Carolina Mountain Club

Hike - Save trails - Make friends

August 29th, 2008

Hiking News | CMC Calendar

Thank You and Farewell

Danny Bernstein is back from 3 months in Europe and is resuming the editorship of the eNews beginning with the next issue. I would like to thank all those who went out of their way to help me and especially those who viewed my mistakes (both of omission and commission) with empathy and charity. From now on, please send all material for the eNews to Danny.

Dave Wetmore,

Important News

Communications Potluck

CMC members with ideas about our website, eNews, Let's Go and other club communications are invited to a potluck and brainstorming session at the Botanical Gardens meeting room from 6:00 - 8:30 on Thursday, Sept. 4. Bring some food and/or drink to share plus your own plate, utinsels and cup.

Come with an open mind, with an appreciation for all the hard work that members have already put into our very powerful current communication tools, and with your ideas for what we can do together in the future to enhance our process and activities. Here are directions to the Botanical Gardens (not the Arboretum). Contact Becky Smucker for more information.

Parkway Closure

The Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway newsletter reports that because of the project to restore and stabilize the failed retaining wall near the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center, at Milepost MP 364.7, the Parkway will be closed between MP 355.3, which is just south of the access road to Mt. Mitchell State Park, and MP 367.6, which is just north of the entrance to the Craggy Gardens picnic area, will remain in effect for the duration of the project. The project is scheduled for completion by May 16, 2009. 

Bent Creek Road Closings

Until further notice two roads in the Bent Creek area will be closed except for weekends. The roads are the Rice Pinnacle road between the Deerlake and North Boundary Roads and Forest Service Road 485 between Forest Service Road 491 and the Green's Lick Trail, #139

Weekend in the Damascus Area

There will be a weekend trip to Damascus, VA for hiking to Mt. Rogers and biking on the Virginia Creeper Trail -- stay Oct. 17th. and Oct 18th. evenings at a local B&B -- contact Tish Desjardins at 828-656-2191 or by email

Proposed I-3 Project in North Georgia, Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee

The Request for Proposals (RFP) for the study of the proposed Interstate 3 may be issued as soon as this fall.  It’s important that contractors bidding on this project know that many legislators oppose Interstate 3. Thank Representative Heath Shuler for his opposition to I-3.   Ask him to write a letter stating his opposition to I-3 that is proposed to run through his district.  His letter should be mailed to Mary E. Peters, Secretary of Transportation, with a copy to the newly confirmed Director of the Federal Highway Administration, Thomas Madison.  Ask Representative Shuler to request that his letter be attached to the RFP. Multiple changes in personnel in the Federal Highway Administration mean that new staff members must be educated on our opposition to I-3 as they put together the Request for Proposals for the contractors.

The CMC Council endorsed the following position in 2006:
The Carolina Mountain Club opposes construction of the proposed Interstate 3 through the mountains of western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and northern Georgia. The highway would cross the Appalachian and Benton MacKaye Trails and adversely impact view sheds from the upper ridges crossed by these trails.  The highway would adversely impact the overall environmental health of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park by increasing air pollution and urban sprawl. Click here for more information. CMC is a supporting member of the “Stop I-3 Coalition”

Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway Will Sponsor a Weed Workshop

The Asheville Chapter of the Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway will host a “Weed Identification Workshop” on Saturday, September 27th from 10am until 12 noon.

The workshop is free and open to the public and will be held rain or shine in the lower parking area outside the Folk Art Center, located at MP382 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, north of the intersection of Highway 74 and just over a mile north of the Blue Ridge Parkway Destination Center. Participants are invited to bring their unidentified plants to the workshop for help in identifying the species. For more information, contact Jane Hargreaves at 828-298-2426 or visit the Friends website at www.blueridgefriends.org.

Hike and Learn in the TwentyMile Area

The Fontana Hiking Club has invited us to join them on a "Hike With The Authors" where you can learn a great deal about the Twentymile area of the Smokies. The hike will be led by Jerry Span, author to the TwentyMile Narrative Map and Peter Barr, author of "Hiking North Carolina's Lookout Towers".

To go along, just show up at the General Store in Fontana Village at 10:00 am on Saturday, September 6th. There will be caravan to the TwentyMile Ranger Station. The hike will go from there to the old fire tower on Big Shuckstack and back. For more information, contact Jerry.

Diamond Brand Discount Cards for 2009

We are happy to announce that Diamond Brand Outdoors has once again offered to continue their program of giving a $20 gift certificate with each new and renewing membership for 2009. This has been extremely popular with CMC members, and we are grateful to them for this generous marketing decision that makes clear our common goals to promote hiking and the enjoyment of outdoors in the mountains. Be sure that you mention your CMC membership when you shop there, and thank them for this partnership.

Good Articles about the MST

Charlie Ferguson contributed a link to a series of articles on the MST in the Raleigh News and Observer.

Got A BRP License Plate? You Could Get A Free Vacation

The Blue Ridge Parkway foundation will have a drawing limited to those having a BRP license plate.

The winner and a guest will stay at Mast Farm Inn, in Valle Crucis, NC. . A Porsche from the stable of Club Ferdinand will be available to the winner for a cruise down the Parkway and a trip to Mast General Store to redeem a $100 gift certificate that is included in the prize.

To enter the contest, go online to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. Entries will be accepted until October 30, 2008. The drawing will take place on December 1, 2008 and the winner will have up to 12 months to schedule the trip.

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Heard on the Ground

Last Saturday Workday This Year

Our next Saturday work day will be Sept 13, and as always, meeting at the Moose Cafe at 8:00 for breakfast, leaving promptly at 9:00. We will be working near milepost 449, Scott Creek Overlook south of Waynesville. We are making a lot of progress this year, so please come and be an important part of it.

Adopt a Section of the Appalachian Trail

Tanyard Gap to Hurricane Gap, 3.4 miles

Adopt a Section of the MST

Licklock Gap to Doubletop 0.9 miles
Walnut Cove Overlook to Hardtimes Road 1.2 miles
FS Road 816 to Dark Prong Gap 1.6 miles.
Orchard Overlook to Balsam Gap, 2.5 miles
BRP Headquarters-Spur Access to I-40, 1 mile

To learn more about adopting a section, email Don Walton.

Maintenance Reports created by Don Walton

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The Small Print

So send me your news and maintenance reports by Wednesday evening at 9 P.M. before the newsletter comes out, that is, by Tuesday evening, September 9th to Danny Bernstein danny@hikertohiker.com. Include your email address at the end of your story. Thank you. I can only accept the Wednesday hike report by Wednesday evening.

Photos are always welcome. Please send them as attached jpg files.

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 Marcia Bromberg at mwbromberg@yahoo.com. If you are a non-member subscriber, you need to go back to the CMC home page > News >Subscribe and change it there yourself.

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