Do not follow where the path may lead.  Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. –Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Friday Hoofer hikes are the longest, have more climb, and are consistently the most strenuous of the five groups.   Please consult with one of the hike leaders before hiking with this group.  We normally ask potential Friday Hoofers to first hike with the Wednesday Striders.

Here is a Friday Hoofer Video that describes some of the fun we experience during our hikes.

Time:  Unless noted in the hike description the regular start time is 9:00 am.  Please arrive 10 minutes early for a prompt departure.

Updates:  Updates are posted on the Updates page every Thursday morning before the Friday hike, and sometimes at other times.  Because of the uncertain weather in Western North Carolina an update may be posted the morning of the hike changing or cancelling the hike.  Hikers are encouraged to check for updates before heading to the meeting place.  If you would like to receive updates sent directly to your email, press the “+Follow” button at the lower right hand corner of any web page and provide your email address.  Hkers can Unsubcribe by clicking that button on the top of the Update email they receive.

Note: Do NOT reply to the Update emails. Only use the RSVP link to reply.

Assembly:  Four different Assembly Area locations are generally used depending upon the location of the hike.  The schedule specifies a starting location for each hike, which differs from hike to hike.  The four starting locations are the Pisgah Ranger Station/Visitor Center, Walmart parking lot in Pisgah Forest, Catheys Creek Road at US64 and the Cedar Mountain Community Center parking lot.  Details for each location are given in the Assembly Areas tab. Note: the assembly area may be different from these three areas so always check the Update for the hike.

Photos: Pictures taken during some of the hikes can be found here.

Friday Hoofer Hike Leaders :
Vic Zona–victor.zona@sbcglobal.net

Friday Hoofers Fall 2026 Schedule

The starting time for the Fall Quarter hikes will be 9:00 AM.
Hikes with longer drive times will meet earlier and noted in the weekly update.

October 2, Buckeye-Haywood Gap (P400)
9.7 mi, 1886’cl, R10
Meet at Cathey’s Creek Road
Sharon Bode will lead this hike.
For many of the Hoofers this is a top 10 favorite. From the MST/Haywood Gap parking area on the BRP we hike to Buckeye Trail and return via Haywood Gap.

October 9, Various trails in Bent Creek (P400)
8 mi, 1,000’ cl, R9
Meet at Walmart or Ingles in Mills River
Kelly O’Rourke will lead this hike.
From the Hardtimes parking off of Wesley Branch Road, we will hike up to the BRP using a variety of trails. After having lunch at Sleepy Gap, we return to our cars via the Sleepy Gap trail.

October 16, Lemon Gap to Max Patch
11 mi, 1,800’ cl, R10+ Early start 8:00 at Walmart and 8:15 at MR Ingles
Meet at the Pisgah Walmart or Mills River Ingles
We will begin hiking at Lemon Gap, have lunch on top of Max Patch with its scenic 360-degree views, then reverse our steps back to our cars.

October 23, MST to Rattlesnake Lodge and Lane Pinnacle
9 mi, 2500’ cl, R10
Meet at Walmart or Ingles in Mills River
Sharon Bode will lead this hike.
From the MST trailhead to the Rattlesnake Lodge on the Ox Creek Road, we will hike up to the Rattlesnake Lodge then continue on to the MST to Lane Pinnacle for lunch before retracing our steps back to our cars.

October 30, Big East Fork to Cold Mountain Overlook shuttle hike (P400)
10 mi, 2,600’ cl, R10+
Meet at the Pisgah Ranger Station
Kristen Friedman will lead this hike. This hike starts at the Big East Fork trailhead and follows the river to the Bridges Camp trail and up to the MST, hiking over Green Knob and onto the Cold Mountain Overlook parking area for our shuttle.

November 6, Laurel Valley to Virginia Hawkins Falls
10.6 mi, 2,480’cl, R10+
Meet at Cathey’s Creek Road or Laurel Valley
Tim Thorpe will lead this hike. Beginning at the Laurel Valley parking area we hike the Foothills trail to Hawkins Falls and back.

November 13, Mt. Mitchell to Walker Knob via Blackstock Knob (SB6K)
10.5 mi, 1,400’ cl, R10+
Meet at Walmart or the Mills River Ingles
This is one of the really great sections of the MST and includes two SB6K peaks. This hike features exceptional views south from the Black Mountains.

November 20, Buckspring to Pisgah Inn (P400)
12 mi, 1450’cl, R10
Meet at the Pisgah Ranger Station
From the trailhead on 276, we hike to the Pisgah Inn for some fantastic views before retracing our steps back to our cars.

November 27, Cedar Rock Mountain from Cathey’s Creek Road (P400)
10.2 mi, 2100’cl, R10+
Meet at Cathey’s Creek
At the intersection of Kagle Mt. Road and Cathey’s Creek Road we will hike Kagle Mt. Road to the Cedar Rock Creek trail. From there we will take the Art Loeb past Butter Gap shelter to pick up a user trail to Cedar Rock Mountain. After lunch we hike back to the Art Loeb and take a user trail up to Kagle Mountain before returning to our cars.

December 4, Greasy Cove Graveyard Ridge Skinny Dip loop
10.5 mi, 2231’cl, R10+
Meet at the Pisgah Ranger Station
We hike down the Bridges Camp trail, cross the Big East Fork river then up the Greasy Cove trail to Graveyard Ridge and return via MST past Skinny Dip to our cars.

December 11, Bracken Mountain to Lowes shuttle hike
12 mi, 1800’cl, R10+
Meet at Lowes
Carpool to Bracken Mountain and hike to our shuttles at Lowes using 475c and the Art Loeb trail. Let’s plan on having a Holiday lunch. Location TBD

December 18, Laurel Valley to Sassafras Mountain
9.25 mi, 2,218’ cl, R10
Meet at the Laurel Valley parking area
We will be hiking the Foothills trail starting from the Laurel Valley parking area off of 178 up to the Sassafras lookout for lunch, then reverse our steps back to Laurel Valley.

December 25, No scheduled hike. MERRY CHRISTMAS