CMC Weekly News
11/05/03
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2003 Carolina Mountain Club Annual Meeting November 1, 2003
The 2003 annual meeting of the Carolina Mountain Club was held at the Grove Park Inn on Saturday, November 1, 2003. 134 people attended. Don Walton, President, presided over the meeting.
1. Recognition of visitors The following visitors were introduced: Matthew and Stacy Davis: Matthew is the new assistant to Morgan Sommerville of the ATC office. Phil Francis, the acting superintendent of the GSMNP who was the guest speaker
2. Recognition of deceased members
3. Twenty-five year awards. Members who had been members for 25 years or more were recognized. Bernard Elias, who became a member in 1941, gave a little speech explaining that he got interested in hiking through the Boy Scouts. At the dedication of Rattlesnake Lodge, Bernard pointed out his mother in a picture taken in front of the lodge years ago.
4. Recognition of hike schedulers Tom Sanders retired as the all-day Sunday hike scheduler. He is being replaced by Bruce Bente. Richard Walkey, Anita Walkey and Elizabeth Feil retired as the Sunday half-day hike scheduler to be replaced by Pat Elias and Paula Robbins. Ken Deal, Carol Deal and Paula McNabb are responsible for the Wednesday hikes.
5. Distinguished Service and appreciation award Carroll Koepplinger, the new chair of the awards committee, thanked Linda Blue, the past chair of the committee. Carroll was aided by Jorge Munoz and Curt Holliday. The Award of Appreciation went to Danny (Danielle) and Lenny Bernstein for their contribution this past year. They were cited separately for their work on the CMC database, organizing the Wilderness First Aid course, trail maintainers on the A.T. and M-S-T and becoming the Education and Training Chair. Les Love received the Long-term Distinguished Service award. Among his many contributions over the years, Les is the Vice-President of the club. He is the section supervisor for the M-S-T section from Pisgah Inn to the Folk Art Center. He organizes the quarterly trail maintenance days. Hiking sticks were presented to all three awardees.
6. Highlights of the past year Don Walton enumerated the highlights of the club activities. A. The A.T. Firescald Ridge relocation was dedicated. B. The membership database has been redesigned to yield more information and become more useful. C. Let's Go, the newsletter, has been redesigned. D. A memorandum of understanding has been signed with the Blue Ridge Parkway to build a new addition to the M-S-T. E. The Fontana week-end was attended by 51 people and was a great success. We thank Bruce Bente for organizing it. F. We have moved our historic documents to a UNCA History Depository. We thank Pete Steurer and Bernard Elias for working with the UNCA library on this project. G. CMC is one of five clubs planning the 2005 A.T.C. bi-annual conference. We are responsible for workshops, headed by Howard McDonald and excursions headed by Tommie Boston. Lenny Bernstein heads the whole CMC effort and is the club liaison to the A.T.C. planning committee. H. We instituted a two-day Wilderness First Aid Course. We will offer this course every other year. The next one will be scheduled for November, 2004. I. A new arm of the CMC, Education and Training, was formed. Danny Bernstein will lead this effort. J. A weekly e-mail newsletter was started by Don Walton. It has received many positive comments on the newsletter. K. CMC is participating in the A.T.C. vision planning process. L. The Challenge program has grown to create new hiking challenges.
6. Challenge Committee. Dave Wetmore, the chair of the Challenge Committee, described the three hiking challenges sponsored by the club: South Beyond 6000 (SB6K), Pisgah 400 (P400) and the Western North Carolina loop. Amy Treverton, chair of the SB6K subcommittee, presented patches and certificates to 16 hikers who finished all 40 over 6,000 feet this year. Dave introduced the Pisgah 400 as a challenge for those who may not want to crawl through rhododendron bushes on their way to a peak. The 400 miles of the Pisgah District of the Pisgah National Forest can be walked as day hikes. He announced the first two honorary members of the P400, Bernard Elias and Tom Bindrim. Tom Sanders is the first and only person who has walked the Western North Carolina Loop. He also designed the loop.
7. Membership We have 543 members at this time.
8. Treasurer's Report and Budget Becky Smuckers, the treasurer, presented the budget (attached). She pointed out that there is a club policy that we keep a reserve of a year's expenses. She made a motion to approve the 2004 budge which was carried unanimously.
9. Appalachian Trail Howard McDonald detailed the status of several A.T. projects. A. The A.T. relocation at Sam's Gap has been completed. This was necessary because of the opening of the new section of I-26. B. The relocation of the trail section at Firescald Ridge is now completed and has been dedicated. It took 10,800 hours of volunteer labor. Priced at $16 an hour, this was a $172,800 relocation. C. Roaring Fork Shelter was relocated. The shelter had been too close to a road. There is a handicapped accessible toilet as part of the rebuilding of the shelter.
10. Mountain-To-Sea Trail Don Walton detailed the status of several M-S-T projects. A. The interpretive sign at Rattlesnake Lodge has been put in place. Don has received many positive comments about it. This was supported by the Alan Barton Memorial Fund. B. Mt. Mitchell live webcam and 10 interpretive signs on the nature trail on top of Mt. Mitchell were donated from the Alan Barton Memorial Fund. C. Pete Bodenhorst was named Volunteer of the Year by the Blue Ridge Parkway. D. Don recognized the 165 M-S-T trail maintainers who together put in 6,600 hours of work. In particular, he recognized Jorge Munoz who put in the most hours.
11. Nominating Committee and Election of officers John Pawcio, the chair of the nominating committee, thanked the outgoing officers for their service: Les Love as vice-president, Becky Smuckers as treasurer and Joe Cirvello and Brad Van Diver as councilors. He announced the nomination of the slate of officers for 2004: Don Walton, President Gerry McNabb, Vice-President Lenny Bernstein, Membership Secretary Carroll Koepplinger, Treasurer
Bruce Bente, Linda Blue, Pete Bodenhorst, Les Love, Bill Ross, Stuart Taube as councilor
John Pawcio made a motion to approve the 2004 slate of officers which was carried unanimously.
12. Other business There was no other business.
13. The 2003 Annual meeting was adjourned at 9 P.M.
Respectfully submitted by Danny Bernstein for Lenny Bernstein November 4, 2003
Firefly camping week-end June 18 to 20, 2004
I am planning a camping and hiking week-end in the Elkmont campgrounds in the Smokies. There will be several levels of hikes, depending on the group The main attraction will be to see the synchronous fireflies, a phenomenon which occurs no place else in the world but Maylasia. As part of their mating ritual, fireflies flash on and off. The other attraction will be a tour of the Elkmont houses with a great amateur historian. The cost per person will be $20 which includes two days of camping at Elkmont and a stipend for the historian.
If you are interested in the week-end, I need the following information from you: 1. How many people will you have in your tent? 2. Do you like to hike A. 6-8 miles? B. 8-10 miles? C. 10 ++ 3. Would you be interested in participating in a group dinner on Saturday evening (maybe a barbecue)??
If we have enough interested people, I need to make reservations soon. Please send the answers to these questions to me Danny Bernstein at danny@hikertohiker.org . Please sign your email with your first and last name.
Welcome to CMC new members
Dave and Peggy Beaman, Donna Buis, Jack and Maxine Dalton, Warren Davis, Angie Elkins, Steven Fee, Kiva Fuller, Gene and Linda Gambrell, Warren Gearrick, Frank and Janet Konchar, Carlette Lewis, Arnie Lingle, Marianne Newman, Elizabeth O'Shea, Frank Parker, Thomas Riley, John Robinson, Nancy Rogers, Tom Snyder, Josh Spurling, Jack Thomas, Tim Wagner and Jo Wicker.
CMC History Book Update Completed
Peter Steuer, Club Historian, has presented a four page update to the Club History covering the last 10 years. The Council approved the update. The update will be added to the existing history and copies distributed to attendees at the Annual Meeting and Dinner. It will then be placed on the Club website and new members notified as to where they can find it. http://www.carolinamtnclub.org/data/CMC-HistoryBook.pdf
National Trails Day 2004 Set
Save the date for National Trails Day Saturday, June 5, 2004. The theme – Trails and Health…A Natural Connection - continues to focus on the health benefits of trails. By working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we want to encourage people to learn about the enjoyment of trails as well as how they can become healthier. Start planning your event today! Whether it is a gentle walk, an industrious work trip, a nature hike, or a variety of activities, it takes time to organize, obtain a place, and get the word out. Contact local retailers, including, Galyan’s, REI, and Eastern Mountain Sports who can help recruit volunteers and publicize your event. They are also good to partner with for hosting an event, along with local health organizations, parks, forests, nature centers, Boy and Girl Scouts – be creative, invite any local organization with an interest in health or trails to participate and broaden the trail experience! Include events for kids – the next generation of trail users and maintainers. For more information visit our web site at: www.AmericanHiking.org .
Save the Date - Trails Advocacy Week: February 29- March 3
Learn how to lobby for your favorite trails and "Hike the Hill" during American Hiking Society's Advocacy Week 2004, scheduled for February 29 – March 3 in Washington, DC. Advocacy Week takes place during a pivotal time in the federal budget cycle and provides training on trails issues and advocacy skills, plus the opportunity to network with federal personnel and representatives of trail organizations from around the nation. The efforts of Advocacy Week participants over the years have contributed to notable funding increases for a number of the national scenic and historic trails and increased funding and awareness for hiking trails and recreation programs across the nation.
Registration materials and hotel information will be available in the coming weeks. For more information, visit: www.AmericanHiking.org/policy/advo_week.html or contact Celina Montorfano at 301-565-6704 ext. 205 or CMontorfano@AmericanHiking.org
OLD ISSUES OF LET’S GO ARE AVAILABLE
Previous issues of Let’s Go, dating back to 1998, are available for any CMC member who wants to fill in his/her collection. Old issues can be useful for researching previous CMC hikes. Anyone wanting any of these old issues should contact Bruce Bente at bbente@cytechusa.com , or phone 692-0116, and make arrangements to pick them up on a future hike.
What you need for a day hike
Bringing the proper equipment will add greatly to your enjoyment, your safety, and the enjoyment and safety of the group. This stuff is essential if you are going out in the woods for more than a couple of hours. Make sure that you are comfortable with your equipment and you know where it all fits in. Do not carry anything in your hands; do not tie a jacket around your waist. Everything should fit in your daypack. Carry your wallet and keys in your daypack, at all times. In your daypack: Two quarts of water in plastic water bottles (not soda bottles) Lunch and snacks Rain jacket (no matter what the forecast) Long sleeve shirt (no matter what the forecast) Sunglasses Wool or fleece hat and gloves Insect repellent Sunscreen Tissues Personal first aid kit Small flashlight Plastic bag for trash If it is not the height of a warm summer, add: Warm fleece hiking sweater or jacket Rain pants How to dress: Shorts and a short-sleeve T-shirt as the bottom layer. Hiking boots that are well broken-in and that go over the ankles Good hiking socks (not sports socks). Sunhat with a wide brim Bandanna which you need to keep handy Dress in layers: Your first layer should be a short-sleeve t-shirt (synthetic, not cotton) even if it seems cool in the morning. You will warm up. Your second layer should be a long-sleeve shirt (also synthetic). If you need extra layers, you will have your warm hiking sweater and rain jacket. Shorts give you more mobility and keep you cooler; pants give you more protection from insects and brush. Questions, comments, additions to the list? Send to danny@hikertohiker.org