Nantahala Hiking Club

The Trailhead

The Nantahala Hiking Club is one of the member-maintaining clubs of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The club has the responsibility of the Appalachian Trail in Western North Carolina from the Georgia state line at Bly Gap approximately 60 miles northward to the Nantahala River at Wesser NC.

The word "Nantahala" comes from the original inhabitants of this area, the Cherokee. It means "Land-of-the-Noonday-Sun" and refers to the tall peaks (in excess of 5,000 feet) and narrow, deep gorges and valleys into which the sun only reaches during the middle of the day.

Site last updated: Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Good day. My name is Barbara Freidt; I am currently working on my thesis at Old Dominion University. You are looking at the link for a survey I designed. The survey seeks to examine the attributes, benefits and outcomes associated with your Appalachian Trail (AT) hiking experience. This information will be shared with the A.T. maintaining clubs and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy with the hope that it will be useful in both better understanding current A.T. users as well as in acquiring funding for continued maintenance of the A.T. footpath and preservation and protection of its surrounding corridor lands. If you would be willing to participate in my study, please click here.

Club Meeting Schedule Upcoming meeting dates, guest speakers, etc.

Club Hike Schedule. The NHC offers guided hikes in the area, on the Appalachian Trail and along the many other trails in the area.

Hiker Alerts. Latest info we have on things hikers in our section should know about - Water source conditions, Road closings, etc.

A Description of the Appalachian Trail in the NHC section. A brief look at the area and history of our section of the Trail.

Trail Shelters. Simple shelters are provided for overnight hikers along the trail. This is a description of the shelters and the mileage between them.

The Register The Online Stewardship Newsletter for the Appalachian Trail. The Register is published by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy for the volunteer stewards of the Appalachian Trail and its corridor, their federal and state agency partners and others interested in the stewardship of the A. T.

Club Photo Album.
Some pictures of club activities, including construction of our four new trail shelters. There are five photo thumbnail pages, which let you preview the pictures, but they take a long time to load. There is also a list of the pictures, from which you can look at one at a time (much faster for just a few) ----

Go to THE LIST of pictures, or go to:
Thumbnails 1, Shelter Construction Pictures
Thumbnails 2, Shelter Construction and additions
Thumbnails 3, Pictures of Club Hikes and other activities.
Thumbnails 4, Scenes from the Nantahalas and misc.
Thumbnails 5, Misc. Hiking and Scenic

Nantahala Hiking Club Trail Map. This is a large graphic (500Kb), based on the USGS quadrangles of the area. We also have a smaller sketch map of this trail section.

Trailhead Info. - Information about how to reach Trailheads on our section of the AT. Also info about where to park and vandalism on our section.

Trail Register. Like a guestbook, this is a place to let us know you visited. Please sign our Register!

Membership Information and Application. How to join our club, with information from our club brochure.

Info on buying Trail Maps covering our section.

Volunteers Needed! There are many "Trail Crews" out there -- they need more volunteers. Here's how to get in on the fun.

History of the Nantahala Hiking Club A short overview of the origins of the club.

Side Trails in our Section. The NHC in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service also maintains side trails to the AT as well as other trails in the Nantahala National Forest.

Other Web Trails to Follow Links to other sites related to the AT, hiking, and outdoor activities.

Contact NHC
E-Mail us with questions, comments or request membership applications sent via snail-mail.
If you'd rather contact us by snail-mail, just send to:
Nantahala Hiking Club, 173 Carl Slagle Rd., Franklin, NC, 28734

Trail Condition Reports If you have been on our section of trail in the past few days and noticed new blow downs or other trail conditions that need our attention, please contact our Trail Supervisor here.

Email any website comments to the webmaster

Nantahala Hiking Club would like to acknowledge the contribution of web hosting space for this page by
SMNET Internet Services . . . . Franklin, NC. . . Thank you, SMNET

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