We're off to the AT this week! Spring is here and the hikers are migrating north. Time to clear the trails for them so they can get home in a few months and remember North Carolina as the best maintained trails along the entire hike. We will need to re-blaze the entire section and redo some tread work that is beginning to slough off. For the most part I expect the trail to be in good shape, but there is always some touching up to do. We will meet at the Mills River Food Lion at 8 (note we are back to 8 again) and car pool from there. As always, please let me know if you are coming out this Friday. Bill

Folks, Friday is good Friday and the start of the Easter weekend, so I don't know how many folks are going to be out doing trail maintenance, but if we have enough for a crew, we will go. I suggest we head back to the "beauty Shop" work on the AT section that runs though the pump gap loop. We finished the trail up to the first intersection with the loop trail, so this week we will proceed inside the loop with the same kind of clean-up and fix-up work we did earlier. Bring digging tools and loppers. Alan did all the cutting last week, so we shouldn't need a saw. Asheville folks meet at the Forest Service office at 8:00. Hendersonville people at Ingles at 7:20. Please let me know if you are coming. This is very important this week, because if we don't have 4 or 5 who want to go out, we will abort. I will send out a note Thursday evening letting you know if it is go or no-go. Skip

                                                       CMC SURVEY OF TRAIL MAINTENANCE CREW VOLUNTEERS (TMCV)

The Education Committee of the Carolina Mountain Club wants to determine how trail crew maintenance volunteers (TMCV) feel toward receiving some type(s) of rewards for the diligent and persistent efforts made by them on behalf of hikers. While many of our TMCV perform additional labor on the MST and Appalachian Trail as section maintainers, this survey is for those volunteers who participate on scheduled maintenance crews from Asheville and local communities such as Brevard and Flat Rock/Hendersonville.

No names of any volunteer will be noted on the results of the survey and the conclusions will be made available to all TCMV.

Please select the rewards that may appeal to you or feel free to suggest other ideas as well. However, further note that CMC may not make any reward(s) available. CMC, at this moment, only wants input from TMCV. You may contact me through email:
jr4152@bellsouth.net or mail your response to: J. Soldati,
14 Beaumont Dr., Hendersonville, NC 28739. I am asking each crew leader to send this survey to their respective crew volunteers either by email or make a few copies available for those who do not use the Internet. I would like as many responses and comments by the end of March 25, 2005.

The Education Committee wishes to determine if TMCV would want to be recognized and/or rewarded in some positive fashion such as:

1. Annual recognition dinner

2. A recognition dinner (but not an annual event)

3. Tangible rewards:
    a. CMC annual dues reduction

    b. CMC annual dues forbearance

    c. Gift certificates (Outdoor sport centers)

    d. Longevity patches (such as 2 year, 5 year, 10 year etc.)

    e. TMCV recognition patch

    f. Annual letter of appreciation & thanks from the president of CMC

    g. "Certificate of Appreciation & Thanks" from the president of CMC

    h. Apparel (T-shirts, jerseys, jackets)

    i. Other rewards (please list)

4. Nothing (no rewards, no dinners, just let us do our thing)

5. Other comments

Mountain Lake Hotel, Virginia Friday, April 1, 2005 through Sunday, April 3, 2005

What’s happening? • Meetings of the new Regional Partnership Committees for both of the ATC southern offices, with the first opportunity for agency partner participation. (The information packet will include a description of ATC’s new committee structure.) • An “Agency Round Table” to provide an opportunity for agency partners to come together and discuss issues of mutual concern regarding the A.T. • Updates on Trail management activities from cooperative management partners • Opportunities to spend time with kindred souls who care about the Trail • Opportunities to walk with fellow hikers on the trails surrounding the Mountain Lake Hotel (see enclosed brochure) • Selection of Konnarock crew projects for 2006 and 2007

Who should attend? • A.T. Cooperative Management Partners and anyone interested in A.T. management and the future of the cooperative management system. • Please pass this information along to any club members and agency employees who might be interested in attending. All are welcome.

What’s New? • You may have noticed that we’ve changed the name of this annual meeting. We’ve made some fundamental changes in ATC’s governance structure and this meeting reflects some of those changes. • The ATC regional offices in Virginia and the Deep South each have a new Regional Partnership Committee (RPC) which will help direct and shape the building of capacity and program priorities in those offices. • The RPC meetings will form the core of the agenda this year. There will be 3 sessions: o During the first session, club, ATC and agency partners for each of the two RPC’s will meet to discuss general A.T. management issues. Virginia and Deep South groups will meet in separate sessions. o For the second session, club and ATC partners for each RPC will meet to discuss ATC/club business issues, while agency partners will meet together to discuss agency issues of mutual concern regarding the A.T. and ATC. o In the third session, we’ll all meet together to summarize and compare our efforts from the first two sessions.

Please join us at Mountain Lake Hotel. Move into the future with ATC and help us shape that direction. Help us figure out how ATC’s new system will work for you.

Enclosures: • Draft Agenda: Please contact the Virginia office (540-961-5551, or atc-varo@atconf.org with comments or specific issues that you wish to see addressed. • Registration Package • Mountain Lake Hotel Brochure

John called saying we need to fix the bridge over Bishop Branch before someone falls in, so this week we are off to the Green River Gamelands again.

Meet at the Friends of the Library building on Spartanburg Hwy at 8;30.Watch your mail Friday before leaving in case of weather related changes. As ever please let me know if you will be out. Bill

Mike Lang/Barth Brooker Monday Crew

Removed 7 trees from trail. Lots of lopping. Used saw to remove numerous rhododendrons which were hanging over the trail. Improved several wet spots.

Met three through hikers who praised the condition of our portion of the AT. They encountered blowdowns further South (not our portion of the AT).