Carolina Mountain Club
Hike - Save trails - Make friends
July 4, 2007
Happy Independence Day!
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| Happenings in the next three weeks | Things you should know now! |
| Other News | Plan ahead |
| Conservation | Oconaluftee Visitor Center planning |
| Heard on the Ground | Maintenance News and Views |
| Heard on the Trail | Another gift certificate for 2008 |
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Please send me your hiking news, hike and maintenance reports by Monday evening at 9 P.M. before the newsletter comes out, that is, by Monday evening July 23, 2007 to Danny Bernstein danny@hikertohiker.com. Include your email address at the end of your story. Thank you. The CMC Calendar is meant to answer the perennial question "When is this happening again?" It is also meant to prevent conflicts between competing CMC events. Please check it often. How to join the Carolina Mountain Club What's Happening in the Next Three Weeks 36th ATC Biennial Conference July 13-20, 2007, in Mahwah, NJ Visit us at www.Ramapo2007.orgEight Days of Fun – Come for a day, weekend, or every day. Everyone is welcome, no membership required Hikes – on the Appalachian Trail and some of 1,669 miles of marked trails in NY and NJ maintained by the NY-NJ Trail Conference Based at Ramapo College in Mahwah, NJ, Just south of NY-NJ state line, near I-287. Minutes from the AT ---------------------- Back to Top Trip to HikeInn
The accommodations in each room are a single bunk bed (two people per room). The cost, including breakfast and supper, is $70/night/adult, based on double occupancy. A 50% down payment is needed to hold your reservation. We plan to stay there 11/ 6 and 11/7, with the following itinerary: Wednesday, 11/7: Hike up to the Appalachian Trail start point on Springer Mtn. and back to the Lodge, 9 miles round trip. Thursday, 11/8: Hike out on AT approach trail, about 8 miles. Stop to see Amicalola Falls and drive home, with possible stops on the way to see such things as Dahlonega and Helen. If you’re interested in going on this trip, please contact Chris Ogden at ogdenc1@bellsouth.net. Let Chris know ASAP so that rooms can be held during the end of leaf season in Georgia. The picture above is of a sunrise at the Hike Inn, taken from their website. ---------------------- Back to Top National Trails Day in Charlotte I'd like to thank Danny Bernstein for joining me and representing the Carolina Mountain Club at "Green Ways to Hike - A National Trails Day Celebration" held in Charlotte at Jesse Brown's Outdoors on June 16th. CMC newsletters and membership information were displayed and we talked to a number of people about CMC and the various day hikes and projects. We had about 145 people attend displays of the CMC, Sierra Club, Carolina Raptor Center, Fit City Challenge, Charlotte Mecklenburg Greenways, the Catawba Land Conservancy, the Mountain to the Sea Trail and the American Hiking Society. In addition, the CMC was mentioned in interviews on the "Carolina Outdoors" radio show and WBT Talk Radio on June 16th and in various email announcements. It was a very successful event in promoting awareness of outdoor issues and organizations and we plan to continue the tradition next year in celebrating National Trails Day in Charlotte. Bill Gupton,
American Hiking Society Ambassador, wmgupton@aol.com ---------------------- Back to Top Help needed for MST GPSer I am Arthur Kelley, an MST volunteer from Raleigh. In consultation with Jeff Brewer I'm doing a project to walk the MST hiking trails using a GPS and to map the results. You can see some sections closer to Raleigh here at http://community.webshots.com/user/NCMSTMAPS I need help arranging shuttles along the MST in the Mountain Region. I'm hoping you can help. This e-mail is being sent to everyone in the Mountain Region as listed on the NCMST.ORG website. So far I've done Bur-Mill to near Bryan Parks (Greensboro), Eno River State Park, West Point on the Eno and Eno River Greenway (Durham), The Falls Lake Trail (Raleigh), and the Neusiok Trail (Croatan NF). Right now, these maps are a "work in progress". When I'm done they will be available for MST use and planning. This summer I have 6 weeks off from work so I'm going to map the mountain trails. In consultation with Jeff, I've divided the long mountain hikes into four major sections as shown below:
I'm not planning to hike them in any particular order and I have complete schedule flexibility. Normally, I'm hoping to do the shuttle on Sunday and the hike for the rest of the week. I'd do it all at once, but I need to return to Raleigh between hikes to download the GPS data into my computer! Dear CMC and others: ---------------------- Back to Top Oconaluftee Visitor Center Planning What: Public Scoping Meeting for Oconaluftee Visitor Center Planning The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is preparing a Development Concept Plan/Environmental Assessment (DCP/EA) to evaluate existing facilities at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, as it relates to telling the cultural history of the Park. The DCP/EA will also research conceptual design alternative for facilities that will better meet visitor needs. Please attend a public meeting to be held to answer any questions you may have and obtain your comments on the conceptual design alternatives. For more information visit the NPS PEPC website at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov./projectHome.cfm?parkId=382&projectId=19007
--------------------- Back to Top A.T. SWEAT Crew "Still in the Woods” and in need of volunteers “We are still recruiting people for sessions in July and August,” said Asheville-based ATC Associate Regional Representative Andrew Downs. “If you want to give back to the Appalachian Trail and have fun on a backcountry adventure, this is the best way to do it.” Downs said that volunteers should be experienced backpackers due to the remote nature of the Trail and should be versed in conducting themselves in bear country. Experience with trail maintenance is helpful but not required. The conservancy will provide all the necessary tools—and training in their use—as well as three meals a day, snacks, off-day housing for multi-session volunteers, and transportation to and from the base camp. The crew will travel light and spend the nights along the way. This crew is run in close cooperation with the National Park Service and Smoky Mountains Hiking Club. Volunteers can choose from the following SWEAT Crew dates: Week 4 (7/6-7/11); Week 5 (7/15-7/20; Week 6 (7/24-7/29); Week 7 (8/2-8/7); or Week 8 (8/12-8/16) The A.T. follows the crest of the mountains in the park, through the most remote and some of the highest areas of the 2, 174-mile footpath. That setting also makes it also one of the most challenging areas to maintain. Volunteers who experience the hard work of cutting back brush and rehabilitating the Trail will also help keep open some of the most incredible scenic views in the Southeast, untouched by roads and developments. “The SWEAT Crew is the best way to experience the Smokies wilderness and keep the A.T. safe and accessible for others to enjoy,” said Downs. Information on joining SWEAT Crew is found online at appalachiantrail.org/crews or by calling 828-254-3708. . We knew that we were hurting as far as weedeaters so that was the
main goal. Also the Bevard crew
indicated a need for another chain saw. Since hazel hoes are the
most heavily used item we wanted to
get 6 more of them. It was just a matter of estimating what this
would cost the CMC and that was the
number I submitted on the grant. I did not push for any more than I
thought was the immediate need. --------------------- Back to Top Controlled Burn in the Cherokee National Forest The Cherokee National Forest has proposed to do a controlled burn in the Henry Ridge - Phillips Hollow area. It will be done during the dormant season which ends May 1 or the break of dormancy. The western edge is the road going up to Jones Meadow and the southern edge is the AT going past Blackstack Cliffs, Bearwallow Gap, and the blue blaze AT going to the intersection with the Phillips Hollow Trail. This proposed controlled burn should be kept in mind by those hiking or doing trail maintenance in that area. Howard McDonald. ---------------------- Back to Top Adopt an MST Section The following sections of the Mountains to Sea Trail are available for adoption: These are all beautiful sections that provide great personal satisfaction in caring for them. Contact Don Walton at donwalton@bellsouth.net or 654-9904. ---------------------- Back to Top Maintenance Reports created by Don Walton
---------------------- Back to Top Dopp Kit We were all sitting on an overlook above Linville Falls, wondering where the
word "dopp" in Dopp kit came from. I decided to ask the group of
strangers assembled there. Everyone shook their head to indicate no. One
man looked puzzled. I explained that a Dopp kit is another name for a
toiletry kit. He replied, " Who needs a toiletry kit? I just go in the
woods." : ) (His walking stick was an old broom handle which he said he took with him.) From Jan Onan janonan@bellsouth.net ---------------------- Back to Top |
Danny Bernstein
danny@hikertohiker.com
On recent hikes, we’ve been talking about a trip to Hike Inn. The HikeInn is a rustic lodge near Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia, and is reached only by a moderate 5-mile hike. Take a look at 
The first Smokies Wilderness Elite Appalachian Trail (SWEAT) Crew was dispatched on June 6 and the second session volunteers are in the field now. To date, SWEAT Crew has cut 4.5-miles of brush, installed 31 rock steps, 10 rock water bars, and 20 log steps. The work this crew has to accomplish is far from complete, so the Appalachian Trail Conservancy doesn’t think they’re “out of the woods” yet, especially because they still need volunteers.