“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 Sav-Mor Grocery Brevard, 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 2026 Schedule

October 7 Big Sam
6.7 mi, 1100’cl, R7, $6.00
Meet at Pisgah Ranger Station
Starting at Big Sam parking we make a loop via the road then MTS, Little Sam, Flat Laurel Creek and Sam Knob trails and end up at lunch atop one of the twin peaks before returning to our cars via the meadow.

October 14 Coontree – Bennett Gap – Perry Cove loop
6.7 mi, 1600’cl, R9, $1.00
Meet at Pisgah Ranger Station
From the Coontree parking lot on US276 we hike the south side of the Coontree loop trail to the Bennett Gap trail and turn right down to Perry Road, then Perry Cove to Saddle Gap. We then hike the Bennett Gap trail past Saddle Gap to one of overlooks for lunch. We return to our cars by hiking the north side of the Coontree loop.

October 21 Caesars Head–Ravencliff Falls
6.4 mi, 1400’cl, R8, $1.00
Meet at the Cedar Mountain Community parking area
From the Silver Steps parking lot on US276 we walk north a short distance on US276 to Gum Gap Road. From there we walk the road to the Gum Gap trail to the Naturland Trust trail to the swinging bridge over Matthews Creek. We retrace our steps and walk the Gum Gap trail to the Ravencliff Falls trail to the covered shelter overlook for lunch. We again retrace our steps and hike the Ravencliff trail back to the Tom Miller trail back to Silver Steps parking area. Note: There is a $3.00 / person parking fee for the Silver Steps parking area.

October 28 Pisgah Ridge Maintenance Hike
~2 mi each section, $0.00
Meet at the Pisgah Ranger Station
This is a maintenance hike to help open up this valuable user trail that we use for several different hikes throughout the year. I hope to have enough folks that we can split up the work into two groups. From the John Rock Overlook one group would head east (~1 mi) toward Graveyard Fields while the other would go west to FS816 (< 1 mile) to clear the overgrown sections. We may also try to make improvements to the wooden steps. We will meet back at the overlook for lunch.

October 29 23 Feature Hike –West Loop
7 mi, 1200’cl, R8, $6.00
Meet at the Sav-Mor Grocery parking lot in Brevard
From the MST crossing on NC215 we walk the road to the Flat Laurel Creek trailhead. From there we hike the Flat Laurel Creek and Little Sam trails to the MST. We will also visit Devil’s Courthouse and then continue back to the MST to our cars.

November 4 Jones Gap – Jones Gap and Rainbow Falls
5 mi, 1400’cl, R7, $6.00
Meet at Cedar Mountain Community parking area
From its trailhead at Jones Gap State Park, we hike the Jones Gap trail to Jones Gap Falls, then back to Rainbow Falls trail and up to Rainbow Falls for lunch. We return back to the cars, enjoying the Saluda River along the way. There is a $6.00/ person fee for admission into the park.

November 11 Case Camp
5 mi, 1300’cl, R8, $2.00
Meet at Pisgah Ranger Station
From the Case Camp trailhead on FSR 475B we hike the Case Camp trail to the Parkway. We scramble up to the MST and hike it past the Cherry Cove overlook. We return by walking the Parkway to the Case Camp trail back to our cars.

November 18 Moore Cove and Beyond (with some Maintenance)
5 mi, 1300’cl, R6, $1.00
Meet at Pisgah Ranger Station
From the Moore Cove trailhead on US276 we hike several user trails eventually passing Moore Cove falls. If you have some clippers or trimmers, please plan to bring them as they may be needed on parts of this trail.

November 25th Fish Hatchery to McCall Cemetery
7 mi, 1200’cl, R7, $1.00
Meet at Pisgah Ranger Station
To help build up an appetite for that big turkey dinner tomorrow, this hike begins at the Fish Hatchery parking lot and proceeds up the Cat Gap, Butter Gap and Long Branch trails to the McCall cemetery and returns via reverse route.

December 2 Lower Whitewater Falls
5 mi, 800’cl, R5, $6.00
Meet at Sav-Mor Grocery parking lot in Brevard
From the Bad Creek trailhead on the Foothills trail we hike to the Lower Whitewater Falls overlook and back.

December 9 Stool Mountain (Table Rock area of SC)
5.5 mi, 1400’cl, R8, $5.00
Meet at Cedar Mountain Community parking area
This a new hike in the Table Rock area. We start at the Visitor’s Center and wind our way over to the new Stool Mountain trail. We hike up to the top of Stool Mountain to take in the views of the Table Rock Reservoir and the surrounding mountains. We then wind our way back down to the parking area. Note: there is a $6 per person park fee.

December 16 Camp High Rocks
5 mi, 900’cl, R5, $0.00
Meet at Cedar Mountain Community parking area (Lunch at 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. We will then go the Outpost for lunch.

December 23 Four Small Falls from Poundingmill Branch to Cherry Cove
5 mi, 1200’cl, R7, $2.00
Meet at the Pisgah Ranger Station
From the trailhead on FSR 475B we will visit 4 small waterfalls from Poundingmill Branch Falls to Cherry Cove Falls.

December 30 Big East Fork
~8.2 mi, 1300’cl, R9, $4.00
Meet at the Pisgah Ranger Station
From the Big East Fork trailhead on US 276 we hike upstream to the Bridges Camp Trail and back, with lunch at the lunch rock on the return.