Carolina Mountain Club

Hike - Save trails - Make friends

October 10, 2007

Hunting Season

Oct. 15 to Nov. 17
Dec. 10 to Jan. 1

Hiking News | CMC Calendar

        Please read this: The schedule for the eNews has changed. The eNews will now come out on Fridays. So ... The next issue will come out on Friday, October 26. This will allow the Sunday and Saturday hike leaders a little more time to send in their report; Wednesday hike reports for the hike just before the eNews comes out will be published in the next eNews.

So send me your hiking news, hike and maintenance reports by Wednesday evening at 9 P.M. before the newsletter comes out, that is, by Wednesday evening October 24, 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
1. Go to www.carolinamtnclub.org
2. Click on “How to Join” (upper-left on web page)
3. Print out the “CMC Application Form”
4. Fill it Out, write a check for your dues and ...5. Mail to CMC, PO Box 68, Asheville NC 28802

       For CMC members only - Send all address and email changes to Jean Gard at jeangard@charter.net. If you are a non-member subscriber, you need to go back into "subscribe" and change it there yourself.

What's Happening in the Next Two Weeks

Hunting Season Starts!

Bear and Boar Hunting Season is from October 15 to November 17 and then again from December 10 to January 1. There's no hunting in the National or State parks and no hunting on Sunday. At other times, wear something orange. For all details, see http://www.wildlife.state.nc.us/fs_index_04_hunting.htm

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Annual Dinner on Saturday Nov. 3

DON’T BE LEFT OUT! REMEMBER to get your reservations to our mail box by October 26 for the Annual Dinner on Saturday, Nov. 3 for members and guests. Social hour and appetizers is at 5:00, dinner at 6:00, Annual Meeting at 7:00 followed by a presentation of pictures and awards for our Club Photo Contest. Details along with a reservation form and directions to the event in the dining hall at the First Baptist Church of Asheville were inserted in our last Let’s Go. If you’ve lost yours contact Becky Smucker at bsmucker@charter.net for replacements.

A carpool from Hendersonville is being coordinated by Jack Fitzgerald. Contact him at suejackfitz@bellsouth.net or 828-685-2897 for meeting place and time. Thanks, Jack

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Notice to Those Who Entered the Photo Contest

The judges have been pleased to receive nearly 50 entries to our contest. If you were an entrant, double check to make sure you received an email acknowledgement from me. If you did not, or even if you are not sure, please resend them. I have discovered one case in which a submission was not received, perhaps lost in the ether. I can tell you now the quality of the entries is very high, and the judges will have their hands full when the evaluations take place. And they should make an interesting slide show for the annual meeting on November 3rd. See you there. Gerry McNabb.

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Have you Completed a CMC Challenge?

Certificates and patches are awarded at the annual meeting for members who have completed one or more of the official CMC challenges during the preceding year. These challenges include climbing the forty (40) peaks over 6,000 feet (SB6K) and/or hiking the 400 miles of trails in the Pisgah Forest (P400). If anyone has completed these challenges during the past year and wishes to receive their award at the meeting, please submit the required documentation to Don Gardner, Chair of the Challenge Committee. Information regarding documentation requirements can be found on the CMC website. Thank you. Don Gardner.

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CMCAnnual Meeting and Nominations

The annual dinner and meeting will be held on Nov. 3. Have you sent you your reservations?

At the annual meeting, we vote for officers and the CMC council. The nominating committee has put up the following slate. Nominations are also accepted from the floor.

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Fall Map Course - Saturday October 13

The fall map course will be held on October 13. It will start at 9:00 and should be over in the middle of the afternoon. There is a limit of ten attendees and there are still some slots open. If you are interested, contact Dave Wetmore at dwetmore@citcom.net for more information and enrollment. You must be a current CMC member to attend.

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A.T. Program at Diamond Brand

Tuesday, Oct 23, 7 pm, Arden Store. "An Evening with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy." Free. Light refreshments. You're invited to an evening program presented by Morgan Sommerville, Southeast Regional Director of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Learn more about this 80 year old organization of volunteers who protect and maintain this 2,175 mile trail. For more information call (828) 684-6262.

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Hiking the Blue Ridge Heritage

Cherohala Skyway

The Cherohala Skyway, a 43 mile high-mountain road, connects Robbinsville, NC with Tellico Plains, TN. You can experience the Skyway as a two-hour drive, stopping at occasional lookouts with panoramic views or you can hike the trails. Either way, it is a beautiful but empty road with even emptier trails.

On the North Carolina side, the hikes are short, all coming back to the Skyway, but very historic. The road has been compared with the Blue Ridge Parkway but it is less traveled than the Parkway and the views are not obstructed by signs of civilization.

As the saying goes, “don’t confuse the map with the territory.” Various organizations have put out maps, each one differing in detail from the other and differing from signs on the road and information boards. I've driven it, twice, and the length is 43.1 miles.

Spring arrives late on the Skyway and fall comes early. The Skyway is easy to get to; it just takes a long time from most population centers. Danny. Photo by Danny Bernstein

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Other Important News

Retired Senior Volunteer Program

The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, part of the National Senior Service Corps, helps adults age 55+ use their skills and experience to tackle some of the biggest problems in their communities. RSVP works with over 100 agencies in Madison, Buncombe, Henderson and Transylvania Counties addressing social, environmental, safety and health needs of their citizens.

As a volunteer with the Carolina Mountain Club, you can join RSVP. Not only will the contribution you make toward keeping the trails safe and beautiful be recognized, but you’ll be eligible to receive the benefits RSVP provides to all their volunteers.

These include bi-monthly newsletter, free supplemental insurance, opportunity to join the Local Government Federal Credit Union, and the opportunity to earn free theater tickets to some of the regions theaters. The supplemental insurance covers you while you travel to and from your volunteer location and while you’re volunteering.

Joining RSVP is free and simple. To learn more, contact Connie Pegg at (828) 251-6622, extension 124, or connie@landofsky.org.

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An MST Video

Van Burnette, of Black Mountain, NC, has just completed a documentary of the MST which will start airing on Charter Cable channel 20 beginning Wednesday October 3 at 7 PM. The station, URTV, Buncombe counties public access channel, is only available on Charter Cable. There are five 30 minute episodes in all, starting out with an interview with Allen de Hart followed next week by a backpacking trip to Bald Knob. Then he highlights Pilot Mtn. and Hanging Rock, Greensboro and Raleigh, and finally the Outer Banks. The show is called The Trail Explorer and is produced, written, edited, and directed by Van. Jeff Brewer.

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Conservation

Financial Settlement to Swain County, the Official Decision of the National Park Service

From Knoxnews

The National Park Service has released a 500-page document that makes official its opposition to the “Road To Nowhere” along the north shore of Fontana Lake, in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The decision is included in a Final Environmental Impact Statement released Tuesday by the National Park Service and the Federal Highway Administration. The park service’s preferred alternative calls for a monetary settlement to Swain County, N.C., in lieu of constructing 29 to 34 miles of new road through the park.

“This makes our recommendation final,” said Bob Miller, spokesman for the Smokies. “It becomes the agency’s official direction once the record of decision is signed.” See the whole story.

However, even though the preferred alternative is a monetary settlement, that does not mean that Swain County will receive the money automatically. It still has to go through Congress, like any other appropriation bill.

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Heard on the Ground

Adopt an MST Section

Craven Gap to Ox Creek Road, 1.7 miles. If you're interested, email Don Walton.

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Adopt a piece of the Appalachian Trail

No sections are available. Every section has found a home! But look above.

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Maintenance Reports created by Don Walton

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