The Asheville Camino

The WNC Chapter of American Pilgrims on the Camino is a very active group.  In an effort to create a local example of The Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St. James, a 17-mile route has been established in Asheville - the Asheville Camino.  Today, my wife Janice, my sister Priscilla, and I joined Danny Bernstein, Mark Cobb and Rob in walking the AVL Camino.  In addition to walking the route, Danny was recording turn-by-turn directions so others can follow the route through downtown Asheville and surrounding neighborhoods.  Like the Camino in Spain, not all the AVL Camino is on city streets. As you will see in the description below, part of the route follows greenways and quiet streets through neighborhoods.  Also like the Camino, the route passes by coffee shops, restaurants and other eateries.

First, an overview of the route that begins and ends at the Asheville Visitor Center on Montford Road and I-240.  As the map shows, there are two loops that join to make a meandering 17-mile walk.  The route is relatively flat along and near the French Broad River, but the second loop climbs about 1,000 feet from the area near the hospitals to downtown.  

The AVL Camino makes a large loop south and west of downtown, then returns to downtown via the smaller loop.

From the Visitor Center a one-mile walk down Haywood St. and Clingman Ave. brings you to the River Arts District and views across the French Broad River and the New Belgium Brewery.  Another mile takes you across the French Broad and on the French Broad River Greenway.

Entering the RAD.

New Belgium Brewery across the French Broad River.

Entrance to the greenway.

On the greenway.

The next few miles were along the French Broad River Greenway, partly paved and partly unpaved as we made our way along the river.  The greenway connects two parks, the French Broad River Park and Carrier Park.  As the greenway continues, the park merges with the old Asheville Speedway on Amboy Road.  Near there we found Edna's, a great stop for coffee or tea at about the 4 mile mark.  Like the Camino, places that offer food and drink are popular.

Edna's for coffee. 

Wall art at Edna's.

Memorial to bygone days.

Asheville Camino peregrinos on the French Broad River Greenway.

At mile 6 we reached the end of the greenway and began walking on Hominy Creek Road, passing under the overpasses of I-40, Brevard Road, and I-240.  At Brevard Road there was a good example of older and newer infrastructure.  The Brevard Road overpass was high above an older bridge that once carried traffic over Hominy Creek.  You see both bridges in the photo below.

Older and newer infrasturcture.

The next mile was on the Hominy Creek Greenway along the creek.  This greenway is unpaved and was muddy in places.  At the end of the greenway we climbed along some residential streets in the Malvern Hills neighborhood.  The houses were a mix of older homes and new ones.  Several homes were updated with new facades, siding and trim work.  Another mile brought us to Haywood Road, the main thoroughfare through trendy West Asheville with its shops, restaurants, and coffee shops. It was almost lunchtime, but we pressed on to get back to the River Arts District where we planned to eat.

After 11 miles from the start, we were back in the RAD and ready to eat lunch at White Duck Tacos.  Fish tacos and chips & salsa hit the spot.  

As we finished lunch the rain began to fall.  We got our rain gear and continued on, knowing the biggest climbs were ahead.  Our walk took us by Mission Hospital and then a steep climb up Beaucatcher Mountain.  Downtown Asheville came into view as we neared the top.

City Hall and Buncombe County Building through the trees.

We descended into town and soon were on Pack Square.  Knowing we were within a mile or so of the end we stopped by French Broad Chocolate Lounge for a sweet snack.

Asheville City Hall

Sweet treat.

At mile 16 we reached the Basilica of St. Lawrence, a fitting last stop on the AVL Camino.  The basilica is an architectural gem.  

The Basilica

Short walk brought us back to the visitor center.  The final stats were 16.9 miles, 1,500 ft. of elevation gain and just over 8 hours of walking.  Not bad considering stops for coffee, lunch, and dessert.

The AVL Camino is a good mix of city streets, greenways, and interesting neighborhoods.  Once directions are finalized, it will be another way to see the city and its environs and to get a feel for what it is like to walk the Camino, if only for one day.

Sassafras Mountain - South Carolina's Highpoint

The subtitle for this post is, "It's a hike in South Carolina, how steep can it be?"  
The short answer is, "STEEP, in places!"

The Wednesday hike with the Carolina Mountain Club  was a 9-mile hike to Sassafras Mountain on the Foothills Trail in South Carolina.  The term foothills is a bit deceiving.  While the 76-mile Foothills Trail in North and South Carolina does thread along the foothills, it also climbs up and down the Blue Ridge Escarpment, meaning steep climbs and descents.  Over the 9 miles (4.5 miles in/out) we had an elevation gain of over 2,500 feet, as well as an equal elevation loss.  Like most trails, some of the elevation gain came in steep stretches over a short distance.

The temperature as already in the low 60s when we started the hike at 10:00 and under the bright sun,  and it warmed from there.  Layers came off quickly as we hiked, and soon we were in T-shirts and some in shorts - how unusual for January 18!  After several damp, overcast days, it was good to see the sun.

Blue sky at the trailhead.

4.5 miles to the SC highpoint.

A short way into the hike and the steps began.

Climbing began almost immediately.  The Foothills Trail was in very good shape.  There were no blowdowns to climb over, very little brush along the trail, and the tread was good.  In several places steps aided the steep sections.  The Foothills Trail Conference does a very good job maintaining the trail.

At one point, we climbed a particularly steep section. The picture below was taken from the trail just after a sharp switchback, well above the heads of the hikers below.

Steps on the trail below.

As we climbed, the views began to open up.  Winter hiking allows for views through the trees, and we were treated along the way.

View along the trail.

Boulders off the trail.

After 4.5 miles, we reached the summit of Sassafras Mountain.  At 3,353 feet, it is not as imposing as other state highpoints, but it does provide panoramic views spanning 270 degrees.  The summit had been logged, and there were still logging debris around, and a communication tower gave the area a utilitarian look.  Several rocks provided great seating for lunch and the views to the North, East, and West.

The marker at the summit. We were surprised to see that the NC/SC state line crosses the peak.

View northeast. Can you pick out Mt. Pisgah?  (Sharpest peak just right of center)

View north. Mt. Hardy is tall, rounded peak on left.

 To west we could see large lakes: Lake Jocassee, Lake Keowee, and in the distance, Lake Hartwell.

We returned by the same trail, carefully negotiating all the steep descents and steps.  It was beautiful day to hike in the woods and the clear weather gave us spectacular views from Sassafras Mountain.

Hiking the Asbury Trail

Over a year ago several of us hiked the Cataloochee Divide Trail from Cove Creek Gap to Hemphill Bald.  Upon returning to the car, I noticed a trail and sign across the road from the trailhead.  It wasn't an official GSMNP trail sign, but a hand-lettered sign, "Asbury Trail."  I did some research online and found the trail partly follows the boundary between the GSMNP and National Forest Land, drops down to Cataloochee Creek and then up to Mt. Sterling Gap.  As the name suggests, the trail has a Methodist connection.  Bishop Francis Asbury used the trail in 1810 as he crossed the mountains on his circuit.  The trial was called the Old Cataloochee Trail before taking the name it has today. 

Last Wednesday, five of us decided to hike part of the Asbury Trail starting at Cove Creek Gap.  We waited until all leaves were off the trees to maximize views and to ensure limited undergrowth on the trail.  It was a wet start with mist and fog and the temperature was 37 degrees when we began hiking.  Added to that was a stiff breeze.  Rich, Randy, Beth, Priscilla and I started up the trail noting the yellow blazes along the way. Like the Cataloochee Divide Trail, the Asbury Trail follows the park boundary, often marked by an old fence.  It continues north for about 2 miles, at times on the ridge and sometimes dropping below it.

Asbury Trail along the boundary fence.

Several boundary markers were affixed to trees. This one seems to be slowly eaten by the tree.

The trail had the feel of a Smokies trail even though it is not a park-maintained trial.  It is not on the official trail map, nor is it one of the Smokies 900 trails.  It is used by the Boy Scouts and I assume they are the maintainers of the trail.  A yellow blaze marked the trail, ubiquitously in some stretches and less so in others.  The trail was discernible most of the time, although covered deeply with leaves.  We climbed over, under, through and around many downed trees the entire way, and we cleared many smaller branches and sticks from the trail as we hiked.  Speaking of blazes, on one section we could see five or six blazes in a short stretch (photo below).  We imagined several boy scouts armed with yellow paint being told to "blaze the trail" - which they did!

Count the blazes!

By far the greatest problem with the trail is the sloughing on the downhill side.  It is eroded in places and hiking on the sloping angle made footing dicey in places.  

Along the divide on the park boundary there were a couple faint trails to the right and a dirt road on the Forest Service side.  Occasionally we saw an old gate in the fence.  Also along the way we saw what we thought was a boundary or marker tree fashioned by Native Americans.

 

Gate through the boundary fence.

Closeup of the gate hinge.

Boundary or marker tree?

Due to the fog we missed many views along the ridge.  After two miles we came to the spot where the park boundary continues north and the Asbury Trail goes left and descends to Cataloochee Creek. 

A sign for the trail pointed left. It was bolted on to a post, but the Boy Scouts added a cord lashing to further secure it.  We imagined one of the scouts was practicing knot tying.  Rich added an extra hitch in the two half hitches knot, so we awarded him the Knot Tying Merit Badge.

Rich's knot.

How many two half hitches?

In a gap on the trail we saw a road on one side.  The map indicates it goes down to Sal Patch Gap where Cove Creek Road, Cataloochee Road and NC 284 toward Cosby meet.  At that end a gate closes this road off.  It just seems to end abruptly several feet below the trail.  What it once connected is unclear, unless it was used by people living here before the park.

The road observed from the trail.

It was a steep descent toward Cataloochee Creek, but the sun burned through the fog.  At a side creek we decided to turn back rather than go all the way to Cataloochee Creek. Despite the sun it remained cold and we wanted to climb back up to the divide before eating lunch.  Several steep climbs, each ending with the false hope of reaching the ridge, eventually brought us to the top.  We found a sunny spot with a view for lunch, then retraced our steps along the divide back to Cove Creek Gap. On the return trip we saw the views that were socked in earlier.

Part of the reason for hiking the trail was to scout it for a CMC hike.  With the downed trees and the general condition of the trail we decided not to pursue that idea.  A more rewarding hike on the Cataloochee Divide Trail lies just across the gap from the Asbury Trail.  I do plan to hike the other end of the Asbury Trail from Mt. Sterling Gap to Cataloochee Creek at some point to see that side of the valley, but that is for another day.

We reached the car after 7 miles and over 2,400 ft. of elevation gain; quite a climb for what appeared to be a ridge hike.  It was 38 degrees when we left the trailhead.