This 100-year bash was held at the North Carolina Arboretum. In the history of the Club, I have only been a member for a very short time. The CMC is the oldest hiking organization in the Southern United States and has a long storied history beginning in 1923. Two years before it started the Southern Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) formed in 1921. This lasted for two years before the Club reformed, with the blessing of the AMC, on July 16, 1923, as the CMC. With the idea of the Appalachian Trail (AT) being birthed around this time, the CMC would become officially involved with the AT when it absorbed the Carolina Appalachian Trail Club, which had formed in January of 1931, in December of the same year. Besides building a good bit of the AT in the south it also is involved with the starting (and maintaining) trails like the Art Loeb and Mountain-to-Sea. If you want more on the history of the CMC check out Danny Bernstein's book Carolina Mountain Club: One Hundred Years.
At the event, there were hikes, vendor booths, a pizza truck, free ice cream, and cupcakes. We also got to walk around the gardens and to Pete's getting to hike on a trail. I even got time to talk "shop" with Paul and others in the CMC.
A couple of other things I did in Asheville were going to REI and visiting a new donut place...Vortex Doughnuts. I had read this place was good and it lived up to the hype. Finally, I want to give a shout-out to Jemima at Laurel River Store (near Hot Springs) who made me a coffee after the official closing...thank you!
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