2009 Hikes

Bring weather-appropriate clothing, gear, hiking shoes, camera, water, and a packed lunch.

Please ask in advance before bringing your dog, as dogs are not allowed on all hikes. Thanks for your understanding.

- Meeting location and directions are sent upon RSVP.
*** All hikes are FREE to SAHC members and $10 for non-members. ***

June 6th Carver's Gap to Hampton Creek Cove State Natural Area via the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail. Led by Lisa Huff, Tennessee Division of Natural Areas, Natural Areas Program. Help celebrate the 40th anniversary of the AT's designation as the first National Scenic Trail by the National Trails System Act by joining SAHC and the Tennessee State Natural Areas Program in a hike from Carver's Gap out along the AT to Yellow Mountain Gap, and then down the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail into beautiful Hampton Creek Cove State Natural Area. This will be a “shuttle hike” requiring cars to be left at the Hampton Creek Cove parking area and then shuttling hikers up to the starting point at Carver's Gap. At the hike's conclusion, some will have to drive back to Carver's Gap to pick up the shuttle cars. This requires that you register for the hike so the shuttle can be planned accordingly. Wear sturdy boots and bring lunch/snacks and water and be prepared for typically unpredictable Roan Mountain weather. This is a rain or shine hike. For more information, including descriptions, directions, and maps, about this as well as any other State Natural Area, visit the Division of Natural Areas web site Reservations Required. RSVP to Lisa Huff by June 3rd at (865)594-5601 or e-mail at Lisa.Huff@state.tn.us.

June 17 th Rocky Fork Hike —Led by David Ramsey, nature photographer/SAHC Board Member and Stacy Neiman, SAHC AmeriCorps Member. SAHC partnered with a number of organizations to protect this 10,000-acre property in perpetuity. Local photographer, David Ramsey will lead us on along the scenic ridgeline to the interior of this beautiful property, while sharing his rich knowledge of the cultural and natural history of the area.  This hike is moderately strenuous, will be around 6-8 miles, should take four or five hours, and is located in East TN.

June 19 th High Knob Hike —Led by Kat Dunham, Naturalist and Stacy Neiman, SAHC AmeriCorps Member. Join SAHC and Mountain Air for an interpretive hike in the Old Growth Preserve easement. This hike along Slickrock's ridgeline will parallel the high Black Mountain range. On clear days there are beautiful views of Celo Knob and Mt. Mitchell, just 8 miles to the southeast as the crow flies. Expect to see big trees- especially sugar maple, wild cherry and yellow birch in this healthy high-elevation mixed-hardwood forest. At this time of year, we'll enjoy peak fall color from our lofty vantage point. The hike is a moderate double loop, will be around 4 miles, with the start and finish on about 1?2 mile of paved access roads. It starts at 4,600 feet, and the most strenuous sections are in the first 10 minutes, and later on another 10-minute stretch in the middle, when most of the roughly 400 feet of elevation change is accomplished. High Knob and the surrounding forest preserve are at the top of Slickrock Mountain, just southwest of Burnsville, in Yancey County, NC.

July 11th The Swag Hike— Led by Judy Coker, joint-owner of Cataloochee Ranch/SAHC Board Member and Stacy Neiman, SAHC AmeriCorps Member. Please join the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy as we celebrate the Great Smoky Mountains 75th Anniversary. The guided hike takes you through the lovely woods of the permanently protected Cataloochee Ranch in Maggie Valley, NC and into the open meadows where the cattle graze. We'll enter the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for a short ways, then onto The Swag property (which is a country inn that borders the Great Smoky Mountains National Park) and return by way of the Ski Lodge. Then we'll climb the Easyway ski slope and back up to the Wild Flower Garden, a 13-acre tract protected through a conservation agreement with SAHC. SAHC has protected a total of 319-acres within Cataloochee Ranch through conservation agreements. The SAHC staff and Board have enjoyed working with the Ranch family over the years to assist in conserving such a beautiful place for the public to enjoy. The hike will be around 5 miles, moderately difficult, and is for members only—join today!

July 25 Roan Mountain Goat Hike— Led by David Hall, SAHC Member and recipient of the 2009 Stan Murray Award. In 1989, the Stanley A. Murray Award for Volunteer Service was created to honor persons who have made outstanding volunteer contributions to the work of SAHC emulating the lifelong dedication of our founder, Stanley A. Murray. Please join the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy for a grassy bald management / goat-viewing hike on beautiful Roan Mountain! This summer, Jamey Donaldson, through the “Baa-tany Project,” is rotating goats through test plots of vegetation on the high-elevation grassy balds of protected Roan Mountain, in hopes of finding a low-impact method of bald preservation. Ecologists suspect that historically, grazing animals such as woolly mammoth, bison, elk, and then the cows of European settlers maintained the open balds that characterize the Roan massif. After the USFS obtained the land, grazing largely stopped, which may be one factor that has led to the encroachment of woody species on the balds. Just to prolong our beautiful day, we'll continue on to Grassy Ridge, the site of a recent ‘mow-off' designed to maintain the bald there. We'll be able to compare the mechanical efforts with those of the goats up close and personal, and we'll see beautiful Roan Mountain in the process. Those who want can turn back at the goats. The hike will be around 5 miles and is moderately strenuous.

----------

* We are grateful that SAHC's outings program has drawn more interest over the years. Although we would like to continue offering all our hikes free to the general public, we are unable to do so given these economic times. As an appreciation to our devoted members – the life blood of this organization, we will continue to offer our hikes for free.

If you are a member, we welcome you to bring a friend along for a First Time for FREE hike.

Our annual membership dues are $35 for individuals and $50 for families.

Join now and hike free for a year!

Contact SAHC at stacy@appalachian.org or 828.253.0095 ext 205 for more information. If Stacy's email address link doesn't work, please copy and paste it or simply type the letters manually. If you call and leave a message, please include your email address. Send us your e-mail for up-to-date notices of hike schedule changes.