Category Archives: Pisgah National Forest

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Big Ivy, a new Wilderness Area??

Pisgah National Forest

Hah! Wilderness. It’s not all in Alaska or Montana.

We have wilderness areas right here in our own backyard in Western North Carolina. That includes Shining Rock and Middleprong Wilderness. Should we get involved and speak up, we may have a wilderness area in Buncombe County.

Big Ivy
Big Ivy

Just north of Asheville lies one of the wildest forests in the East. Big Ivy is a section in the Appalachian District of Pisgah National Forest with waterfalls, over forty rare and endangered species, and more old-growth than any other eastern forest except Joyce Kilmer. You may know it as the Craggy Mountains, designated as a Mountain Treasure.

Last month, the Forest Service proposed allowing logging in 70 percent of Big Ivy, including most of its old-growth forests. Instead, a group of Big Ivy activists want to protect Big Ivy by working on making it a federally design wilderness. It’s not an easy process.

The first step is to convince the Buncombe County Commissioners to support an expanded wilderness recommendation for Big Ivy. Wilderness is the only way to permanently protect Big Ivy from logging.

Big Ivy
Big Ivy

On Tuesday, September 20, the Buncombe County Commissioners will vote on a resolution supporting an expanded wilderness for Big Ivy. If passed, it will support the first and only wilderness in Buncombe County.

The wilderness recommendation won’t affect any current uses of Big Ivy. No roads or trails will be closed. The wilderness recommendation will simply prohibit logging and development in trailless, high-elevation areas of Big Ivy where most of the old-growth forests are located.

The meeting will be on September 20 at 4:30 p.m. at 200 College Street, Suite 326 in Asheville.

We need a big crowd and a lot of voices willing to speak on behalf of Big Ivy.

Can’t make it? Not from the area? Pisgah National Forest is, well, national. Write, call or email:

District Ranger, Matthew McCombs
Pisgah National Forest – Appalachian District
632 Manor Road
Mars Hill, NC 28754
(828) 689-9694

Photos thanks to Steven McBride

Mt. Pisgah off the Mountains-to-Sea Trail

Blue Ridge Parkway, Hiking, Mountains-to-Sea Trail, Pisgah National Forest,

MSTPisgah 016AI hate the overused expression “get back to basics”. Usually it means overpriced, overprocessed foods and cosmetics in a environmentally acceptable green color. But sometimes, the saying does work.

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.

Looking into the Springhouse
Looking into the Springhouse

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.

Up to Mt. Pisgah
Up to Mt. Pisgah

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.

Chimney Tops Trail
Chimney Tops Trail

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.

Cabin Fever on a Warm Day

Dupont State Forest, Hiking, Pisgah National Forest,

Did you have cabin fever this week? If you live anyplace on the East Coast, I don’t have to tell you about the snow, ice and cold weather. But today was scheduled to be a beautiful day in Western North Carolina. High in the 50s and no rain. I was going hiking. But to my dismay, both Carolina Mountain Club hikes were canceled because of poor trail and road conditions. What!@#$!

20150222snowdaydupont003ASo Lenny and I went to Dupont State Forest between Brevard and Hendersonville.  The trails are wide and easy, perfect for a winter day. We didn’t leave until 10 am, so that any ice on the roads would have a chance to melt. But when we got to the Visitor Center entrance, the trail was just a sheet of ice.

The few people we saw were inching on the trail. This wasn’t good. But to my amazement, the Dupont visitor center was open. Two NC Forest Service volunteers were staffing the desk and we inched ourselves toward the building, trying not to slide down.

Dupont Visitor Center
Dupont Visitor Center

The Aleen Steinberg Visitor Center is small but beautiful. The exhibits are well done and so much better than the ones in most NC State Parks. The information panels are national park quality. Right now, the visitor center is only open on weekends but  it will expand its hours in the spring. It was a great 15 minutes or so, talking to the volunteers, but this wasn’t curing my cabin fever.

We drove back and went to Hard Times Road in Bent Creek. By then, it was past noon and the parking area was almost full. We hiked the “loop”, as we call it – about six miles up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, plus the distance to go up to the Arboretum visitor center.

20150222snowdaycmtail 008AYes, the trails had snow but with all the runners, dog walkers and even bikers, they weren’t icy. Slush and mud were almost welcome. We climbed up the Carolina Mountain Trail –  the photo on the right – and followed a lot of footsteps.

This was a luxurious hike, since we had our lunch on the porch of the visitor center at the NC arboretum. Then we climbed up to the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

20150222snowday MST010AThe MST climbed straight up from the Parkway. It was icy. I don’t think too many people are hiking the MST seriously, right now. But it’s here, waiting for hikers.

Hang in there. Spring is coming.

So what did you do today?