NC High Peaks Trail Assn and Friends of Mt Mitchell State Park

Celebrate National Trails Day on Saturday, June 2 by joining the NC High Peaks Trail Association for one of two hikes near Mt. Mitchell.

A strenuous hike of 4.6 miles will climb 6,320-foot Blackstock Knob as hikers go from Mt. Mitchell Road off the Blue Ridge Parkway to Walker Knob Overlook. This hike will involve a climb of around 1,000 feet but offers tremendous views from the high ridge.

All members and the public are welcome to join the NC High Peaks Board of Directors for our next meeting on Thursday, May 17 at 9 am.  We will be meetin in a new location, the community room at Untied Community Bank which is on the corner of US 19E and NC 197N. We will review all our recent hikes, workdays and other topics.  Please join us if you can.

Join the NC High Peaks Trail Association for a fun hike May 5 from the summit of Mt. Mitchell down to an historic railroad grade that once carried timber and tourists from the highest peak in the eastern U.S.

Jack Kaeck will give a slide presentation on the birds of the Sax Zim Bog.  This mature bog is important wintering habitat for Great Gray Owl, Northern Hawk Owl, White-winged Crossbill, Pine Grosbeak, Common Redpoll and Hoary Redpoll.  Particular attention is given to the habitat of both the three-toed and the black-backed woodpeckers.  Great Grey owls and martens (weasel family) are also considered.  To read more about the bog, go to saxzim.org.  The bog is an hour northwest of Dulut

Join the NC High Peaks Trail Association for one of two adventurous hikes on Mt. Mitchell on Saturday, April 28. The hikes have been repeatedly postponed due to weather and road closures.

The strenuous hike will start at the Black Mountain Campground and climb 6 miles and 3,700 feet to the summit of the East’s highest peak, while the easier hike will start at the Mt. Mitchell State Park Ranger office and proceed about 4.3 miles to the summit, climbing about 700 feet.

All members and the public are welcome to join the NC High Peaks Board of Directors for our next meeting on Thursday, April 19 at 9 am.  We will be meeting upstairs at Appalachian Java on West Main St. The next few weeks will be very busy with hikes in the Celo Community and the Black Mountains, volunteer opportunities on the Blue Ridge Parkway and Mount Mitchell State Park and more.  We will update all these topics on Thursday.

Celebrate Earth Day on Sunday, April 22nd high atop the tallest mountain in the Eastern U.S. by joining in a spring clean-up work day at Mount Mitchell State Park.

Any and all are invited to help remove trash and metal from an old dump site on Commissary Ridge near the junction of the park’s two most popular hiking trails, the Commissary Trail and the Mount Mitchell Trail.

Volunteers are asked to bring work gloves, sturdy footwear, snacks, water, lunch and layers of clothing because temperatures on Mt. Mitchell can often be surprisingly cold.

Join the N.C. High Peaks Trail Association for a special treat April 21 as long-time South Toe hiker Randy Raskin leads a five-mile jaunt around the Celo Community. This mostly flat hike should come as Spring is fully upon us.

The hike is rated as moderate and will proceed through pastures, woodlands, old road beds and creek-side trails. If the weather is clear it should offer some of the best views of the Black Mountains available in the South Toe River valley.

Attention: Hikers and Birders!

We will have the opportunity to observe migrating birds from the deck of the Green Knob Fire Tower on Saturday, April 14.   The tower will be open from 8-Noon.  The spring migration should be well under way by then and the weather should be getting springy as well.