We are going back to Holmes this Friday to finish up the trails there. Meet at the Holmes ranger station at 8:30 (note late time) as before. Please let me know if you are coming out. Bill

Folks, Well we are going to go back to the new shelter area on Friday, but not to move logs. Instead, we will head North on the AT and do some tread repair. Piet and Howard walked this section the Friday after Thanksgiving and found it needs a little TLC. Bring digging tools. There are a lot of roots to cover over and some widening to do. This part of the trail will be included in the hikes at next summers AT conference, so we want it to be in tip-top shape. Howard, please bring your saw as we need to cut some cribbing. Asheville folks meet at Home Depot at 8:00, Hendersonville people at Ingles at 7:20. Please let me know if you are coming, and try to make it before the last minute. With the small crews we have been having out, when everyone I have heard from is there, we leave. Sometimes that is before 8:00. If I know you are planning to come, we will wait, but I sometimes don't check my E-Mail late Thursday evening and if I didn't see your reply, we may leave you. Skip

Pre Work Report: Folks, The latest forecast I can find shows this rain continuing though at least tomorrow morning and then the strong possibility (70%) of showers thought the afterneen. Doesn't sound like a good bet for us old folks who can't afford to get sick this close to the holidays, so lets call off the trail work for tomorrow. Will try again next week.

PS note that next Friday will be our last one for trail work this year as the following two Fridays are Christmas eve and New Years eve

John Soldati's Wednesday Work Crew

The weather should be sunny and warming up as Wednesday passes along. We are going to BRP access to Rattlesnake Lodge...climb up above the lodge on MST and pass the spring. Above that we will find our work for tomorrow. Some tread work; steps and good fun. Bring tread tools...Mr. Brooker, if you are coming bring your saw. I will call Charlie. We will be missing Jorge for close to 4 months and we say our good byes to him and wish him a safe journey. I got an encouraging email from our number 2 man, David Bair who is "beginning" to prepare to return soon to our Crew. MEET at Folk Art Center at 8:00 AM...Reply as usual: to jr4152@bellsouth.net See you out tomorrow. JS

Post Work report: You guys will be may notice that I'm sending a copy of this post trail report to the MST Section Trail Maintainer, a man or women by the name of Beverly Van Diver so you will have to forgive my politeness, which is very unusual. Having Mr. Walton on the Crew makes for easy learning and this was his very gracious suggestion...let's get friendly (heaven forbid) with the section trail maintainers...We will EVEN begin to invite them out (sometimes) to join us...(maybe they will bring the beer. A great day to be outdoors with the heavy, long rains clearing out. Park at Tanbark Tunnel and hiked with a full Crew of 7 (all heavy hitters) up beyond the spring on the MST to rebuild trail...4 steps, 187 feet of sidehilling, plus one 22 foot, 3 and 1/4 inches of quality cribbing (installed the proper way). A saw team removed 6 trees and one bad snag from the MST and the south access trail to T. Tunnel (thanks to Barth Brooker). One of our Crew dropped off at the very beginning as we started up the north access trail and cleaned 47 water bars of which 3 were on the MST above Rattlesnake Lodge (good show, Don C.) Don't know how the cold beer was left out of the truck and for some reason it probably has to do with Bill Newton. Outstanding performance today on trail building, tree removal, step cutting and installing. Thanks guys. Official Report follows.

Howard McDonald's Saturday Work Crew

It looks as if the weather people are again going to favor us. Let's see if we can go in again on Saturday, Dec 11 and put up a few more logs so we are ready to put on the platform the next time. Let me know if you can make it. We will meet at the Home Depot at exit 44 from I-40 at 8:00 AM. Howard

Pre Work Report: It looks as if there will be a very slippery slope down to the shelter site even if there is no ice or snow. I guess we had better call it off for now, maybe we can do it on the 18th. If not, then that is it for this year and probably for most of the winter. I will check with you next week as to if we can go on the 18th. Howard

nyone interested in joining the trail crews contact: Hendersonville area-Bill Newton, 828-693-4033, Brevard area-Dick Johnson, 828-884-3685, Asheville area-Skip Shelton, 828-891-3264 or Piet Bodenhorst, 828-298-8371, Misha Lazer, 828-259-9729, lazerm@bellsouth.net , Mike Lang, 828-658-1914, mlang626@buncombe.main.nc.us

USFS policy is that no sawyer ever operate a saw alone. So the minimum work party size is two -- the sawyer and one other person, call them what you will - swamper, assistant, safety valve, etc. This policy is in the USFS Health and Safety Code Handbook -- so it's policy based on regulation, tied to OSHA. I believe that ATC policy mirrors this. For chainsaws, that the second person is NOT required to have any special qualifications == doesn't have to be saw certified, doesn't have to be certified in First Aid or CPR. Of course, there is value in that person being able to give first aid and CPR if the sawyer is hurt, but it's not a requirement. There's been a lot of discussion in a lot of circles about that issue, and the rationale came down to having the sawyer be certified because he's the one person who we are sure is going to be onsite if the saw is operated. And, lots of saw accidents involve injury to folks other than the actual sawyer. Pete Irvine, AT Coordinator, USDA Forest Service, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425 pirvine@fs.fed.us phone: 304-535-6737

There has been a Sawyer S212 chainsaw certification class set up. The following information should be communicated ASAP as time is short.

WHERE: December 17 Pisgah Ranger Station Conference Room December 18 Pisgah Ranger Station Work Center Shop (east end Of building AKA Carpenters shop)

WHO: 12 (TWELVE ONLY) Persons in need of certification. Class members will be selected from all clubs/crews.

PREREQUISITES: Student MUST have a current First Aid and CPR card in hand on the day of the class. No cards - no class. See class availability schedule attached.

WHAT TO BRING: December 17. Lunch and open mind! December 18. Hard Hat (FS will provide if student does not have). Eye Protection “ ” “ ” “ Hearing Protection “ ” “ ” Leather work gloves Minimum of 8" high leather work boots - This is MANDATORY. Lunch Plenty of water Be prepared for inclement weather. Class will go on in cold weather. Only exception is heavy rain or icy conditions. Field class would then be postponed.

Each crew chief will be notified of selected students by Monday, December 13, 2004.

Additional S212 classes and re-certification classes will be announced as soon as classes can be set up. There is a new FS rule that requires one instructor for each four student. We only have three certified instructors.

The Red Cross in Asheville has continuous First Aid and CPR classes with scheduling quarterly. There is even a Wilderness First Aid Class. They are easy to get into and cost around $40 for both First Aid and CPR combined: http://www.ashevillemountainredcross.org/courselink.html .

Those of you wish to get your certification or re-certification done, the Transylvania American Red Cross is offering first aid courses on the following schedule:

12/14/04 Tuesday Adult CPR Recert. MUST have a CURRENT Red Cross CPR card or an American Heart in the first year of certification on that card. 9 AM - 11:30 AM. COST = $25.00

January 4, 2005 Tuesday First Aid 9:00 AM - 1:30 PM 6 Thursday Adult CPR/AED 5:30 PM to 8:PM 11 Tuesday Adult CPR/AED 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM 13 Thursday First Aid 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM 20 Thursday Adult CPR Recert. 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM 20 Thursday Adult CPR/AED 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM

12/11/04 Saturday First Aid 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM 12/11 Saturday Adult CPR 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM 12/16 Thursday Adult CPR 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Wilderness Basic First Aid :The Transylvania Red Cross is willing to put on a Wilderness First Aid class provided we can get at least 5 students. The class is 16 hours over 2 days or one day and 2 evenings. The cost is $75.00. Please have any interested persons contact me either by e-mail Bruceeryden@aol.com or telephone my home 828-891-2753. I will collect the names and when we have sufficient students I will set the class up with the Red Cross. December 7, 2004

There's an additional First Aid/CPR course opportunity for CMC sawyers. It will be held on Friday, March 4-Saturday, March 5 in the Cherokee, NC area and taught by Landmark Learning of Sylva. The course will be similar to the one we put on for your folks last March here in Asheville. It will consist of CPR on Friday evening 6-10pm, Basic First Aid from 8am-noon on Saturday, and then a "Wilderness Workshop" from 1-5pm. The cost to participants would be $80 or only $15 for certified sawyers. I'll have more details soon. Please help spread the word to your folks! Matt Davis

Our agreements with the Forest Service and other government entities require that chain saw operators be certified in chain saw operation and that they have first aid and CPR training. The Education Committee has developed a CMC centralized database recording the sawyer certifications and expiration dates. An up to date list of qualified sawyers is maintained on the CMC web site. It is the individual responsibility of each sawyer to report certification changes to: cmctm@carolinamtnclub.org .Currently 60% of the chain saw operators do not have the required certifications. Please do NOT saw for the CMC or any other public organization unless you are properly certified.

Somehow having let my guard down, I have been asked, bribed and/or pulled into joining the CMC Education Committee and attended my first meeting Thursday, the 2nd of December. I had some misgivings as the 3:00 PM meeting was in the eclectic and politically correct city of Asheville, sometimes known to us in the smaller, rural towns as... San Francisco East. I must admit that my curiosity peaked even more in learning that the meeting place was going to be held at a very popular grocery store. Not being one to take the venerable 81 year old hiking Club too seriously, I was game to go and see how a meeting could be held in a grocery store. Thinking that this was going to be a new sideline venture for the Club...like joining a Wal-Mart Sam's Club and "win a hike" or something like that. Another thought occurred to me that it wasn't just the dues that had increased recently but maybe an expansion of the Club's charter into selling bread and milk. Arriving at the Greenlife Grocery on Merimon Avenue, I was impressed by the casual, open building and immediately understood (and strongly admonished by the chairperson of our Committee) that Greenlife Grocery was nothing like the "FreshMarket" store. Greenlife Grocery dispersed "all organic" staples which is another way to say very expensive food grown in cow shit. Even the coffee cups were produced from recycled paper or in other words, very cheap. Obviously, some citizens of Asheville haven't heard the phrase..."better living through chemistry." In this store there is a quiet place set aside for patrons to sit and eat, drink organic, gourmet coffee and obviously work at lap top computers. I felt that I was in a community college bookstore. Attending this meeting was the chairperson, Danny Bernstein, connected somehow to the very respected Appalachian Trail Section maintainer, Lenny, who handles the far off Devil's Fork to Rice Gap section; Dave Wetmore, a hiking enthusiast and seemingly a computer genius (who, by the way did not have a lap top open on the table); Don Walton, no stranger to the Trail Crews and a character we have met several times in our little comments and musings over the past few months from time to time; and Barth Brooker, who is one of two new certified chainsawyers joining the trail crews. Those of you who have run into Barth's shadow on the trails know of his height (like the Australians, we call him "Lofty") and we finally have someone who can saw up to eight feet above the trails without any problem! Like all meetings, this one lasted beyond the proposed one hour time limit, especially for someone who has to purchase lettuce and drive through rush hour traffic heading across the French Broad River Bridge and negotiating "dysfunction junction" to get home to Flat Rock. A pretty good meeting took place but it's one hell of a long way to go to buy lettuce. I'll be seeing you on the trails. JS

Save the date - February 5, 2005 - for the FMST Annual meeting in Greensboro, NC. This years guest speaker will be Deirdre F. Hewitt with the RTCA program under the National Park Service in Asheville, NC. She will tell us all about the RTCA program; you can visit here for more info: http://www.nps.gov/rtca/ . The FMST is discussing along with the Department of Parks and Recreation in using this program for the MST East Plan. This meeting of Task Forces has proven to benefit the MST with reports and planning for the new year. Information will be mailed out in the near future about this meeting. Thanks for your time. Jeff Brewer www.ncmst.org

A record of each person certified to operate a chainsaw on trails that the CMC maintains has been added to the web site. The list is intended to serve several purposes. First, the list will show for the first time the names and location of the sawyers that are available to contact to help clear the trails that we are responsible for. Second, the listing also accumulates for the first time our expiration dates for the three certifications that you must have to remove trees for the Forest Service and National Park Systems in our region. The three certifications are: Sawyer, First Aid and CPR. The typical terms of certification are 3 years for sawyer, 2 years for First Aid and 1 year for CPR. the listing may viewed here: Sawyer Certification List

This Friday we have been invited by the good folks at Holmes Educational Forest to enjoy coffee at 8:30. They promise to have an entertaining day lined up for us and perhaps a repeat performance the following Friday. Note the later start time - let the school traffic clear out. Please let me know if you will be out this week. Bill

P.S. has anyone got a chain saw bar oil bottle in their back pack? One has been missing several weeks now. Also my folding pruning saw has taken leave - anyone know where it might have gone?

Folks, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is ready to get back to work. We will go back to the log pile and try to get some more down the hill. Howard needs the big logs for the base section of the shelter and then the decking lumber, so we will work on those items. Asheville folks meet at Home Depot at exit 44 of I-40 at 8:00. Hendersonville people at Ingles at 7:20. Please let me know if you are coming. Skip

John Soldati's Wednesday Work Crew

Since this is the "High Season" for shooting deer, we will keep out of the big woods and settle in close to home this coming Wednesday. Also: we may not get out due to rain planned for early morning. Nevertheless here we go. Let's meet at 74A on BRP at 8:00 AM (weather permitting). Looks like 1/2 miles in (south bound) toward MP 386 there will be trail work, sidehilling, root covering etc. etc. We will need one saw and I will bring same...unless Mr. Brooker has all certifications...trail tools etc. Should be no deer hunters in the Asheville residents' backyards. Don may have some work for us to do on his section(s) as well. Look for "weather abort" email at 6:45 to 7:00 AM Wednesday...Jorge, please call Mr. Hamberger for us. Hope to see you if not raining. As usual, please REPLY. JS

Howard McDonald's Saturday Work Crew

Hi all, very much depending on the weather, we are planning to go back in this coming Saturday to start putting logs above the sill logs. There was snow on the ground there this Friday which made the trip down the hill rather hairy! I have asked John Webb to keep us informed of what is happening there, but I might not get the word to you until Thursday night or even Friday. Let me know if you are planning to come. Thanks. Howard