When a hiker asks me what trails they should start with in Western North Carolina, I always suggest climbing Mt. Pisgah. Not only is it a classic, but it allows you to orient yourself to the area. Mt. Pisgah is a classic and a basic hike.

From the top of Mt. Pisgah, you’ll see Cold Mountain, Looking Glass Rock, and the Frying Pan Mountain tower.

Sunday, I went on the Carolina Mountain Club half-day hike, led by Bobbi Powers. Since the climb is just 2.6 miles and 750 feet of elevation gain, Bobbi needed a couple more miles to make it a decent half-day hike. So we started and ended at Pisgah Inn. The mile from Pisgah Inn to the bottom of Mt. Pisgah must be the most manicured mile on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail in the mountains.

We went past the Buckspring Lodge site and peeked into the Spring house, just off the trail.

Some hikers call it a secret. It’s not a secret, folks. Read Walt Weber’s book Trail Profiles and maps from the Great Smokies to Mount Mitchell and Beyond and my two hiking guides.

Then we started climbing Mt. Pisgah. I had forgotten how steep and rocky the trail is.

I’ve been hiking in the Smokies for so long that I sometimes forget that most WNC trails in Pisgah National Forest and the Blue Ridge Parkway are full of rocks and roots. I have become so spoiled.

I had to stop a couple of times to take a drink and catch my breath. Since this was an afternoon hike, we were walking in the hottest part of the July day. It wasn’t easy.

Look at the picture to the left.

Now look at the quality of the Chimney Tops Trail. It’s longer and steeper but the trail quality is so good.

Of course, Chimney Tops has been completely rehabilitated with money from Trails Forever, donated by Friends of the Smokies. I wrote about this a few weeks ago.

What does it all means?

*  Mt. Pisgah is actually on Blue Ridge Parkway land. But the Parkway puts fewer resources into quality trails than the Smokies.

* When deciding on a trail, look at distance, altitude gain and terrain. The latter is the hardest information to get, but it’s important.

* Hike up to Mt. Pisgah. It’s worth the effort.

Carolina Mountain Club announced a new hiking challenge:  The CMC A.T.-MST Challenge.

Hike all the Appalachian Trail miles and Mountains-to-Sea Trail miles that are maintained by the club.

CMC currently maintains 93 miles of the Appalachian Trail from Davenport Gap to Spivey Gap (going northbound) and 135 miles of the Mountains -To-Sea Trail from Waterrock Knob to Black Mountain Campground (going eastbound). Members who hike the combined 228 miles of the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) and the Mountains -To-Sea Trail (MST) on sections maintained by the club will be awarded a certificate of completion and a commemorative embroidered hiking patch.

Please check the CMC website Challenge page for details. If you have further questions please e-mail Vance Mann who is coordinating this new challenge. You can reach Vance at [email protected].

This hiking challenge, like all the other CMC challenges, is on the honor system. As you learned in school, if you cheat, you’re only cheating yourself.  Similarly, you have a lifetime to hike these miles. But I wouldn’t suggest you take a lifetime.

The South Beyond 6000 is the oldest CMC challenge. It requires you to climb a specific list of 40 peaks higher than 6,000 feet. Other challenges include the Pisgah 400 (all the trails in Pisgah National Forest), Lookout Towers and Waterfall 100.

For all the details, see the CMC challenge information.

* an early enthusiastic start
* water and snacks
* a clear destination
* and an adult who’s going to enjoy the hike as much as the kids.

Today, I took Hannah, twelve-years old, and Isa, five-years old, up to the Craggys on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We went on two short trails, each with a clear destination.

First, we went up to Craggy Pinnacle, a classic walk up to the fantastic 360-degree view. See above. When we first got up there, we had the viewpoint to ourselves but frankly, it’s more fun with a few people around. Isa was so excited that it was difficult to keep her from running both up and down. The trail is is great shape but it is rocky and I was concerned that she would fall and skin her knees.

We came down and drove south on the parkway to stop at the Craggy visitor center where we stamped our national park passports.

Then we met Ranger Amy Duernberger, where I took a picture of the girls with the ranger.

Our last stop was the Craggy Picnic Gardens. We walked up the Mountains-to-Sea Trail up to the gardens, stopping at the shelter.

Though the rhododendrons and azaleas were no longer blooming, it was still an exciting place. So different from Craggy Pinnacle.

By then, there were several groups going up or down, or just wandering through the gardens. We even saw a couple of families that had also gone up the Pinnacle.

The morning ended with a picnic. After all, we were at the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area.

On Sunday, the Carolina Mountain Club leader had scheduled a hike to Whitewater Falls on the North/South Carolina border. Yes, it was at a lower altitude than most of Pisgah National Forest, but it was a long drive. With all the snow, the leader hadn’t scouted the hike, a requirement on CMC hikes.

The knee-jerk reaction was to cancel the hike.

No, don’t do that, I cried out. So he substituted a simple Mountains -to-Sea Trail hike east of the Folk Art Center. It was 5.5 miles up in snow, ice and mud but it was great. I was grateful to be out for the day, no matter what we did.

Good, old reliable MST.

It can rain, snow, ice up. The Blue Ridge Parkway could be closed but we can always hike on the MST close to Asheville. We kept shedding clothes as we climb.

Today, I was not supposed to be at home writing a blog post. I was meant to be scouting a hike with Anna Lee of Friends of the Smokies.

We postponed the hike last week and it was a good thing too with the snow dump on Thursday. We rescheduled the scout for today. But I’ve been looking at the weather forecast obsessively.

Who should I believe?

WLOS, our local ABC-TV affiliate, loves to hype up the weather. So I take it with a large grain of salt and check Weather.com. You can spend hours on its hour-by-hour forecast. Here’s what it said. The weather today was going to be fine, even warm, in Asheville. But in Bryson City, the closest town to our trailhead, there was a significant chance of rain. Anna Lee and I hemmed and hawed and she suggested that we postpone the scout. I agreed.

Well, if I look outside, it’s 76 degrees and sunny in Asheville. It’s 67 degrees and just as dry in Bryson City. Obviously we had made a mistake. I rarely overreact to a weather forecast but I hate to encourage someone to hike and then have it pour on them.

But spring is here and we’re not going to cancel as easily anymore.

To Hike or not to Hike. Erring on the side of hiking is always the answer.

Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail had the best annual meeting ever.

About 225 (or was it 227) members showed up to learn the latest about the MST, renew friendships, and get tips on how to hike the trail.

Mike Murphy, head of the NC State Parks system, invited us all to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the state park system.

Yes, I know, that I’ve been mentioning the 100th anniversary of the National Park System but it’s also a big year for state parks. I think we can keep them straight. There will be major celebrations at Mt. Mitchell, the first NC park, and Fort Macon, the second. We are becoming the Great Trail State.

State Parks, with lots of help, is working on a master plan for the MST. The Statewide Master Plan will create the foundation needed to complete a continuous off-road hiking trail across North Carolina. The trail may also include paddle and biking alternatives. The hired firm that is actually writing the master plan will need input from MST enthusiasts like us. See their website.

Tom Earnhardt, writer and host of UNC-TV’s Exploring North Carolina, was the guest speaker. You’ve all seen him on Thursday nights. Tom is as enthusiastic in person as he is on TV. A lawyer by training and profession, he’s turned into a avid naturalist, a real renaissance man.

Tom started by praising walking. “Walking is the most noble form of transportation.” OK. He grabbed me from the beginning.  He spoke about the importance of ground truthing. Maps and GPS are important but you have to get out there. You have to see and feel the ground: cold, wet, smell and feeling that you get by actually being in the place you describe.

He recalled his 10 to 12 year old self. No skepticism, no cynicism, no politics. His father took him to the Eastern Continental Divide around Bearwallow Mountain and explained that here half the water went to the Atlantic Ocean and half went to the Gulf of Mexico. That captured Tom’s imagination. The next thing he did was to bring all his 10 to 12 year old pals and they all peed to send their liquid both ways.

But most of his presentation was about the wonders of North Carolina. He threw out a lot of numbers, but you didn’t have to catch them all to understand why our state is so diverse biologically.

MST Completers
I had the privilege of moderating a panel of MST Completers.

Nine hikers finished the MST in 2014 and seven participated on the panel. They were a diverse lot. Two university students felt that it was a perfect trail for students because you could do it in a summer.

Two veterans scouted out the MST to see if it could be used for the Warrior Hike project. The hike is set for September.

The panel discussed what they thought the best part of the trail was. Almost everyone said “the people”.  They loved walking the road because it brought them through small towns where they met locals. There were the usual practical questions about where to stay and how heavy were their packs.

I hope the panel and the whole annual meeting convinced a few more people to get on the trail. Because at the end, you have to ground truth the MST.