Pisgah National Forest Trail Projects – October 2009

posted in: Outdoors | 1

A number of trail projects are listed on the Forest Service’s 2009 Schedule of Proposed Actions (SOPA). A lot of these will undoubtedly be placed on hold or canceled as they wind their way through the bureaucracy, but we might actually … Continued

Pink Beds Trail Relocation

posted in: Outdoors, WNC Hiking | 1

According to the Forest Service’s Schedule of Proposed Actions for October 2009, the trail reroute around the flooded area of the Pink Beds is complete. I haven’t had a chance to field check this so anyone who’s hiked this part … Continued

Craggy Gardens Picnic Area Closed due to Bears

posted in: Outdoors | 0

According to the Asheville Citizen-Times, officials have closed the picnic area due to bear activity in the area. I can vouch for that – on a recent family trip to the area, we witnessed a bear chase a family out … Continued

Pisgah Area Trail Updates

According to the Pisgah Ranger District office, in the Bent Creek area, North Boundary Road will be closed Mondays through Fridays for road re-construction. This might put a few folks onto alternate routes if you used that old road to … Continued

Yellow Gap Road Reopened

posted in: Outdoors | 2

Though I didn’t see a Forest Service announcement to this fact, I have confirmed with a personal visit that Yellow Gap Road appears to be open again. This closure was in the Pisgah National Forest near the Pink Beds area. … Continued

A New Battle Between Mt. Mitchell and Clingman’s Dome?

posted in: Miscellaneous | 11

In response to my post about the new observation platform atop Mt. Mitchell, Allen said: “Now that the old 45 tower has been replaced by the observation deck on Mt. Mitchell, is a person standing on the Clingmans Dome tower … Continued

Blue Ridge Parkway to Reopen May 15

posted in: Outdoors | 2

According to an article in the Asheville Citizen-Times (which I won’t link to anymore since they delete their articles from their web site after a few days), the Blue Ridge Parkway between the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area will be reopening … Continued

GPS Trail Data Available

posted in: Indoors | 1

As part of the new maps initiative, all trails, hikes, and rides on WNCOutdoors.info will eventually be GPS-mapped and all the GPS data will be available for download. Right now, a number of trails in the Pisgah National Forest, as … Continued

New Maps using Google Maps Interface

posted in: Indoors | 0

A “beta” of a new map interface using Google Maps is up and running for the Davidson River Area (link). The new maps allow zooming, panning, various base layers (such as Satellite, USGS Topos, and the excellent new Google Terrain … Continued

Yellow Gap Road (FR 1206) Completely Closed

posted in: Outdoors | 2

The Forest Service has installed gates on FR 1206 and the road is completely closed to all uses, including hiking and mountain biking. Originally, only FR 476 leading to the South Mills River trail was closed, but due to individuals … Continued