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April 5, 2006 |
| Carolina Mountain Club - Hiking and maintaining the trails of Western North Carolina |
| Happenings in the next two weeks | Last chance to join these activities |
| Other News | Important news |
| Review | Wilderness First Aid for Kids |
| Conservation | Forest land for sale |
| Help Wanted | CMC needs you! |
| Heard on the trail | Your treat after a hike. |
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Please send me your hiking news, hike and maintenance reports by Monday evening before the newsletter comes out, that is, by Monday evening April 17 to Danny Bernstein danny@hikertohiker.org. Include your email address at the end of your story. Thank you. What's Happening the Next Two Weeks CMC Spring barbecue and social, Saturday, April 22 A CMC Spring Barbecue will be held at the beautiful North Carolina Arboretum on Saturday, April 22. We’ll have scheduled hikes, including the Bonsai House, a gear "swap meet" and lots of socializing. All CMC members and their families and friends are invited. We will have 2 scheduled hikes: the first starting at 2:00 - meet at the main building - we will go around Lake Powhatan and the Arboretum - about 5 miles. The second hike will be at 3:00 and will be the interior Arboretum loop, including the CMC Trail - about 3 miles. We'll set up a corner of the auditorium for attendees who have hiking or camping gear that they wish to offer for swaps, exchanges or sale. Everyone probably has an extra pack or other no-longer-needed gear hiding in the basement. Bring it along and you'll have a chance to pass it on to a new owner. The cost is $13 per person - the arboretum is waving the gate fee. Please send your check, by April 15 (no exception). made to CMC to: ---------------------- Back to Top Sunday Hunting The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is considering changing the N.C. hunting regulations to allow hunting on Sundays. This would have an impact on Sunday hiking. The State is presently in process of obtaining opinions of N.C. residents to this possible change, before deciding whether to proceed with proposing changing the law against Sunday hunting, which has been in force since 1869. If you have an opinion about this change that you would like to share with the Wildlife Resources Commission, we urge you to submit your comments on a form which is available on the website listed below. The websites are: For an explanation of the proposal: www.wildlife.state.nc.us/sunday_hunt/sunday_hunt.htm For the form to be submitted: http://www.wildlife.state.nc.us/sunday_hunt/sunday_hunt_form.asp ---------------------- Back to Top Hiking and Rafting Weekend in September - Changed to Oct. 6 - 8 The Nantahala hiking and rafting weekend is now scheduled for Friday Oct. 6 to Sunday October 8. Put it on your calendar and plan to hike and explore an area that is too far for a day trip. We will hike in the Nantahala Gorge, Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness area and more. Also a chance to raft with NOC, the "Harvard of rafting". More details, later. Danny danny@hikertohiker.org ---------------------- Back to Top Boot Camp at Diamond Brand April 7 and 8 Diamond Brand Outdoors' Arden location will host the Backpacker Magazine Fit System By Phil Oren Boot Camp in our area this year. It will be the weekend of April 8th. You can see all the info at www.backpacker.com/bootcamp. ---------------------- Back to Top Celebrate Earth Day, have fun, and protect our forests - April 21 Celebrate Earth Day this year by getting Into the Woods, at the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition’s third annual celebration and silent auction, Friday, April 21st, at 6:00pm at the beautiful Crest Center in Asheville. This special event will feature live music from the Greasy Beans. Into the Woods includes food, organic wine, locally-brewed beer, live music, and a silent auction. “ I am always thankful to organizations like the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition for making it possible for me and others to step up our commitment to public land preservation by offering us a way to step out into a fun-filled evening like Into the Woods,” said Shelli Lodge-Stanback, a founding Great Forest Sponsor of Into the Woods. Last year’s event raised more than $10,000 to help protect forests in the region and this year’s goal is even higher. All proceeds from Into the Woods benefit the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition, a group of 22 of the leading public lands conservation groups spanning the six states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Some of the Coalition’s recent accomplishments include introduced legislation that will permanently protect over 55,000 acres of Wilderness in Virginia; discovering, mapping, and campaigning for the protection of over 111,000 acres of previously undocumented old-growth forests in the Southern Appalachians; and defending over 728,000 acres of pristine roadless forests in our region. Into the Woods’ popular silent auction features something for everyone - with over 150 items. Past years included spa passes from the Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa, yoga lessons from Cindy Dollar, pottery by renowned Western North Carolina artists like Leftwich and Yummy Muddle Puddle, a Clinch Mountain Garden House weekend getaway, Orange Peel and Asheville Symphony concert tickets, a one-of-a-kind “tree of life” necklace by dORY, outdoor gear by Patagonia, a Hot Springs getaway and soak, a mountain bike from Hearn’s Cycling, and much more. Don’t miss out on capturing some of these wonderful items – all for a great cause! Log on to the Forest Coalition’s website, www.SAFC.org, for more information and an updated list of sponsors and auction items. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased in advance by calling 828-252-9223 or emailing safc@safc.org. ---------------------- Back to Top GPS Course - Saturday May 13 Don Walton and Dave Wetmore will be presenting the first in a two-course series on GPS use. The class is designed for beginners who have a GPS or are contemplating buying one. The course will consist of several hours of background knowledge and the GPS theory needed to use a GPS intelligently. This will be followed by a GPS demonstration. The second course (for which this one is a prerequsite) will be a field-based course for those who have GPS units. The course will be held May 13th at Diamond Brand, beginning at 8:30 a.m. We should be through by noon or a little later. PREREGISTRATION IS REQUIRED, 10-person limit. Please contact Dave Wetmore or 884-7296 to reserve a place. Preference will be given to those who already have a GPS.---------------------- Back to Top
Book Review - Wilderness First Aid Medical Aid Book for Kids (and their adults)
Steve lives in Asheville and works for Falling Creek Camp in Tuxedo, NC. He recently won the "Pioneers of Camping Award, a prestigious award from the American Camp Association. His book was written up in the April issue of Backpacker which gives it outdoor cred. This WFA book describes basic techniques and has many "what if" situations. The drawings are helpful and humorous.It teaches children about "little cpr" - comfort, protection and reassurance and what he calls the big three - breathing, bleeding and bumped heads. Most important, it tells children that sometimes, when the adult around them is hurt, they are in charge. The real secret is that books for children can be used by adults to learn a new subject easily and quickly. You might want to read his book before you take the standard WFA course. You can get the book from Amazon (of course) or from Milestone Press. Danny Bernstein ---------------------- Back to Top
We need help on two activities. Membership Committee Becky Smucker, our Vice President, will be chairing a Membership Committee with four goals:
If you are interested in this activity, please contact Becky (828) 298-5013, bsmucker@charter.net ATC Guidebook Committee The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) annually publishes the AT Data Book, which provides accurate information on the distances between all highlights on the AT. Every few years, it publishes a new edition of the guidebook to AT in North Carolina and Tennessee. The input to these publications is provided by volunteers from Trail Maintaining Clubs, like CMC. Lewis Blodgett, who for many years has been our volunteer on this activity, has resigned. If you would like to replace Lewis, please contact Lenny Bernstein (828) 236-0192, Lsberns@worldnet.att.net, for details. ---------------------- Back to Top Your forest land could be sold off! Comment period extended to May 1, 2006 Despite strong bipartisan opposition, the Bush administration is forging ahead with its controversial plan to sell national forest lands to help pay for rural schools. Send your comments to the forest service at SRS_Land_Sales@fs.fed.us The CMC recently adopted a position in opposition to the proposed sale of national forest land. The following is a letter sent to the U.S. Forest Service written by Becky Smuckers on behalf of the club. I am writing on behalf of the Carolina Mountain Club. We have over 700 members, are one of the most active hiking and trail maintaining clubs in the East, and have been in existence for 80 years. Our volunteers lead 175 hikes each year, maintain over 400 miles of trails, and build new ones. We promote the conservation of these trails and trail areas. We work with the US Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the State of North Carolina in accomplishing these tasks. The Carolina Mountain Club has adopted the following position in opposition to the proposed sale of national forest land: The Carolina Mountain Club opposes the block sale of National Forest Service land to fund the extension of the Secure Rural Schools & Community Self-Determination Act for the following reasons: • The large-scale sale of increasingly scarce real estate for the purpose of offsetting
short-term financial deficits is unwise and self-defeating in the long run. This administration has moved in the direction of less protection of public lands at a time when citizens are increasingly aware that our own health and welfare depend in large part on the health of our land and environment. We must move in the direction of MORE protection rather than less, or our sakes and those of our children. Respectfully, cc: Senator Richard Burr, Senator Elizabeth Dole, Representative Charles Taylor ---------------------- Back to Top What is your treat after a hike? Not many people have special treats, based on the few responses I got. Fig bars for one person, a few beers after a long backpack, a special coffee drink ... ---------------------- Back to Top |
Danny Bernstein
danny@hikertohiker.org
Steve Longenecker, experienced mountain guide, outdoor educator, and WEMA
(Wilderness Emergency Medical Aid) instructor, wrote the book with both teachers
and students in mind. His original target was youth leaders, Scout leaders, camp counselors and anyone who is in a position where they can influence young people.