Calendar of Events

OBSERVING mitigation hiking guidelines we will meet at the trailhead, however, if you decide to carpool I suggest you wear masks and bring hand wipes to wipe down door handles…surfaces. Post where you plan to meet.

HIKE DESCRIPTION: We will begin hiking the Flint Creek River Trail return taking a ridgline loop spur, pick up the White Cliffs spur trail plus an optional trail. The trails are mostly under forest hardwoods, Flint Creek Trail follows the winding creek trail which snakes through the gorge fed by small streams and waterfalls. There are 10 log bridge-over-creek crossing plus a few smaller step-over streams. Like the Smoky Mountains National Park, Rocky Fork State Park has one of the most Biological diverse floras in the country. The trails are flat to rolling with moderate and steep climbing sections.
Elevation Gain Estimate.? 2,100-2,400′ (Level 7)**

PACE: See below*

DOGS: Friendly dogs are welcome and must remain close to their owners. Water is continuously available along the creek trail.

IF YOU SIGN UP THEN CHANGE YOUR MIND CHANGE YOUR RSVP TO “NOT ATTENDING” TO CLEAR A SPOT FOR ANOTHER HIKER

TRAIL HEAD DIRECTIONS:
I-26 West 31 miles and take Exit 50 toward Flag Pond Rd. Proceed for approx. 0.4 miles to a “T”. Turn left onto Upper Higgins Creek Rd for 0.6 mile. Turn right onto Old Asheville Hwy for 2.3 mile. Turn left on to Rocky Fork Rd for 1 mile to the Rocky Fork State Park Main Entrance Gate. Gravel road following Flint Creek for 1/4 mile with Parking on the right.

501 Rocky Fork Rd.
Flag Pond Tennessee.

OPTIONAL: Please post if you prefer to meet me just off the Flag Pond Exit (gravel pullover, or the road shoulder on left, Upper Higgins Creek rd. @ 9:30.

*ALL FITNESS HIKES ARE FAST PACED. HIKES HIKE LEVELS are based only on the total elevation gain for each hike while distances vary as described. Lower levels hikes focus on endurance conditioning and higher level hikes add increasing cardio challenges. Pace is adjusted for steepness of grade, and ruggedness of the trail.. Scout hikes are hikes where the trail is partially or completely unexplored by the hike leader (s).

HIKE LEVELS:
Hike Level (1) Up to 600 feet of elevation gain.
Level (2) 600′- 900′; Level (3) 900′ – 1200′; Level (4) 1200′ – 1500′; Level (5) 1,500′ – 1,800′; Level (6)*1,800′ – 2,100′; Level (7)* 2,100′ – 2,400′; Level (8) 2,400′ – 2700′; Level (9) 2700′ – 3000′ Level (10) 3000′ – 4000′;

ULTIMATE HIKES are hike > 4,000′ elevation gain; WE POST 3-4 of these hike challenges a year.

Opening day for ECTM at our new location at AB Tech Enka. We will be in the parking lot of the Small Business Center, 1465 Sand Hill Road (across from Ingles, at the traffic light). Please share and invite your friends and family! We know this second season of ECTM is going to be amazing. Thank you for supporting local!

Vendors for 5/7:
Rainbow Ridge Gardens
Myseanica Farm
Bonny Bath natural body products
Whisk bakery
Saturnia Farm and Nursery
Jake’s Farm
Asheville Microgreens
Throwing Copper
Cornerstone Tea
Sustainabillies Nursery and Farm
Sister of Mother Earth herbal products
HeadShrink Farm heritage beef
The Real Molloy Food Truck
Sugar Whirled cotton candy – AB Tech Small Business featured booth.
*Many more vendors as the season goes on! Check out our website for a full list of vendors for the season. https://www.ashevillefarmstead.org/enka-candler-tailgate-market

COVID-19 Precautions:
To start, we will be holding fast to safety precautions listed below. As the CDC and NC governmental regulations soften, we will follow suit. Please know that we are making every effort to keep both our vendors and our community safe and well.

*No-contact payment: Tap’n’Pay , Venmo, Paypal payments only. No cash payments or card swipes will be accepted.
*Handwashing station upon entering Market
*Limited shopper numbers (car queue will be used, if necessary)
*1 customer at vendor table at a time
*Only touch what you are purchasing
*6ft Social Distancing required
*Masks highly encouraged. All vendors and Market staff will wear masks.
*No Music or Kids tent (yet)
*No craft/artisan vendors until non-essential businesses are allowed to open. We are hopeful this will be by June, or earlier.

This hike follows along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Most of the time we do an in and out instead of a shuttle. We start from the side of the road near the exit to Highway 25 (Hendersonville Road) on the Blue Ridge Parkway. You can park along either side of the road. The dirt has eroded so the drop is kind of deep, so you’ll want to be careful with your car.

Mountains-to-Sea-Trail hikes are designed for fitness and community among already experienced hikers. We do the same trail on Monday and Friday and tend to repeat that same hike every five weeks so that, over time, we enjoy the beauty of each trail. We limit our hikes to two hours because many of us work and have to be somewhere else by 11:15 or so. Thus, it’s not possible to wait for slower hikers.

Hikers who are new to hiking will likely be more comfortable on another meet up hike designed for people who are just beginning hiking or trying to get into shape for hiking. You might consider “WNC Easy Hikers Group,” for instance.

This will be about a 3-hour hike, including rest stops. We will be doing the Coontree trail which is one of the few trails open at this time. This is a spectacular trail with a number of stream crossings and great mountain views along the ridgeline. It is a loop with an elevation change of 1000 feet. While poles are not necessary, they do make it much easier to hike. The only challenge is parking. It is very limited, probably no more than 7 to 9 parking spots, all parallel to the road. For this reason we will be starting earlier…at 8:30am. PLEASE NOTE…The directions for this location on this site are INCORRECT. It would not allow me to simple put Coontree trailhead, but required that I put a city. As a result, the map takes you to downtown Brevard, not Pisgah Forest. The Coontree trailhead is actually about 3 miles past the Pisgah Visitor’s Center, off US276. The trailhead is across from the picnic area. Please keep my phone number handy,[masked], in case we have trouble hooking up.

Opening day for ECTM at our new location at AB Tech Enka. We will be in the parking lot of the Small Business Center, 1465 Sand Hill Road (across from Ingles, at the traffic light). Please share and invite your friends and family! We know this second season of ECTM is going to be amazing. Thank you for supporting local!

Vendors for 5/7:
Rainbow Ridge Gardens
Myseanica Farm
Bonny Bath natural body products
Whisk bakery
Saturnia Farm and Nursery
Jake’s Farm
Asheville Microgreens
Throwing Copper
Cornerstone Tea
Sustainabillies Nursery and Farm
Sister of Mother Earth herbal products
HeadShrink Farm heritage beef
The Real Molloy Food Truck
Sugar Whirled cotton candy – AB Tech Small Business featured booth.
*Many more vendors as the season goes on! Check out our website for a full list of vendors for the season. https://www.ashevillefarmstead.org/enka-candler-tailgate-market

COVID-19 Precautions:
To start, we will be holding fast to safety precautions listed below. As the CDC and NC governmental regulations soften, we will follow suit. Please know that we are making every effort to keep both our vendors and our community safe and well.

*No-contact payment: Tap’n’Pay , Venmo, Paypal payments only. No cash payments or card swipes will be accepted.
*Handwashing station upon entering Market
*Limited shopper numbers (car queue will be used, if necessary)
*1 customer at vendor table at a time
*Only touch what you are purchasing
*6ft Social Distancing required
*Masks highly encouraged. All vendors and Market staff will wear masks.
*No Music or Kids tent (yet)
*No craft/artisan vendors until non-essential businesses are allowed to open. We are hopeful this will be by June, or earlier.

Opening day for ECTM at our new location at AB Tech Enka. We will be in the parking lot of the Small Business Center, 1465 Sand Hill Road (across from Ingles, at the traffic light). Please share and invite your friends and family! We know this second season of ECTM is going to be amazing. Thank you for supporting local!

Vendors for 5/7:
Rainbow Ridge Gardens
Myseanica Farm
Bonny Bath natural body products
Whisk bakery
Saturnia Farm and Nursery
Jake’s Farm
Asheville Microgreens
Throwing Copper
Cornerstone Tea
Sustainabillies Nursery and Farm
Sister of Mother Earth herbal products
HeadShrink Farm heritage beef
The Real Molloy Food Truck
Sugar Whirled cotton candy – AB Tech Small Business featured booth.
*Many more vendors as the season goes on! Check out our website for a full list of vendors for the season. https://www.ashevillefarmstead.org/enka-candler-tailgate-market

COVID-19 Precautions:
To start, we will be holding fast to safety precautions listed below. As the CDC and NC governmental regulations soften, we will follow suit. Please know that we are making every effort to keep both our vendors and our community safe and well.

*No-contact payment: Tap’n’Pay , Venmo, Paypal payments only. No cash payments or card swipes will be accepted.
*Handwashing station upon entering Market
*Limited shopper numbers (car queue will be used, if necessary)
*1 customer at vendor table at a time
*Only touch what you are purchasing
*6ft Social Distancing required
*Masks highly encouraged. All vendors and Market staff will wear masks.
*No Music or Kids tent (yet)
*No craft/artisan vendors until non-essential businesses are allowed to open. We are hopeful this will be by June, or earlier.

Opening day for ECTM at our new location at AB Tech Enka. We will be in the parking lot of the Small Business Center, 1465 Sand Hill Road (across from Ingles, at the traffic light). Please share and invite your friends and family! We know this second season of ECTM is going to be amazing. Thank you for supporting local!

Vendors for 5/7:
Rainbow Ridge Gardens
Myseanica Farm
Bonny Bath natural body products
Whisk bakery
Saturnia Farm and Nursery
Jake’s Farm
Asheville Microgreens
Throwing Copper
Cornerstone Tea
Sustainabillies Nursery and Farm
Sister of Mother Earth herbal products
HeadShrink Farm heritage beef
The Real Molloy Food Truck
Sugar Whirled cotton candy – AB Tech Small Business featured booth.
*Many more vendors as the season goes on! Check out our website for a full list of vendors for the season. https://www.ashevillefarmstead.org/enka-candler-tailgate-market

COVID-19 Precautions:
To start, we will be holding fast to safety precautions listed below. As the CDC and NC governmental regulations soften, we will follow suit. Please know that we are making every effort to keep both our vendors and our community safe and well.

*No-contact payment: Tap’n’Pay , Venmo, Paypal payments only. No cash payments or card swipes will be accepted.
*Handwashing station upon entering Market
*Limited shopper numbers (car queue will be used, if necessary)
*1 customer at vendor table at a time
*Only touch what you are purchasing
*6ft Social Distancing required
*Masks highly encouraged. All vendors and Market staff will wear masks.
*No Music or Kids tent (yet)
*No craft/artisan vendors until non-essential businesses are allowed to open. We are hopeful this will be by June, or earlier.