Change of Venue: Tray Mountain (See Itinerary) Instead of Yellow Mountain, NC

IMPORTANT NOTICE - CHANGE OF VENUE

Change of hike from Yellow Mtn to Tray Mtn (Andrews Cove)

We'll save Yellow Mtn for a warmer day, when we really enjoy having the wind whistling through our hair.

Safety is always our PRIORITY. Saturday weather forecast calls for high winds with 30% chance of rain at 40 degrees temp.  With the low temperatures and high winds called for on Sunday, combined with a chance of icy patches remaining on mountain roads,  we have decided to change the venue from Yellow Mountain to Tray Mountain.  It is also a good idea to seek out a more protected trail at a lower elevation. The Tray Mountain hike starting from Andrews Cove is a good winter hike. It also involves less driving (150 miles round trip instead of 230 to Yellow Mtn).

From Andrew’s Cove campground, we will hike uphill along a stream for 1 hour to Indian Grave Gap and from there continue uphill on the AT for another 1.5 hours to the overlook beyond the summit of Tray Mountain. We will have lunch at this point and then head back down the way we came. The first two hours of hiking are protected from the wind, while the half hour to the summit is somewhat more exposed. The hike is 10 miles long, involves 2400 ft of elevation gain, and should take about 5 hours.

We will leave Indian Trail carpool at 8:30; arrive at Cleveland Ingles 9:30; make short pit stop and leave Ingles at 9:45; arrive at parking 10:15; start hiking at 10:30; get back to the cars at 3:30. It gets dark at about 5:00, so we have a good buffer. If everybody agrees, we can have an early supper by driving back via Helen and stopping at a decent Italian restaurant there for pizza or whatever.

From Indian Trail Park & Ride to Cleveland (60 miles): Take 85N, then 985N, then just before Gainesville take 129/11N. Stay on that road to Cleveland and drive right through the town to the intersection with 75 (going to Helen). The Ingles is at the NE corner of the intersection. Dorothea will be waiting behind the gas pumps. There is a Starbucks and restrooms in the Ingles store for those wishing to make a pit stop.

We will leave from the carpool staging area (Indian Trail) at 8:30 a.m.

Carpool cost: Approximate vehicle expense for this event is $60.00 (calculated at total miles (150) *$0.400, effective Wednesday, March 07, 2012). This is based on the current gas, maintenance, and other costs of $0.400 per mile as stated by the IRS and Cars.com. This should be divided by the total number of people in the vehicle (incl. driver). For example, with 4 people in the vehicle, the expense per person on this trip would be $15.00. Alternately your carpool driver may choose to split the maintenance cost plus the actual gas cost among all in the vehicle. Your carpool driver will confirm exactly how much money they require to cover costs.  Please split the actual cost among all people in the vehicle.

Additional advice: The cost of your trip is up to your driver. Your cost
should not be greater than what is listed above, unless there are extenuating circumstances. If you want to be sure about the cost of the trip, check with your driver before you get into the vehicle. If you are the driver of the vehicle, this is a guideline to what you charge and not a rule.

Cancellation/Partial Attendance:  Please review our Cancellation Policy carefully!
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- Details of this event are subject to undergo a change at any point in time, with or without warning.
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