Strenuous loop, total ascent of 1,000 feet

Join the Pacolet Area Conservancy (PAC) on Friday, Nov. 2, for a 5-mile hike at Pisgah National Forest, the fourth hike of PAC’s Fall Hiking Series.

PAC Land Protection Specialist Pam Torlina will lead hikers to John Rock.

The 5-mile hike is a strenuous loop with a total ascent of approximately 1,000 feet. The trailhead is accessed from the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education and Fish Hatchery. The highlight of this hike is John Rock, a large granite dome that offers views of the fish hatchery, Looking Glass Rock and Pilot Mountain.

The Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education and Fish Hatchery, operated by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC), was originally the site of a logging community and then a Civilian Conservation Corps camp during the Great Depression.  The theme at the Center for Wildlife Education is, “Mountain Streams-Where Water and Life Begin.”  The Center conducts statewide environmental education programs for educators and youth leaders and offers informative exhibits that focus on wildlife conservation, the geology of the Blue Ridge Mountains, unique N.C. habitats, preservation of streams and wetlands, responsibility and safety in the woods, the science of wildlife management, N.C. Wild Education sites, the ecology of wetlands and ways to get involved in wildlife conservation.