Tim Walker
AMR Reporter
Snowshoe Highlands Area Recreation Collaborative (SHARC) held an on-line meeting March 12 in preparation for the summer season.
SHARC Backcountry Coordinator Charles Evans; Digital Media and Marketing Director CJ Peterson; and Races and Events Director Zen Clements; as well as representatives from the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, International Mountain Bicycling Association, Pocahontas Trails the U.S. Government and others, discussed plans for the upcoming trail season.
For anyone not familiar with SHARC, they operate an integrated backcountry management model that combines trail stewardship, wildland fire operations and back-country rapid emergency response. This approach strengthens public safety, supports rural economies and builds a year-round skilled workforce. To learn more about SHARC, visit the website at https://www.sharctrails.com/
The IMBA is currently reviewing and considering The Snowshoe Highland Ride Center’s application to upgrade the ride center from Silver status to Gold. Evans said an announcement about the decision could be made as early as March 31.
It was announced that SHARC will assist Yew Mountain Center in developing trails on that property in Hillsboro, and SHARC is also developing a trail maintenance and construction pocket guide which will be similar to their fire incident response guide.
Evans said they are accepting applications to hire seasonal Trails Technicians, with applications being accepted until April 1. For details about this job opportunity, visit the employment section on the SHARC website.
SHARC events for the coming year include:
• Rapid Extraction Module Team with check-in from April 26 through the 30.
• Wilderness First Aid training at the end of March.
• The 2026 season orientation and new hire training for volunteers and crew leads will be from April 22 through May 3 at Snowshoe.
Pocahontas Trails announced they will hold a workday at the Mower Tract April 10 to 12, at Second Fork. There will be a member meeting March 30 at Cass Community Center at 6 p.m. Mountain Bike races will be held in May, June and August in Pocahontas County; and they will a membership drive and bike raffle will be held. More info can be found at Pocahontastrails.com
The U.S. Forest Service will have a meeting Thursday, March 19, and will be hiring up to nine seasonal part-time workers, of which seven will be trail maintenance and recreational workers, with a focus on hiring people from the local areas.
The final three miles of Stillhouse Trail construction will be completed in May or early June.
The CVB will hold its annual Tourism Summit on May 7, RSVP invitations for this will be going out soon, and the gravel trails bike-packing summit will be held at the end of May.
Snowshoe Resort has announced they will close the skiing season March 22, and two to three weeks after that the Bike Park and trails will open. Evans said that both SHARC and Pocahontas Trails will be doing trail work in the back-country trails at Snowshoe this summer.
It is exciting to see so many dedicated, enthusiastic and skilled people working hard to make Pocahontas County a mecca for back-country events such as hiking and biking and devel- oping perhaps the premier mountain trail system in the country. All of their efforts will result in enormous benefits to the reputation and economy in the county.
