This Friday we will join with the CMC Asheville crew to begin the restoration of the Buck Springs Lodge site. This will be the beginning of a very long project - the first phase of which is to clear the land where some 10 buildings once stood. We will be doing sawing, weedeating, removal of debris to a chipper etc. I will make up three saw teams as requested by Piet (no one take offense, please) and we will assign areas to work so the job can be done safely. Others will run weedeaters and still others are needed to haul the cuttings to the chipper. Note the two attachments from Piet. Should be a fun and different kind of day. We need all the bodies we can muster, so if at all possible, please try to make it this week. We will meet at the ranger station at 8 and car pool on up to the lodge site from there. As ever, please let me know if you will be out this week. Bill

John Soldati's Wednesday Work Crew

OK: We will try to go to the AT again and High Rocks via Whispering G. We have a delima, however. 1) Bad weather; 2) Overdose on late TV due to General Elections Returns Tuesday evening and early morning Wednesday: If bad weather, there will be an early email message for an abort. If you guys want to stay in and sleep due to # 2) above please VOTE your choice. If we have enough to do the job we will plan to MEET at Weaverville at 8:00 AM. We will ask Jorge to bring a saw and pass this message to Mr. Hamberger; everyone else bring trail tools. Should there not be enough people planning to come out, I will get a second email out to everyone before late afternoon Tuesday. I have a very busy day with voting, doctors and lab work so look for the message late PM Tuesday. As usual a rapid REPLY will help. Hope we get a good crew out Wednesday. JS

Looks like a very small "Turnout" potential for Wednesday. We will have four out so we are NOT going to work at H. Rocks on the AT since that project will take a few more people than what we have. So let's MEET at Folk Art Center at 8:00 AM. We will meet Mr. Munoz at Craven Gap (MST) trail junction a few minutes later. I will call Jorge around 6:50 AM to see if it is raining in that area. Be on alert for an "Abort" for rain around 7:00 AM. JS

Post Work Report: We braved a "weak" gray sky today with greeting Barth, Charlie and Jorge to the diminished Crew and stayed away, again, from High Rocks due in part to too small a crew to accomplish what we need to do there. Instead we hit north of Craven Gap and ended at Haw Creek, installing and cleaning much needed water and silt bars. A lot of work up through 11:30 AM when we got down to H. Creek O/L. 6 new large bars, two good sized silts and more than a dozen old bars cleaned and drainage ditch improved. Charlie and Barth returned with me to F. Art Center to help remove the very large and long oak tree that has plagued the "nature trail" there. With a lot of their help (saw got really pinched" and a borrowed saw from the Park Service Maintenance Crew, we got the tree removed (love that big 20" bar on the Stihl Pro). Barth and Charlie did a lot of work on what was to be a less than 20 minute project. Good day, despite the rain. Thanks guys. Official Report follows. JS

nyone 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

Hi all you lucky people. I just wanted to bring you up to date on how everything is coming on the shelter. Three large locust logs are at the site. Two of these form the sills that will be on top of the foundation posts that we put in so rapidly. The privy is in place and, I understand, it has been christened. The trail to the privy is finished and all of the Killer Trees on the tent-pad trail are cut. Unfortunately, I have a number of week-end meetings to attend and cannot schedule another session to start putting logs in place until the week-end of Nov 20-21. Let me know if that works for you and let's all hope for good weather! Thank you! Howard

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 .

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

Mile Lang's Monday Work Crew

Monday we are going to walk the MTS trail from Rt. 128 to Camp Alice or visa versa or both. Is is the only section of trail above Folk Arts Center which has not been reported on since the storms. We want to check it before winter sets in making it inaccessible. If time permits we can start cleaning up the mess at Rattlesnake lodge site to make it at least more presentable. This could use a couple of saws. Meet at Folk Arts Center at 8:00 and Ox Creek Rd. for those coming the back way. Please Let me know if you can make it. Barth

For all practical purposes the MST has now been covered up to Mt. Mitchell. There were a few downed trees, about 8 small trees which we removed. The rangers informed us that the trail up to and down from the observation tower has been cleared by them. The trail we covered has a number of spots where the water collects and one stream which is a bit hard for some hikers to cross. Some sort of bridge would probably be washed out in heavy rains so it is not clear what the fix could be. In a number of spots the trail is more of a rocky stream bed rather than a trail. The hikers do their own relocation along side the trail. There is no easy solution to this. For now the path of the hikers should cause no problem. Overall the trail is good until the spring check. On the request of Piet we stopped and checked the sign problem at the Craggy visitor center which causes visitors to find themselves headed for Maine instead of Craggy Gardens. Also, Howard pointed this out to me a couple of months ago. There is definitely a need for some additional signs in that area. I will give the details to Piet. Other than that what a beautiful day for a hike. Barth