CMC E-News
September 28, 2005

        Please send me your hiking news, hike and maintenance reports by Monday evening before the newsletter comes out, that is, by Monday October 10 to Danny Bernstein danny@hikertohiker.org.
Include your email address at the end of your story. Thank you.

What's Happening in the Next Two Weeks

Last chance to sign up for the Fontana Weekend!

Hot Springs to celebrate trail town status on Oct. 3

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Other Important News

Annual Fish Fry on Friday, October 21

The annual Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) fish fry for the volunteer Carolina Mountain Club trail workers. This is for the folks that have worked in the past year on the Mountains to Sea Trail or associated BRP trails.
The lunch will be served at 12:00pm Friday, October 21 at the Folk Art Center Auditorium in Asheville. The volunteers need to RSVP to me by Friday, October 14 as this list is needed for ordering of the food and for
admission. Crew leaders please poll your crews and RSVP the names of attendees to me by October 14 also.

This is the party that no one wants to miss. Don Walton

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Yes, time is running out to send in your nominations for the following:

CMC Distinguished Service Award: An annual award made to a member who, during his/her membership, has made consistent and cumulatively extraordinary contributions to the operation of the Carolina Mountain Club and to the achievement of its goals.

CMC Award of Appreciation: An award made to a member who, during the calendar year prior to the annual meeting, has rendered such exceptional service to the operation of the Carolina Mountain Club that its goals were significantly advanced.

Surely, it cannot be to difficult to find such deserving members for nomination. Please forward the nominations along with background information either by e-mail: Carrollkoepp@Bellsouth.net or to: Carroll Koepplinger, 3306 Idle Hour Drive, Asheville, NC 28806.

The awards will be presented at the annual meeting on Nov. 11 th. Carroll Koepplinger, Chairperson, Awards Committee

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Jon Cook Mackey, In memoriam

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Cades Cove Study

If you have hiked or toured in Cades Cove, you know about the traffic, the pollution and the frustration that comes with driving at 5 mph while a car in front of you has stopped dead in the middle of the road.

A study has been underway to try to improve the traffic situation while offering more education and cultural opportunities on the Cades Cove loop. Seehttp://www.cadescoveplanning.com for all the details.

Five alternatives are being studied:

• No change
• Road improvements
• Reservations at peak times
• Reservations at peak times and voluntary shuttle
• Mandatory shuttle system at peak times

Environmental groups including the Greater Smokies Coalition favors option 5 and so does the Asheville Citizen-Times. In their last editorial on the subject, they write:

The most practical solution would seem to be a regular shuttle bus service that allows people to get on or off whenever they choose. If the buses ran every 10 to 15 minutes, people could get off to take pictures or watch wildlife, to visit historic sites along the way or to enjoy a picnic in a pasture, then return to the loop road and catch the next available bus. (And so could hikers.)

What are the implications for hikers

There are several trailheads off the Cades Cove loop.

1. How early would the shuttle start and how late would it run to?

2. What will happen to the Rich Mountain Road and Parsons Branch Road? Parsons Branch Road has been “temporarily” closed for several years. Rich Mountain Road has one trailhead on it which can be accessed from other trails. They might consider a special shuttle to Gregory Bald trailhead.

3. More bathrooms would be built to attract hikers on the road.

4. It is possible that reservations and transit would not be required during early morning hours.

Phase II of Cades Cove planning has just started and will continue for 22 months. The next set of public meeting will be tentatively scheduled for Summer 2006. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is expected in 2008. In the meantime, you can make your voice heard and comment on the preferred option at http://www.cadescoveplanning.com/pub_inlv.htm Danny Bernstein

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Reviews

Travel Light - Eat Heavy along the Appalachian Trail and other Mystical Routes by Bill McCartney is a book devoted to recipes and menus for long-distance backpacking. For an overnight or two, we've all taken packaged freeze-dry meals, soup mix or an extra sandwich. But if you are out on the trail more than several nights, freeze-dry gets expensive and how many extra sandwiches can one take? That's where McCartney's book comes in.
The author has devised a technique where you only need to boil water and then you pour water on your meal ingredients in a zip lock bag covered in a watch-cap style hat. Try this at home - several times - before you decide that the technique works, especially at 6,000 feet. If it does, you have saved yourself a lot of mess and cleanup.
The book also includes breakfast recipes, including a mixture called regularity and lunch fixings which do not include peanut butter. A recommended book with lots of food ideas. You can get the book on his website, www.travellighteatheavy.com or at Amazon.

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CMC Help Wanted Opportunity

Let’s Go Distribution
For many years Bernard Elias has been distributing copies of Let’s Go, CMC’s newsletter to local hiking stores and other locations. Bernard has told us that he can no longer do this and we are looking for people who would be willing to distribute copies of Let’s Go each quarter to Black Mountain . (We have the other locations covered.) If you can help distribute copies in either or both towns, please contact Lenny Bernstein at Lsberns@worldnet.att.net or (828) 236-0192 for details. Many thanks.

Alternate MST Section Maintainers Wanted!
      The CMC has an Alternate MST sections open, Cat Gap to Neil Gap 3.0 miles. This trail is in good shape and are waiting to start a love affair with an affectionate maintainer! If interested please contact Jim Tanquary, jdtanquary@juno.com or Don Walton at donwalton@bellsouth.net .
     

MST Coordinator wanted!
      The CMC position of Coordinator of the Section Maintainer System for the Mountains to the Sea Trail is open. This prestigious duty for the CMC includes supervising the 5 big sections of the MST (160 miles) which includes 100 volunteer section maintainers. The job is about 1/3rd recruiting of maintainers, 1/3rd communicating with all of the various federal and state agencies and 1/3rd management including recording and reporting all of the hours worked to various places. If interested, please contact Don Walton at donwalton@bellsouth.net .

Heard on the Trail

What is this man doing?

Lenny Bernstein is stamping out a fire on the MST near Ivestor Gap on a recent CMC hike.

Photo taken by Stuart English.

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