Swannanoa Valley Museum opens hiking series registration Jan. 2

Press release from the Swannanoa Valley Museum:

Make a new year’s resolution for adventure when the Swannanoa Valley Museum’s annual hiking series resume in 2020. The museum offers two educational hiking programs, the challenging Swannanoa Rim Explorer Hike Series and the moderate Valley History Explorer Hike Series.

The Rim Hike Series explores the peaks of the Swannanoa Valley, while the Valley History Explorer Series revisits the past of local communities across the Valley. Interested hikers can register for either program on the museum’s website beginning Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. Early registration is recommended as the series tend to fill quickly.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary at the end of 2019, the popular Rim Hike series consists of 11 hikes that reveal the history and geography of the Swannanoa Valley. The hikes explore a different section of the 31-mile long Swannanoa Rim, terrain that spans from Jesse’s High Tip, across Lakey Gap, over Ridgecrest and Montreat, up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and down to Cedar Cliff above Camp Rockmont.

The hikes generally take place every third Saturday from January to November. Participants register in advance and meet at the Museum (223 W. State St. Black Mountain) to depart at 8 a.m. The hikes are led by veteran hikers who share their knowledge about the history, topography, and ownership of the land. Each hike ranges from three to eight miles over elevations ranging from 2,316 to 6,462 feet.

The Museum’s hiking committee chair, Joe Standaert, who along with his wife, has authored two books on the history of the Swannanoa Valley, said of the Rim Explorer Series, “When we started the series we intended that the main benefit would be to get people to know the area and its history and to hike the significant parts of the valley. What we did not realize was that it would be a great community builder. We have people hiking together every month, and in some cases, over several years, and they get to know each other and meet again in their activities in town and form a firm bond with each other as well as with the valley.”

The first hike of 2020, Rhododendron Rim, passes through property once owned by Spanish architect Rafael Guastavino, best known for his innovative system of self-supporting arches and vaults using interlocking tiles in some of New York’s most famous Beaux-Arts landmarks, as well as Asheville’s Basilica of St. Lawrence. He retired in Black Mountain and built an eclectic estate called Rhododendron.

Many of the hikes are strenuous and the full series is recommended only for experienced hikers. Over the course of the year, the series ultimately traverses a distance of more than 52 miles. The museum issues a “Passport to the Swannanoa Rim” for each hiker to keep track of their progress as the series proceeds. Hikers who finish all the hikes of the series are awarded an embroidered Patagonia jacket during a celebration held at the end of the annual series generously donated by Black Mountain Savings Bank.. To date, over 200 hikers have finished hiking the entire rim, and one intrepid hiker, Charles Jolley, has completed every rim hike since the series’ inception in 2009.

Past finisher Suzanne Money said, “I viewed the Rim hikes as a huge challenge. As my passport book gathered more stamps, I realized how fortunate we all were to hike with informative leadership who get permission to take us on many treks on private land. The museum’s hikes introduced me to many special people whom I will always treasure as friends.”

While the experience of hiking the Swannanoa Rim is priceless to participants, the participation fee for the hikes helps sustain the non-profit Swannanoa Valley Museum, as Buncombe County’s primary museum of general, local history.

Each hike in 2020 will cost $35 for members. (Membership in 2020 will be $35 for an individual or $55 for a household.) Participants can purchase the entire series for $350 and receive one hike free.

For those looking to learn the history of the area on less challenging hikes, the Museum also hosts an eight-hike moderate series–the Valley History Explorer Hiking Series. These hikes delve into the unique history of the small communities that shape the Swannanoa Valley and are both informative for natives seeking a connection with their heritage and newcomers hoping to gain insight into the region’s past. Each hike, led by an experienced guide, is approximately three miles long over moderate terrain.

The hikes are held every second Saturday from March through October. Each hike departs from the Museum. The cost of the hikes is $30 for members. Hikers can purchase the entire series for $210, a discount of $25 – or one free hike. Finishers of the Valley History Explorer Series receive a Patagonia fleece embroidered with the hike series logo.

For the sixth year in a row, to ensure that events are accessible to all who wish to participate, the Museum will offer two donation-funded full scholarships towards the cost of a hiking series. The scholarship is generously funded by donations from past finishers and community members interested in keeping history alive. To apply for a scholarship, applicants are asked to mail or email the Museum a 500-word essay explaining why they want to participate in the program, which series they would like to hike, and how the scholarship would help them participate, along with their contact information. To make a donation for the scholarship, contact the Museum.

The Museum’s hiking programs instill a pride of place for hikers. One past hiker explained, “Now when I walk around the valley I can look up at those mountains and know that I’ve been there and know what they are like.” The hikes engender a reverence of history and demonstrate the presence of the past in our daily lives.

Space on the hikes are limited, and hikers are encouraged to register early. Detailed information about each series and descriptions of the individual hikes are available at swannanoavalleymuseum.org. To learn more, contact the Museum at 828-669-9566 or email info@swannanoavalleymuseum.org.