|
Max Patch: High Pasture on the Appalachian Trail
by Deidre Abouahmed
A hiker on Max Patch
| Max Patch is located 40 miles west of Asheville. Take the Harmon's Den exit (Exit 7). Turn right at the bottom of the exit ramp. The road is dirt and in good condition. Automobiles will not have any problems negotiating the pot holes. Follow the road and the signs to Max Patch. Approximately 6 miles from Interstate 40 is a small sign that points to the turn for Max Patch. Beware. It is easy to miss. (http://hikingthecarolinas.com). |
|
Max Patch, offering some of the most memorable views on the Appalachian Trail, is about an hour's drive from campus. A hike was planned and led by the Outdoor Center's Grant Gosch in January. Students left Mars Hill at 10 in the morning and returned in time for dinner.
From the Harmon Den exit of Interstate 40 near the Tennessee line, the route climbs a windy, dirt road where someone with a weak stomach probably should take motion sickness pills.
When we arrived at the trail head, we started right away following the trail marked off with white arrows.
The trail began in hills with tall, golden grass that came up to the middle of our thighs. Couples with their dogs sat on blankets and played fetch. It was a clear day with a couple of clouds in the sky. We could see many other hills covered with trees as we walked.
As the hike progressed, we entered the forest. I could smell the trees and crisp outdoor aroma that I cannot get at Mars Hill. The trail became steeper, which gave us more of a workout. The trail was also much more narrow than at the beginning, which made it difficult. We had to walk in a single file line in order to stay on the trail and not kill any plant life.
When we finally came out of the forest, we could see Max Patch. The golden grass covered the ground for nearly a mile before meeting a forest area of shrubs and trees. When standing at the top at 4,629 feet, one can see a 360-degree view of hills and mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee.
In the early 1950s, Max Patch was still a huge cow pasture, and people used to land airplanes there. Hilltop advisor Sam Bingham says that his father used to do that. "It was a 'macho' thing to do, because you landed on it going uphill, and then you would take off downhill."
In the early 1980s there was great concern that Max Patch would be purchased for development. Many in the Mars Hill Community participated in public hearings at that time. Finally the U.S. Forest Service bought it, and cattle were no long allowed to graze there. Later the Appalachian Trail along with Max Patch became part of the National Park System and the National Trail Conservancy and was labeled as a scenic trail. This ensures that Max Patch will stay open to the public unless the forest or a rare species is threatened.
Paul Bradley has been District Ranger of the Appalachian District of Pisgah Forest for the past 16 years. He says that Max Patch became bald due to tundra conditions during Ice Age. Max Patch and other grassy balds stayed open because many grazers came there where it was cooler during the summer. Later, Europeans came and wiped out all wild grazers such as elk and bison and brought in domestic grazing animals that maintained the same landscape.
After the land became part of Pisgah National Forest and domestic animals were moved off the land, shrubs and trees began to grow, including some rare plants and endangered species. Forest Rangers and the National Park Service decided to keep Max Patch between a grass forbs stage and early forest stage to keep the rare plants and animals around. This means that shrubs and small bushes grow there.
To make sure that plant life does not continue to grow into a small forest, the National Park Service uses mowing and burning methods. Mowing is done more frequently, while the burning method takes place every three to five years.
The Max Patch trail is a mile long, and no camping is allowed there.
Reader Comment:
Hudson McGinnis, Freshman, 8/25/2006, 3:24 p.m.
This sounds like an awesome place to get away and enjoy the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. I hope to visit sometime to enjoy it in person.
Give us your feedback. We value your opinions.
The Hilltop reserves the right not to post anonymous comments or any that could be judged slanderous, that make unverifiable allegations of fact, or use language we consider in bad taste.
All fields must be filled in.
HOME
| 
