Category Archives: Mountains-to-Sea Trail

Sunrise at Cape Hatteras

Allen DeHart, a real outdoor hero

Mountains-to-Sea Trail, Writing
Allen DeHart
Allen DeHart

Sometimes, outdoor heroes don’t just exist in books and legends. Sometimes, they’ve lived, hiked and wrote within my lifetime. You discuss and even argue issues with them and you celebrate victories with them.

Allen DeHart, who died recently, was the granddad of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Though he wasn’t the dreamer who conceptualized the MST, he was the doer. He designed much of the route, was one of the first two people to hike the MST, helped to build the trail, wrote the first guidebook, and started Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

His day job was as a history professor at Louisburg College, a private two-year college northeast of Raleigh. His drive and energy led him to hike the Appalachian Trail, and write North Carolina Hiking Trails over 35 years ago. The book, still in print, is a classic. Yes, there are classic hiking books.

But his greatest accomplishment is the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. When I interviewed Allen for the Carolina Mountain Club eNews and for my book, The Mountains-to-Sea Trail Across North Carolina in 2010, I also spoke to Kate Dixon, Executive Director of Friends of the MST. She said:
Without Allen, there would be no Mountains-to-Sea Trail today. Since 1977 when the trail was first proposed, Allen became its fiercest advocate. When progress slowed almost to a standstill in the 1990s, he devised a route and set off hiking with a friend to rebuild enthusiasm and show that the dream could be made real.

He wrote a book which allowed others to follow in his footsteps. He founded Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Through his passion and knowledge of trail building, he has recruited and trained many of the trail builders and maintainers who care for more than 400 miles of trail and extend it forward every day.

The only change Kate would make now is to increase the number of miles on footpath to almost 700 miles. As I’ve said repeatedly, many hikers are on the MST throughout the state. Almost 60 hikers have done the whole trail, and enjoy the miles on backroads as much as the trail between two sets of trees.

Allen will be forever remembered as the backbone of the MST. May he rest in peace!

From Piet's bench

Waterrock Knob with a Writer

Mountains-to-Sea Trail

How many times can I blog about Waterrock Knob?

Purple aster
Purple aster

As many times as I want, I guess, since this is my blog.

How many times can I go to Waterrock Knob? As many times as I want to or need to.

Look at the picture above. This is the view of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail from Piet’s Bench as far as the eye can see. On Friday, at 5,500 feet above sea level, with perfect autumn weather, the view was magnificent.

John Manuel
John Manuel

But I was there on business. I was guiding John Manuel, an outdoor writer, doing a three-part story on the MST. He writes for Wildlife in North Carolina, the magazine of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. He wanted to see the fantastic trail around Waterrock Knob and I was recommended.

John is obviously a hiker and outdoor person. But this wasn’t about hiking; it was about seeing the trail, the flora and fauna, and getting his questions answered. It is very difficult to hike and take notes at the same time. And don’t even think about using a voice recorder unless you have to take notes so precisely that you’re quoting people.

So we walked. I talked and I gave him time to take notes his way.

Mountain ash
Mountain ash

He had walked some of the MST around Asheville with Becky S., another Carolina Mountain Club member. She really knows her flora. But the vegetation this high is much different.

Purple asters are everywhere in the fall but not mountain ash. Here in North Carolina, it grows at high altitude only, so it’s unlikely that John would have seen it in Asheville.

I really emphasized that CMC volunteers built this whole trail – not participated or helped or cooperated – but built it all. That’s why it took six years, but look at it now.

I’m not done with Waterrock Knob. On Sunday October 16, I’m going to lead a CMC hike which takes in the whole new CMC section. Look at our schedule and come on out.

Doll's eyes

Mountains-to-Sea Trail – CMC Section

Mountains-to-Sea Trail

image_mini29The popularity of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail is growing regionally and even nationally. No surprise here.

I seem to answer the same questions about the Carolina Mountain Club Section of the MST over and over again via email. So I decided to write a permanent page with general information and a list of shuttlers.

Carolina Mountain Club maintains the Mountains-to-Sea Trail from Heintooga Road to Black Mountain Campground. Here are some hints and tips to supplement the excellent advice on the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (Friends) website.

1. I assume that you’ve joined Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Go ahead and join online; I’ll wait.

2. I also assume that you’ve read the trail guides on the Friends website. The CMC section of the MST starts at the end of the Peak to Peak Guide (Segment 1A). It goes through Segment 2: The Balsams – Waterrock Knob to Pisgah Inn and Segment 3: The High Peaks and Asheville – Pisgah Inn to Black Mountain Campground.

MST guide front coverCarolina Mountain Club wrote a detailed book with maps on the MST sections it maintains.

Look at MST Trail Profiles and Maps: From the Great Smokies to Mount Mitchell and Beyond by Walt Weber for the Carolina Mountain Club.

I strongly suggest that you buy the book – either locally from the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center store or on Amazon.

4. This section of the MST weaves in and out of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Check this official site to see if the road is open at https://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/conditions.htm.

For updates and a list of shuttlers, see my webpage, which will be updated as needed.