Been watching the weather, and I have no idea what it is going to do. I would like to visit Pilot Cove / Slate Rock Creek this Friday, but Yellow Gap road may be a mess. Just have to wait and see. So - let's do this - meet at the Food Lion at 8 (early start time again) and decide then where we will go. If we conclude that Yellow Gap will be a big mess, we can instead go to Big Creek (that road stays cleaner). Stay tuned for an early morning cancellation Friday. I'll try to get word out by seven if we need to cancel. Bill

Folks, The weatherman may get tricky on us again Friday and we need to get some of our winter work projects finished up before we start the Spring "walk though" of the AT, so lets go to the Arboretum this week and try to get that trail to a good finish point. We will need a good sized crew to accomplish that, so please come out if you can. Everyone meet at the Arboretum at 9:00. Bring digging tools because most of the work left is straight tread building. Please let me know if you are coming. Skip

Please join me in the construction of another piece of the MST Balsam Gap Section. Be part of a State wide construction day on the MST. We are looking for a large crew! What a wonderful way to spend a great day outdoors and give a little back to our trail system. Meet at the Home Depot (west) exit 44 of I-40 at 8:00 AM or at the Ranger/Maintenance Station intersection of Rt. 23/74 and Blue Ridge Parkway near Balsam Gap at 8:30 AM. All equipment will be supplied if you do not have digging tools. Yes, Friends, We Are Going South To Cherokee !!!! Questions or additional info. Call Piet Bodenhorst 828-298-8371 or E-mail pietboden@aol.com

Anyone 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

Please broadcast Ed Dunn's new address and phone no. to anyone who might be interested. Ed Dunn 913 Towers Circle Atlanta, GA 30329, Telephone: 404 638-0493

This is a letter from the FS about proposed changes to camp sites along Yellow Gap road. Current regulations call for no roadside camping, but this campsite has been there forever and predates the regulations. However, the FS wants to change it into a horse camping site with 10 - 15 sites. This changes drastically the nature of this site which has been used primarily as a hunters site. It will put horses in the very close proximity of two hiking trails (no horses) that we maintain. Both of these trails have steps for hikers that a horse will kick out on its first trip up the trail. While I realize most of the horse riders are very good about staying off hiking only trails, I also know there are some who consider any and all trails open to their horses. I would like to see the sites further down the road developed into more horse sites. That way they are closer and therefore more likely to use only the trails allocated to horses than the present proposed location. Bill Newton

In 2000 I thru hiked the Appalachian Trail. One of the memories that makes me smile the most was of dropping into Sam's Gap early on a Sunday morning and seeing a bright orange DOT sign that read "Hikers Yield To Traffic." I, and virtually every other thru hiker with a camera, took a picture of that sign.

When I completed my hike I contacted the Division Construction Engineer in Mars Hill, and asked him if I could have the sign once the project was complete. He said yes, although warned me the project still had another two years to go. I told him I was a patient man, after all I had walked from Georgia to Maine.

So I waited. Last fall when the project was complete the engineer wrote me, saying he had gone to get the sign the afternoon before, but took the wrong size wrench. When he went back that morning the sign was gone. Someone had taken it.

All was not lost, however. He asked up the chain of command if they could simply make me a new sign, after all I was another DOT employee. He got the ok, the sign was made, and yesterday, while in Raleigh for a meeting, he delivered it to me.

It is a bright orange DOT sign that says Hikers Yield to Traffic in big bold black letters. Only thing, they printed it with the sign orientation square, not on a diagonal like the original. I couldn't tell him, but I was crushed. To me, it's just not the same.

Do you know, did a member of the CMC take the original sign down? If so, would they be willing to trade with me so that I could have it. It is a DOT sign and was promised to me. It would mean a lot to me.

Thank you for passing this message along to your members. Doug (Diamond Doug), GAME2K Douglas W. Corkhill Assistant Attorney General North Carolina Department of Transportation

OK you Guys! We asked for it so now it is up to us to support it! The Appalachian Trail Conf. has scheduled a TRAIL DESIGN WORKSHOP for MARCH 13-14 to be held in Asheville. Class includes: classroom design, GPS use, map reading, trail layout and field application of theory. Need a good attendance!! Be prepared for fun, learning experience and a good day in the woods. Please let me know ASAP to reserve a spot. Give a copy of your wish to be included to Matthew Davis at the AT . mdavis@atconf.org Piet

One more time - Let's go to Turkey Pen this week. Meet at Boyleston Baptist Church (did I get it right this time?) at 9 (late start again). Please let me know if you will be out. Bill

Folks, Well the weather did us in again last week for working at Balsam Gap, but we did have a great day at the Arboretum. We are going to try Balsam Gap again this week. We will be working on the new section (#4) where the trail goes back into the woods off Hood road. Piet please bring your saw. I will bring the hoist for pulling stumps and everyone bring loppers and digging tools. Asheville people meet at Home Depot at exit 44 of I-40 at 8:00. Hendersonville people at the Food Lion in Mills River at 7:30. If anyone from out West is coming please let me know and we will meet you at 8:30 at the ranger station. Other folks please let me know if you are coming so I can plan work crews. See you on Friday. Skip