“It’s not who you were, but who you are. It’s not what you did, but what you do.” Jay Hinze

The Wednesday Striders hikes are in range from 5 to 8 miles in length with a pace of about 2 to 2.5 mi/hr.  Please contact one of the hike leaders before hiking with this group. 

COVID 19 Policy: All Wednesday Striders will be required to be fully vaccinated including their booster shots. 

Start time:   Winter, Spring Fall; 9:00 AM.  Summer;  8:30 AM.  Please arrive 10 minutes early for a prompt departure.

Assembly Areas:  We have three different assembly areas depending upon the location of the hike.  These are Catheys Creek, Pisgah Ranger Station/Visitor Center and the Cedar Mountain Community Center.    

Updates:  Updates will be issued every Tuesday morning before the Wednesday hike.  To receive updates by email, enter your email address in the “+Follow” link at the bottom right corner of any webpage.

Note: Please do not reply to the Update emails.  Instead contact the hike leader at their email address posted below.

Wednesday Striders Hike Leaders:
Vince Castello–vincecas32@gmail.com
Vic Zona–victor.zona@sbcglobal.net

Wednesday Striders Fall Quarter 2025 Schedule

December 17 Camp High Rocks
4 mi, 700’cl, R5, $0.00
Meet at Cedar Mountain (Lunch at CM Café or the Outpost)
From Camp High Rocks we hike past the “high rocks” and over Rich Mountain enjoying long-range views of Whiteside Mountain along the way.

December 24 Happy Holidays – No Hike Planned

December 31 Four Small Falls from Poundingmill Branch to Cherry Cove
5.25 mi, 1300’cl, R7, $2.00
Meet at the Ranger Station
Charles and I checked this out in June and thought it would be better as a late fall or early winter hike. We will visit 4 small waterfalls from Poundingmill Branch Falls to Cherry Cove Falls.

Wednesday Striders Winter Quarter 2026 Schedule

January 7 Devil’s Courthouse and Beyond
7mi, 600’cl, R6, $5.00
Meet at Catheys Creek
Starting at the gate on NC215 we hike the BRP to Devil’s Courthouse. We hike the MST to the Little Sam trail to the Flat Laurel Creek trail which we follow to its end on NC 215 where we hike back to our cars.

January 14 Trace Ridge – Bad Fork
8mi, 1600’cl, R10, $3.00
Meet at Walmart or Ingles Mills River
Starting on Wash Creek road in the North Mills River Recreation Area we hike the Trace Ridge trail to the BRP. We hike the BRP to the Bad Fork trail and back to our cars.

January 21 Avery Creek – Twin Falls
6.4 mi, 1200’cl, R7, $1.00
Meet at Pisgah Ranger Station
From the Avery Creek trail on Avery Creek Road we hike Avery Creek to Buckhorn Gap trail to Twin Falls then back to Buckhorn Gap up to Clawhammer Road and Clawhammer Cove back to Avery Creek trail and return to our cars.

January 28 Slate Rock from Wolf Ford
7mi, 1,300’cl, R8, $4.00
Meet at Pisgah Ranger Station
Starting at the Wolf Ford Horse Camp on Yellow Gap Road we hike to the Pilot Rock Trail then take the connector to the to the Slate Rock Creek trail to the Pilot Cove trail to Slate Rock. After lunch we hike the remainder of the Pilot Cove trail to Slate Rock Creek Trail and back to the connector to Pilot Rock and Yellow Gap Road – to our cars.

February 4 Tanasee Bald – Herrin Knob – Mt. Hardy
7 mi, 1500’cl, R9, $4.00
Meet at Catheys Creek
From the gate at NC215 and the BRP we walk the Parkway to the Mt. Hardy trailhead. We hike the Mt. Hardy and Green Mountain trails to the Wolf Bald overlook for lunch. We finish by hiking the MST to the Rough Butt Bald overlook where we hike the BRP back to our cars.

February 11 Looking Glass Rock
6 mi, 1800’cl, R8+, $1.00
Meet at Pisgah Ranger Station
We hike to the end of the Looking Glass Rock trail to the overlook and back. We will have lunch at the helicopter pad area.

February 18 MST – BRP Necklace hike
6.5 mi, 1300’cl, R6, $3.00
Meet at Pisgah Ranger Station
From the Cold Mountain overlook we hike out and back alternately on the BRP and MST, going over Green Knob. Lunch at the Pounding Mill Overlook on the Parkway.

February 25 Ashmore Heritage Preserve
6 mi, 1200′cl, R7, $3.00
Meet at Cedar Mountain Community Center
From the trailhead on Persimmon Ridge Rd off of SC11 in South Carolina we will hike
up the Bridge Passage Trail, around Wattaco Lake to view Ashmore Falls and then up
to High Rock Overlook. Then we will go back to the Bridge Passage trail to go up to a
couple of waterfalls and make our way back to the cars.

March 4 Ceasars Head – Jones Gap (Shuttle hike)
6.5 mi, 1700’cl, R8, $0.00
Meet at the Cedar Mountain Community Center
Starting at the Ceasars Head parking lot we hike the Frank Coggins, Coldspring Connector and Coldspring Branch trails to the Jones Gap trail. From there we head west, past the Silver Step Falls and over to the Silver Steps parking where our shuttle awaits.

March 11 March 11 Rocky Ridge (Moonshine Still) Wintergreen Falls loop
7mi, 900’cl, R7, $3.00
Meet at Guion Farms or Cedar Mountain Community Center
From Guion Farms we hike to Rocky Ridge with a stop at a Moonshine Still then over to the user trail that leads to Grassy Creek and Wintergreen falls. From there it is onto Thomas Cemetery and Buck Forest Roads back to Guion parking area.

March 18 Wagon Road Gap to Pink Beds
6 mi, 300’cl, R4, $3.00
Meet at Pisgah Ranger Station
From the Cold Mountain overlook on the Parkway we hike to the Wagon Road Gap overlook. Then we hike down the MST, Barnett Branch and Pink Bed Loop trails to our shuttle at the Pink Beds park lot.

March 25 Toxaway River – Lake Jocassee (Pisgah Hikers Members Only)
6 mi, 1100’cl, R7, $2.00
Meet at Catheys Creek
We hike down to the swinging bridge over the Toxaway River at Lake Jocassee. We return by visiting several waterfalls and a few challenges along the way.