Hikers are invited to join the Pacolet Area Conservancy (PAC) on Friday, Nov. 18 for a four-mile, moderate hike at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, and the final hike of PAC’s Fall Hiking Series. PAC’s director of stewardship and land protection, Pam Torlina, will lead the hike from the parking lot of the historic site in Flat Rock to the summit of Glassy Mountain. 

The trail leads hikers along the edge of a beautiful pond below the historic house and through a mature forest alight with the colors of fall, climaxing at the summit of Glassy Mountain, which offers spectacular views of Pisgah National Forest.

Carl Sandburg, who resided in Flat Rock for 22 years, was an American poet, historian, author, and lecturer. His 265-acre property preserves the writer’s life and legacy, offering not only hiking, but the opportunity to step into the “life and times” of the writer and his family. 

Visitors are invited to enjoy the property, including the farm where Mrs. Sandburg operated a premier goat dairy from 1935-1965. Mrs. Sandburg’s goat breeding program produced champion goats and led to the acceptance of goats as milk-producing animals. Visitors can see and touch ancestors from three breeds of goats that the Sandburg’s raised at the farm/estate, Connemara. 

Visitors may view an interview between Mr. Sandburg and Edward R. Murrow, and for a charge, visitors can participate in a guided tour of Mr. Sandburg’s Home, frozen in time and left just as it was when the writer resided there, until his death in 1967.

If you are interested in attending the PAC hike to Glassy Mountain, please contact the PAC office to sign up by phone at 828-859-5060 or e-mail, landprotection@pacolet.org.

Hikers are asked to meet at the Columbus Bi-Lo at 8:30 a.m. to check in, arrange carpooling, and then start the 25-minute drive to Carl Sandburg Home NHS. Hikers should be prepared to return to the area in the mid-afternoon.

For your safety, do not attempt any hike beyond your ability and experience. Hikers should wear appropriate clothing and footwear; bring a bag lunch and/or snack and plenty of water. Please be sure to bring any personal medication that you may require. 

In case of inclement weather, please contact the PAC office by 8:15 on the day of the hike, check the PAC website, pacolet.org, and/or the PAC Facebook page, facebook.com/pacoletarea.conservancy, to see if the hike will take place.

If you cannot make this hike but would like to attend future hikes, please visit PAC’s website, pacolet.org, for information on future hikes. The Spring Hiking Series will begin in mid-February.

– article submitted by Pam Torlina