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The CMC Asheville Friday Crew completes relocating trail and building a Bridge near Hwy 25

Those of you who hike the MST between Hwy 25 and I-26 have noticed a lot of damage to the trail. The Biltmore Farm Corp. is exercising their right to put a road on the Right of Way and it happened to be exactly on the same place as the MST. Therefore the BRP requested that the CMC Trail Crews assist them in re locating the MST on to the Parkway property. One quarter of a mile of new trail has been build and new 30 ft. bridge spanning 31 ft was constructed. All new blazing will now lead you through the woods. This kind of work is not unusual for the Carolina Mountain Club Trail Crews but what is unusual is that this bridge will be visible to thousands Asheville Blue Ridge Parkway drivers and tourists. This section of the MST is also the most traveled by foot traffic. This area of the MST is also expected to be used as an amenity by the new residents in the development being constructed by Biltmore Farms. Please congratulate Piet Bodenhorst and his crew for a job well done!

All section maintainers are invited to a workshop for section maintainers, led by John Soldati, a trail crew leader. Come and learn what you are really supposed to do on your section and meet your section neighbors. Date: Saturday, July 23, 2005 at 9 A.M. Meet: Folk Art Center at the rear most parking area. Gather around a large black truck. Topic: Trail Maintenance for the Section Maintainer. Section maintaining in real time. We will hike over one or more sections reviewing maintenance skills and duties that may be expected of section maintainers. Tools: Bring polaski or hazel hoe and/or loppers. Light day pack with water, lunch etc. John needs to know that you are coming - Reply to: J. Soldati: jr4152@bellsouth.net

A few weeks ago Joe was leading a hike in the Black Balsam Area and encountered millions of bugs that interrupted their lunch and diverted their hike!. They did not know what these black creatures were. At the same time Maggie Nettles was in the same area and witnessed what she said was a "cloud of insects". She email me at the CMC web site inquiring what they may have been. I responded that the only thing I knew was that Joe had reported in his post hike report what seemed to be a related incident. I emailed her Joe's post hike report ( reported in the 6/8 email news) and she forwarded such to Mr Dalusky. Here is Mr Dalusky's reply:

The 'gnats' you saw swarming are actually (drum-roll please).............. Hemlock Wooly Adelgid!!!! This is the winged form which occurs when the bug densities are at epidemic levels, which they are in the vicinity and within the National Park. Bye, bye hemlocks!! Later. M. Dalusky; Research Coordinator Forest Entomology, Univ. of Georgia

HWA is parthenogenetic (all individuals are females) and completes two generations of development each year. During March and April, adults of the over wintering generation lay about 100 eggs each in a cottony mass on the young twigs. Nymphs (called crawlers) hatch from these eggs during a period of several weeks during April and May. Within a few days, they either disperse from the tree or settle on the twigs near the base of the needles where they insert their piercing and sucking mouth parts. There they feed and remain throughout their development. This spring generation matures by the middle of June. Some of the adults produced at this time are winged individuals that are unable to reproduce on hemlock. Therefore, they leave the hemlock tree is search of spruce, and because no suitable spruce host is available in the eastern United States, they soon die. Other adults produced at this same time are wingless and are able to reproduce on hemlock. In the middle of June these wingless adults lay about 100 eggs each in a cottony mass on the twigs.

Gale Norton, Secretary of the Interior, Announces Designation of Mountains to Sea Trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway as Part of the National Trail System

The Blue Ridge Parkway segment of the Mountains-to-Sea trail extends nearly 193 miles as it ascends and descends with the contours of the Parkway, crossing expansive forests, wildflower gardens, major rivers, and historic sites. The entire trail stretches nearly 935 miles from Clingman's Dome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Jockey's Ridge State Park on the Outer Banks. When completed, this trail will connect 37 counties, including numerous cities, state parks, and U.S. Forest Service lands.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is hosting a public meeting on July 12 and is accepting written comments through July 20 to gather input on the draft Environmental Assessment and Development Concept Plan for a proposed regional destination center to be built on the Parkway at Asheville. The draft is available on the Internet at http://parkplanning.nps.gov .

Select "Plans/Documents Open for Comment" then click on the document link. Comments can be made directly on-line by selecting the "Comment on Document" link and using the comment form. Written comments may also be submitted to: Superintendent, Blue Ridge Parkway, 199 Hemphill Knob Road, Asheville, NC 28803. Comments must be postmarked by July 20.

The public hearing will be held July 12 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Simpson Hall on the campus of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, Victoria Road, Asheville.

ASHEVILLE, N.C.—The Appalachian Trail Conference (ATC), which normally coordinates local club’s volunteer work on A.T. management and protection, has temporarily assumed maintenance for some of the most isolated areas of the A.T. because a shortage of volunteers is allowing brush to obscure remote sections of the trail.

As a result, the ATC is seeking new volunteers from the general public to fill out its newest crew, the Brush Buster Trail Crew. This ATC crew is an opportunity for volunteer hikers and outdoor enthusiasts to get out into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and clear the way for fellow hikers to safely enjoy the Appalachian Trail.

Starting June 20, a trail crew leader will guide volunteers through some of the most remote sections of the Appalachian Trail, cutting back brush and trees that have grown onto the trail. There will be five five-day sessions for four volunteers each. The crew will travel light and spend the nights along the A.T. in the Smokies. “This is a great chance to camp with new friends, give back to the trails, and look out on the world from higher ground,” said ATC Regional Director Morgan Sommerville.

The conference will provide all the necessary tools and equipment—and training in their use—as well as three meals a day, snacks, off-day housing for multiweek volunteers, and transportation to and from the case camp.

Volunteers can choose from the following Brush Buster Trail Crew dates: Week 1: June 20 – June 24 Week 2: June 27 – July 1st Week 3: July 4 – July 8 Week 4: July 11 – July 15 Week 5: July 18 – July 22nd

The Southern Regional Appalachian Trail Conference in Asheville has further information and can be contacted by telephone at (828) 254-3708 or via electronic mail at atc-gntro@appalachiantrail.org .

MST Coordinator wanted!

The CMC position of Coordinator of the Section Maintainer System for the Mountains to the Sea Trail is open. This prestigious duty for the CMC includes supervising the 5 big sections of the MST (160 miles) which includes 100 volunteer section maintainers. The job is about 1/3rd recruiting of maintainers, 1/3rd communicating with all of the various federal and state agencies and 1/3rd management including recording and reporting all of the hours worked to various places. If interested, please contact Don Walton

Call for 2005 CMC Nominating Committee Candidates and 2006 CMC Council nominations CMC WANTS YOU!!!!!!!

This is your opportunity to get involved in your club's leadership. Applications are now being accepted for the 2005 Nominating Committee, and for officer and council positions for the 2006 CMC Council. Serving on the Nominating Committee is one of the most important responsibilities within the club. You participate in a process that determines the next generation of leaders of your association. Serving as a member of the council is a commitment that yields countless rewards. If you consider yourself a strategic thinker with the executive ability to get things done, then CMC wants you! I strongly encourage you take this opportunity to become either a member of the Nominating Committee or, serve on the Council as a councilor or as an officer of the club. Don’t forget CMC WANTS YOU to get involved, and become a part of your club’s leadership. Email your interest to cmcinfo@carolinamtnclub.org by June 30, 2005. For more information regarding CMC’s organization please refer to the Club Bylaws on the CMC web site, or contact Don Walton, donwalton@bellsouth.net Don’t be shy, get involved. Thank you. Don Walton Immediate Past President

The Benton MacKaye Trail Association www.BMTA.org hopes the Carolina Mountain Club will join them in celebrating the Trail Grand Opening on the weekend of July 16-17. Free camping will be provided, compliments of the Cheoah District, USFS, at Rattler Ford Group Campground near the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. The ribbon (vine) cutting will take place Saturday at 11:00 AM at Mud Gap on the Cherohala Skyway near the state line between Robbinsville, NC and Tellico Plains, TN. This will be followed by your choice of two Fun Hikes - to Whigg Meadow or Beech Gap. Saturday evening activities include a group Chili Supper (hiker-friendly donation) followed by a bonfire and entertainment. Additional hikes are planned for Sunday in the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness, to Hooper Bald, and Maple Springs Observation Point.This event is open to everyone! Come spend the day or the entire weekend. Reservations are not required, but an RSVP would be appreciated at BMT-GOCelebration@hotmail.com . Be a part of Benton MacKaye Trail History! Put this weekend on your calendar now.http://www.bmta.org/BMTGrandOpeningCelebrationWeekend.htm

WHAT: Blue Ridge Greenways Conference WHEN: November 12-13, 2005 WHERE: Asheville, NC at the Grove Park Inn

The National Park Service has just signed an agreement with the International Mountain Bicyling Association to allow mountain biking in the National Park, on a case by case basis. For the first time, National Park Service leaders in Washington, D.C., have formally recognized mountain biking as a positive activity, compatible with the values of our National Park system.

In the Smokies, the argument is that bikes are more environmentally friendly to the trails than horses. See http://www.smokymountainnews.com/issues/06_05/06_01_05/out_bikes_parks.html Maybe so. But what about the riders? My personal experience is that horse riders are very considerate of hikers. I have never seen horses galloping down a Smokies trail.