jan. 16
AT: Brown Gap to Max Patch and return 8:30 AM
Hike 7, Drive 100, 1100 ft. ascent, Rated B-B
Mary Beth Gwynn, 828-254-2042, mbgcmc@gmail.com
An in and out hike on the AT, with a steep uphill for the first mile, then leveling off into moderate ups and downs, with a final climb to the top of Max Patch for lunch. If we’re lucky, it will be clear for the beautiful views. Second meeting place: Pilot Truck Stop, exit 24, off I-40 at 9:05 AM. Topo: Lemon Gap

FRIDAY Jan. 30 - Scout of Wednesday Feb. 11 hike to High Windy and High Top: Keiko Merl, 828-628-2396, ccf108@gmail.com

TUESDAY Feb. 3 - Scout of Sunday Feb. 15 hike-418 in the Smokies : Janet Martin, 502-494-9309 (cell), jaykaymartin@msn.com

WEDNESDAY NO. W0901-629 Feb. 4
Rough Creek Trail - Canton Watershed 8:45 AM
Hike 7.5, Drive 54, 1800 ft. ascent, Rated B-A
Ken & Carol Deal, 828-281-4530, cnkdeal@charter.net
This is a new hiking trail opened in the spring of '08 in the Canton Watershed. During this loop hike, we walk uphill in the morning, largely on old roads, to a ridgeline with long distance views. Shortly after we start down, we'll have lunch on rocks overlooking a lovely valley. After lunch, we return downhill, crossing Rough Creek on a bridge. Topo: Canton

WEDNESDAY NO. W0901-498 Feb. 11   -  Scout date: Jan. 30
High Windy and High Top 9:00 AM
Hike 7.6, Drive 40, 1900 ft. ascent, Rated B-A
Keiko Merl, 828-628-2396, ccf108@gmail.com
A fairly steep ascent on beautiful backwoods trails in the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly area. High Windy is the former site of a lookout tower. We'll hike another mile to High Top for more views to the north and east. Back the same way we came. Second meeting place: Parking lot adjacent to McDonalds at Exit 64 of I-40 at 9:20 AM. Topo: Black Mt; Blue Ridge Assy. Trails

Scout Report: Date 1/30/2009
Hike destination : High Windy
Total distance : 7.8 miles
Elevation change : 2500 ft.
Scouting crew : Keiko, Charlie, Barth, Carol, Ken, Barbara, Lee, Paula
Meeting point : McDonald/Ingles parking lot in Black Mountain at 9:30am

9:55am - Start trail head ( High Windy)
10:10am - Reach at the shelter
Next 10 minutes were the hardest climb on this hike
11:10am - Reach to the ridge line First 1 hour 15 minutes are all uphill
11:35am - High Windy tower Very windy but great 360 degree view
If it is not too windy or too cold, we can have our lunch here
12:10pm - Reach to High Top Wind was skipping over our heads and nicely warm for lunch
Went down to the overlook on the rock - good view of YMCA assembly and town of Black Mountain
Turn around and go back on the trail
1: 50pm - Back to the end of ridge Start descending
Right turn onto Carolina loop trail
Some logging has done and trail can be muddy after scenic outlook point.
Merge back to High Windy trail at the shelter
2:50pm - Back to the parking lot

Total time 4 hours 55 minutes

Comments;

Most of the trail was wide and nicely mentained. No fallen branches
Even the temperature did not go up, it was nice since we did not have bad wind condition
Good winter view in different directions ( Sad to see the Cliff development, though )
First 1 hour and 15 minute climb can be difficult for some hikers
Lot of rododendrons first 15 minutes - pretty in May

WEDNESDAY NO. W0901-632 Feb. 18
Cantrell Lodge History Hike out and back 8:30 AM
Hike 8, Drive 55, 700 ft. ascent, Rated B-B
Danny Bernstein, 828-236-0192, danny@hikertohiker.com
P400 This hike follows the South Mills River Trail to the Cantrell Lodge site and chimney, following an old logging railroad grade. On the way, we’ll cross three pedestrian suspension bridges and a couple of unusual carsonite signs. Second meeting place: Turkey Pen parking lot at 9:00 AM, but notify leader first. Topo: Pisgah Forest; also Natl. Geo. PRD map #780

WEDNESDAY NO. W0901-278 Feb. 25
Kitsuma Peak *9:00 AM
Hike 8, Drive 60, 2000 ft. ascent, Rated B-A
Joe Burchfield, 828-298-8413, Burchfield@niu.edu
*Meet at Westgate at 9:00 AM to form carpools, and meet leader at parking lot next to McDonalds at Exit 64 of I-40 at 9:20 AM. Our hike up Young’s Ridge offers great views of Greybeard, Green Knob and the Mt. Mitchell area. We will start from the picnic area near Old Fort. Also we’ll enjoy a grandstand view of the Swannanoa valley from our lunch spot. Topo: Old Fort, Black Mtn.

WEDNESDAY Mar. 4 - Substitute Hike:
The Rube Rock hike is canceled due to poor road conditions.
Instead we will do a 9.5 mile, 1600 foot ascent loop in the Bent Creek area.  It will start at the east end of the Shut-In Trail, then to Sleepy Gap, down to the Explorer loop, Pine Tree Loop to Lake Powhatan and back to cars.  8:00 at Westgate.  8:15 at the Ingles across from Biltmore Square. Stuart.

Canceled:  WEDNESDAY NO. W0901-560 Mar. 4
Rube Rock/Groundhog Creek Loop 8:00 AM
Hike 9, Drive 100, 1900 ft. ascent, Rated A-A
Stuart English, 828-883-2447, stuengo@citcom.net
A beautiful loop hike located in the Harmon Den area of Pisgah Nat'l. Forest. We'll start at Brown Gap, southbound on the AT to Rube Rock Trail which descends into the Pigeon River Gorge. Then we'll climb the Groundhog Creek Trail to the AT and back to Brown Gap. Second meeting place: Pilot Truck Stop off I-40 at Exit 24 at 8:30 AM. Topo: Waterville, also USFS Harmon Den & Hot Springs Area Trail Map.

Scout Report: Monday of this week Alan Frank and Paul Teleki, (I believe) scouted some of this hike to see what maintenance needed to be done. It’s no surprise they found they had a lot of work to do. But what got me up there yesterday was the fact that there was six inches of snow on FS148A; the road to Brown Gap. I drove up there in my truck Tuesday and scouted the upper Rube Rock Trail and part of the lower trail. Alan and Paul had covered the rest of it. The upper trail is in good shape. Even in the snow, I had no trouble following it. The lower trail, below FS357 is another story, but I remember it now and don’t anticipate any problems. But we will have to stay pretty tight together. Also, for those considering going on the hike, I would suggest if you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle, bring it. I’m going to bring mine. I’m going to watch the weather for that area. There is always a chance of more snow there. All the snow might be gone by then, but we never know.  Stuart

WEDNESDAY NO. W0901-076 Mar. 11
Craggy to Little Snowball 8:30 AM
Hike 7.2, Drive 70, 2630 ft. ascent, Rated B-AA
Don Walton, 828-654-9904, donwalton@bellsouth.net.
(rescheduled from October) From Bee Tree Gap at Craggy Gardens, we’ll go 135 feet on MST South, then get on Snowball trail over high rocks (Hawkbill Mtn.) to Little Snowball tower site for great views. We’ll return on the same route. Second meeting place: Bee Tree Gap at 9:00 AM. Topo: Craggy Pinnacle; also USFS South Toe River, Mt. Mitchell & Big Ivy Trail Map

WEDNESDAY NO. W0901-400 Mar. 18
Ferrin Knob via Spencer Branch *8:30 AM
Hike 9, Drive 50, 2200 ft. ascent, Rated B-AA
Ruth Hartzler, 828-251-0886, ruthmtn@charter.net
P400 We will ascend on the Fletcher Creek and Spencer Branch Trails, to our lunch spot atop 4060 ft. Ferrin Knob, the former site of a fire tower. Return via the MST and the Trace Ridge Trail. Second meeting place: North Mills Recreation parking lot at 9:05 AM, but call leader first. Topo: Dunsmore Mtn.; also Natl. Geo PRD map #780

WEDNESDAY NO. W0901-349 Mar. 25
Buck Spring Trail *8:00 AM
Hike 12, Drive 85, 1200 ft. ascent, Rated A-B
Brenda Worley, 828-684-8656, clworley@bellsouth.net
P400 *Meet at Westgate at 8:00 AM to form carpools, and meet leader at Pisgah Ranger Station at 8:40 AM. Starting at the Buck Spring Trailhead at US 276 we will hike 6 miles up to the Pisgah Inn. We will have lunch on the back porch of the Inn with great views to the south. Then hike 6 miles back on the same trail to our cars. Topos: Cruso, Shining Rock; also Natl. Geo. PRD map #780