Fresh Market toward visitor's Center

We will meet near the Fresh Market on Highway 25 and walk 2.5 miles in on the MTS trail and then back to the Fresh Market. This trail comes out on the road at least twice, so keep this in mind with dogs on the trail.

This is a fairlly easy hike, and we go at a high average to low advanced speed, which is roughly about 3.0 to 3.2 mph. There are no super long hills. It's pretty undulating all the way. The biggest hill is at the beginning.

Well behaved dogs on leashes are welcome to attend.

When you arrive, park closest to the forest on the side where Haywood Appliance is.

Mountains-to-Sea-Trail hikes are designed for fitness and community among people who are already reasonably fit. It's not an endurance hike by any means, but it is designed so we can get our hearts beating a bit while still being able to have a conversation and meet new people.
When you arrive, we'll circle up and introduce ourselves briefly. There will be a person who is a sweep. This person is the person who walks last and makes sure no one gets lost.

We leave the parking spot at 9:10. If someone needs a nature break, we wait fo you, but it's not a hike where we stop and take photos or frequent breaks. We basically keep hiking until the 1/2 way mark, then turn around after a short (approximately 5 minute) break. Then we keep that same pace on the way back. If we get on a trail right at 9:10, we are normally finished around 10:50.

These are out and back hikes, meaning that we hike in and turn around half way to return back.