Well - last week we had donuts to start the day, a fish fry at noon and a little work to build an appetite. This week we have barbeque ribs and chops for lunch. This crew is getting spoiled rotten!!! Johnny Wright at the Sandburg NP is saying thanks to the crew for not only clearing the storm damage, but also for the other work we have done for them. Meet at the front parking lot at the Carl Sandburg National Park at 8. We will clear the alternate trail and do some erosion control work. As always, please let me know if you will be out this week. Bill

Folks, Well, you all had a nice day off last week with a fish fry tossed in thanks to the Park Service, so you should be ready to get back to work. This week we will again be multi-tasking with a number of different projects going on. First priority is to move the privy at Groundhog Creek Shelter over the very fine new hole dug by John Soldati and his band of merry men two weeks ago. Also at the shelter we need to make some repairs to the roof rafters where they have given in to old age and weather. We have a report of some trees down between Brown Gap and the shelter, so we want to send a saw team down there to get them, and just to keep life really interesting we have been told that a large tree is down on top of the privy at the Walnut shelter. We need to get someone in to evaluate that problem, and if we are sending a team around that way Friday, It also makes sense to drop off a saw team at Max Patch and have them work down to Brown Gap. so we are sure the AT is clear. How much of this gets done, depends on who can come Friday, so please come if you can, and let me know if you will be one of our hearty bunch. Meeting place for Asheville people will be the Home Depot at exit 44 of I-40 at 8:00. Hendersonville folks meet at the old Ingles at 7:20. Howard is bringing the wood to repair the shelter roof and for the privy hole cover, and he and I will bring tools for the roof and privy jobs. We need 3 saw teams (Brown Gap to Groundhog, Max Patch to Brown Gap and cutting the tree off the shelter at Walnut), so sawyers, please let me know if you are wanting to do some cutting. Hope for a good turn-out Friday. Skip

John Soldati's Wednesday Work Crew

Another delay in getting to High Rocks on the AT. Looks like the park service and CMC need a section cleared on the MST that is forcing hikers and dogs to detour onto private property. I have looked at the site and it seems that our crew, hopefully if we show, can do the small cut-out and relo in a single day. The good news is that it is right in our Crew's back yard...just 213 feet, 9 and 3/4 inches SOUTH of BRP Mile Marker 389. I have flagged the access entry point that will allow a huge hike of less that 213 yards to the work site. For those of you who may be "directionally challenged" here are the directions: 1. Travel south on the BRP (Blue Ridge Parkway); 2. Pass over US HWY 25 (and begin to slow down)...look for Mile Marker 389 (it is on the west (Right Hand) side of the pavement and made out of concrete); 3. The access we are taking in is on the east side of the BRP (you can find east by scratching your left ear as you pass over US HWY 25 driving south) and I've marked the "sunken road" access with two fire pink ribbons just 213 ft., 9 & 3/4 inches BEYOND BRP Mile Marker 389. If you miss BRP mile Marker 389 you can drive 12 miles to the Pisgah Inn parking lot and turn around OR you can just watch for the big dark truck parked on the east side of the BRP at the correct access point. Of course, coming in from Bent Creek BRP access and driving north is a little more difficult. Hope to see all of you out. Meet at 8:07 AM at access point noted ABOVE. We will need trail tools and two saws. Jorge: please call Charlie (you can read directions to him) and please bring your saw. It's going to be warm after 10:37 AM tomorrow so make sure you have water, gloves, hats, packs, lunch etc., etc. In all seriousness, be CAREFUL of the local morning traffic, approaching from the north on the BRP requires a U turn onto the wide grassy shoulder at this access point. See you all there. As usual please REPLY: Thanks, JS

Post Work Report: We had a magnificent five out today and we met huddled next to the BRP while a rain squall made the day look bleak. Nevertheless, we stayed the course and it stopped raining almost immediately. Got all the big ones (trees) and the major stressed ones out of the way and the crew laid down some great and impressive trail rehabilitation. Two root ball holes were refilled; more than 12 small and bothersome stumps removed; the Relo was installed at the "detour junction" close to the private road, a distance of about 38 and half feet. Major lopping took place as well as tread work done and we kept the trail very close to the "original" tread way and actually reclaimed 12 feet of old original trail that was closed off due to springers and old fallen trees. We then took on the large trail blockage just north of the Biltmore Road and MST junction at the site of the small steps up and down an old drainage ditch. Then we drank iced cold beer and Pepsis...then we went home. We were lucky today having only one saw, but encountered no problems. We missed Mr. Munoz who was ailing a bit; we missed our other regular guys, David Bair and our "very own" Mr. Roberts and of course Bob. Finally, we again thank Norma for the superb brownies. We are getting spoiled! A good day and lots of work on a real challenging section. Thanks people. Official report follows. JS

Anyone interested in joining the trail crews contact: Hendersonville area-Bill Newton, 828-693-4033, Brevard area-Dick Johnson, 828-884-3685, Asheville area-Skip Shelton, 828-891-3264 or Piet Bodenhorst, 828-298-8371, Misha Lazer, 828-259-9729, lazerm@bellsouth.net , Mike Lang, 828-658-1914, mlang626@buncombe.main.nc.us

The roads are clear, the Parkway is in tune, All we need is you!!! Just a reminder that on Nov. 5 at 8:30 AM we are clearing the Buck Spring Lodge sight and we need all the hands available. Please come. The self car pool meeting place is the French Broad O/L (BRP mile 393 +/-) The work sight is at the Pisgah Mt. Parkway entrance. If you are a Certified sawyer please bring your equip. We will use 8 saws if available. If you can run a weed eater please let me know. We will have the Equipment. Can you use Loppers? We need you. If you have them bring them. All others please bring gloves, a great attitude and a blank mine-we need you to drag branches to the chipper! Do not forget water, more water and proper weather gear. Some of you might also think of bringing lunch as it could be a long day. We hope to have several news folks join us, so look pretty and be careful what you say!! you might be quoted. Please spread the word to all who are not on my E-mail See you there, Piet

A record of each person certified to operate a chainsaw on trails that the CMC maintains has been added to the web site. The list is intended to serve several purposes. First, the list will show for the first time the names and location of the sawyers that are available to contact to help clear the trails that we are responsible for. Second, the listing also accumulates for the first time our expiration dates for the three certifications that you must have to remove trees for the Forest Service and National Park Systems in our region. The three certifications are: Sawyer, First Aid and CPR. The typical terms of certification are 3 years for sawyer, 2 years for First Aid and 1 year for CPR. the listing may viewed with Usernumber and Password at www.carolinamtnclub.org/members/members.asp .

DISASTER!!!! My laptop crashed and I lost my current listing of trail workers. I am on my desktop and know some addresses are wrong and others are missing. Please look over the addresses and get word on to those you notice are missing or incorrect. Anyway for this week we will work at the Kellogg Center and on Fletcher Creek trail. Rumor has it that there may be donuts and coffee at Kellogg, so I suggest we all meet there and then we will send a few on to Fletcher creek. At Kellogg we have a little work with some very minor blowdowns but one large root ball which pulled up some of the trail. At Fletcher creek there is a railing broken on the bridge and some minor blow downs. I have materials (2X4 and 11 nails - 9 for holding the wood and 2 for dropping in the creek) for the bridge. Some of you may want to just meet at the Folk Art Center on the parkway for the fish fry at noon. Those working meet at the Kellogg Center at 8:30. (note later time) Please let me know if you will be out this week. Bill

Folks, Don Walton pointed out to me that the MST trail sections we were going to cover on Friday have already been completed. There are a couple of other jobs in the area, but nothing that would take the whole crew and that we could be sure of finishing by 11:30 and staying half way clean, so we wouldn't be kicked out of the fish fry for bad odor. For that reason, lets call Friday a vacation day and everyone just go directly to the fish fry at 12:00. We will not meet at 8:00. Have a good day off. Skip

Folks, As you all know, the Park Service Fish Fry is Friday at the Folks Art Center on the Parkway at 12:00 noon. We are going to try to get a little work done that morning if possible, so we can feel real good about eating their fish. There are two sections of the MTS trail near the Center that haven't been cleared since the storm, so we will do them. The section from US-25 to US-25A is about 1/2 mile and can be done by one team. The other section is from The French Broad River to I-26. This one is about 2 miles long, so I would like to put a team on it from each end, so we are sure to get it completed before lunch. That means I need 3 saws and about 6 swampers to work Friday morning. If you want to be part of the team, please let me know and plan to meet at the French Broad Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway at 8:00. We will split up from there and go directly to the Fish Fry when we complete our assigned section. I will bring my saw and be on one team. Please let me know if you can bring a saw (I need 2 more) or if you want to be a swamper. We can always use some lopping and tread work as well, if we get a good turnout. Please come if you can. I need to hear from you if you will be there so I can make up the teams. Skip

John Soldati's Wednesday Work Crew

It looks like the majority of all MST sections have been cleared of trees. And if not, some of us will go in and clean the "spot" ones on Friday before the Fish Fry. So, the Wed. Crew will return to our favorite trail, The Appalachian Trail. We'll be off to Spivey Gap (or precisely .03 miles east of the Gap) and head south to do tread work, steps, silt bars, water bars, sidehilling etc. We will have a hike of about 1.1 mile in and back. Hope to have a good group...those of you have slugged through the "swamping" weeks after Mr. Ivan...we will do real trail work. Let's MEET at 8:00 AM in Weaverville at McDonalds off of HWY 23/19 and junction HWY 25. Park on the far left rear of the McDonalds lot. Since Jorge has been packing a saw most of the month, we will give him a break. Mr. Hamberger will return as well and do some "light" work. As usual, we will be watching the weather, so check in around 6:45 AM to see if we show an "abort" message. And...finally as usual, REPLY as to your coming out. Hope to see all of you out there. JS

Work Report: We appreciate Charlie Hamberger's returning to the Crew with his "Peace Offering" of super, homemade, ultimate and classic brownies (made we are told by Norma). Thanks Charlie...and the work you did despite our request to "take it easy" today. We got almost to Spivey Gap and hit a "wet" solid rain. Instead of aborting and drinking coffee, this determined (but silly) crew decided to attack some MST rehabilitation on Lew and Jane's section. A huge root ball (fallen tree) pulled up all of the trail on a steep inclined...the fabulous five who were out today, used every trail building technique in the manual...we built a nine and half foot bridge, put in many large steps, installed rock and wood cribbing, plus did sidehilling and used rock "crush" to complete one step. We installed silt bars as well and ran almost empty on the gas and oil supply for the saw. Good day guys, but the brownies were the best! Official report follows. JS

WORK DONE: Major repair of large root ball trail destruction: bridge, cribbing, steps etc.

WORK PENDING: There is much work to do on this steep hill just south of 1st parking lot up from Weaverville on Ox Creek Rd. Repair stone steps, wood bars etc.

Mile Lang's Monday Work Crew

The glory days of cleaning up the big blowdown are over. It's back to playing in the mud, stairs, cribbing, water bars, and such. Monday meet at Folk Art Center at 8:00 AM, weather permitting. We will be working between Ox Creek Road and Craven Gap. If time permits Jorge claims to have a couple of other small projects in the area. Bring your dirt digging tools. Jorge will have a saw if any stairs or such has to be installed. Barth