Carolina Mountain Club
Hike - Save trails - Make friends
July 25, 2007
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| Happenings in the next two weeks | Things you should know now! |
| Other News | Plan ahead |
| Conservation | Graveyard Fields |
| Heard on the Ground | Maintenance News and Views |
| Heard on the Trail | Leave No Trace in the Bible |
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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 August 8, 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 Two Weeks Invasive/exotic plant identification and removal - July 27, 9 A.M. to 4 P.M. Help protect the Appalachian Trail and surrounding lands from invasive/exotic plants threatening the biodiversity of our special natural resources. Learn how to identify and control invasive/exotic plants while having fun with a diverse group of volunteers. We will be removing invasive/exotic plants along the French Broad River, near Hot Springs, N.C., by pulling, cutting, or chain-sawing (for those who are certified). We will provide:Training and identification on the top 12 unwanted plants July 27, 2007
9:00 am – 4 pm in Hot Springs, NC ---------------------- Back to Top Michael and Kathy engaged
Congratulations and best wishes for the future.
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Linville Gorge Wilderness area The MST (Kisler Memorial Road to Table Rock)- is closed due to recent wildfires that have been an issue for the past several months. For up to date info, call the Grandfather Ranger District. Jeff Brewer ---------------------- Back to Top Trip to HikeInn (last time in the eNews)
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 Where is the Art Loeb plaque?
Ever hopeful, I contacted Randy Burgess, District Ranger for the Pisgah District asking if their staff removed the plaque for some reason - maybe to correct the mileage of the Art Loeb trail. The answer came back quickly. It was vandalized. Someone on his staff is supposed to look into replacing it but I've not heard of any specifics yet. That plaque was the only thing commemorating Art Loeb, an active CMC member. It showed its complete route from the Davidson River, 24 miles to the east to Camp Daniel Boone, 11 miles to the north - however the trail is only 30.1 miles long, the longest trail in the Pisgah District. Danny Bernstein, danny@hikertohiker.com ---------------------- Back to Top Tech requirements eased on CMC photo contest entries I have noticed that some photographers in the club wishing to enter our contest are concerned about not being able to meet my draconian entry requirements in Rule #8 because they don't have the software to reduce photo size. I understand. Therefore, if you prefer, you can simply send me your images as you created them on your digital camera…whatever size your camera uses. I will adjust them for you to the 1024 pixel size and 72ppi for use on the club projector. Most cameras also produce sRGB color, so no adjustment will be required there. It's just the standard. I will make no other adjustments (brightness, contrast, etc.) to your photo. However, I would like you to rename your photos as requested in Rule @11. By the way, I am pleased to announce that the other two judges reviewing your images are Bernard Elias (career at Eastman Kodak and published photographer) and Brad VanDiver (noted for excellent slide shows of his mountain climbing worldwide). I will also be one of the judges. It's not too early to send your entries in. If your entry bounces, it's because I am on holiday and my mailbox is full. Try again a week or two later. These can be large files. Deadline is still Oct. 1, 2007. I will acknowledge receipt of your entry. Send your images via emal to me at: You can see the complete revised Contest Rules by clicking the link to its webpage here: CONTEST RULES. They have been updated on the web. --Gerry McNabb ---------------------- Back to Top Graveyard Fields Update Graveyard Fields (Milepost 419), the second most popular location on the Blue Ridge Parkway, second to Mabry Mill in Virginia is Haywood County's own jumping-off point to the Shining Rock Wilderness Area, the soothing waters of Yellowstone Prong (the headwaters of the Pigeon River), and a high-altitude vegetative environment reminiscent of "above tree line environs" of the Rocky Mountains. High visitation levels have taken its toll on the delicate landscape. In an effort to direct where feet trod, the US Forest Service who owns and manages the land away from the Parkway's 800 foot wide boundary, and the National Park Service as a partner have completed several thousand feet of boardwalk and stair cases in the last 10 years. The first initiative came in 1996 when the Pigeon River Fund awarded a grant to the National Park Service to build a staircase to the "Lower Falls", the most favorite site location. Erosion was a huge problem and the grant guidelines to control run-off were a perfect fit for the project. Earnest volunteers from Waynesville and neighboring communities completed the project in a series of six weekends. Last year, the US Forest Service completed nearly a 1000 feet of boardwalk to direct the traffic away from fragile creek banks which were caving due to increasing foot traffic and a frequently swollen creek. The last staircase is now being completed, thanks to the National Park Service, which will give a more comfortable conveyance from the end of the approach asphalt path to the creek bridge itself. Convenience of access, however, increases visitor demand and to examine the issue and to propose solutions, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, National Park Service, and US Forest Service with the pro bono assistance of LandDesign, a land planning firm in Asheville, will complete this summer an evaluation of issues and resources to make additional recommendations to insure the quality of the visitor experience. (From the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation enews, July 2007) --------------------- Back to Top Join Us and Build the Trail! Saturday August 11. This is your last chance this summer to extend the MST west of Balsam Gap. When: August 11, 2007 Meeting Place: Moose Café at 9:00 AM for car pooling or at the Parkway Maintenance Office, Balsam Gap intersection with Rt. 74/23 south of Waynesville or BRP Mile 447 Overlook @ 9:30 A.M. Tools will be available but if you have digging tools of your own, please bring them. Please call all your friends and acquaintances and invite them. The bigger the group, the more the fun!!! Piet Bodenhorst --------------------- Back to Top We need your volunteer support for the work weekend below! July 27-29, 2007 - Saturday and Sunday - "BIG DIG" - Blue Ridge Parkway – The FMST - South Ashe Task Force: Construction continues on the MST section between NC 16 and US 421 along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Meet at 8:30 AM near milepost 262 just south of the NC 16 junction with the parkway (about 3 miles south of Glendale Springs). Look for orange “MST WORK” sign and vehicles parked on shoulder of the parkway. The FMST will supply the tools, but you may bring loppers, rakes, digging tools, and hand bow saws if you have them. Your RSVP is very helpful so we can plan out projects and tools that are needed. ---------------------- 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 Leave no Trace in the Bible I learned a lot at the recent ATC Biennial Meeting, including the biblical instructions for trail breaks. Deuteronomy 23:12-13 ( the New King James Version) instructs us as follows: "Also you shall have a place outside the camp, where you may go out; And you shall have an implement among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your refuse."In other words: Leave No Trace! However, I was unable to find any reference to banana peels. Lenny Bernstein, lsberns@worldnet.att.net The original King James Bible says: And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, and thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee" Danny Bernstein. [A.T.C. conference report coming next time.] ---------------------- Back to Top |
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Danny Bernstein
danny@hikertohiker.com
Michael Cornn and Kathy Kyle, both active CMC hikers, became engaged in June on a trip out west. They met on a CMC hike and there's even talk about getting married on a mountain top.
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 
On the CMC July 4th hike, we ended up climbing to Black Balsam Knob on the Art Loeb Trail. There is now a hole where the Art Loeb plaque used to be.