Carolina Mountain Club
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June 18, 2010
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| Upcoming Hikes | Hike Reports |Maintenance Schedule |
| What's Happening in the Next Two Weeks | Chimney Rock State Park needs our input! |
| Other Important News | Where is Promontory Stump? |
| Letters | We get letters |
| Conservation Matters | Land For Tomorrow |
| Heard on the Ground | Adopt a section of trail. |
| Heard on the Trail | Oconaluftee Visitor Center is coming along |
| The Small Print | Deadlines, change of addresses and other details |
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From Your Editor Each eNews, I feel I have my hand out. There's always an appeal to write to a legislator, to give your input, to volunteer or to go out and maintain a trail. Most of the time, I'm not asking for money. Actually I'm asking for something more precious - your time. You can't do it all, though I'm trying. So choose an outdoor cause that speaks to you and support it. Thanks. Danny What's Happening in the Next Two Weeks Chimney Rock State Park Needs Our Input! Chimney Rock State Park, authorized in 2005, comprises more than 4,300 acres in Ruth The private Chimney Rock park was added to the state's property in 2007, and is the primary public access to the state park. A state park’s master plan is essentially a blueprint for long-term development of facilities and recreation opportunities and a guide for protection of natural resources. "It is meant to be an organic document, evolving as the park grows and as knowledge is gained about a park’s natural resources and public use." Greenways Inc., a Durham-based environmental planning and landscape architecture firm, is completing the plan. The design proposals will be available at www.greenways.com/chimneyrock.
Promontory Stump - A Wonderful Piece of CMC History by Walt Weber
In the beginning, September 1983, when work first started on construction of our section of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, the original routing of the trail was via the existing Art Loeb, Black Mountain and Buck Spring trails between NC 215 and Pisgah Inn. This required the construction of new trails between NC 215 and the Art Loeb Trail at Silvermine Bald, between the Art Loeb and Black Mountain trails and between the Black Mountain and Buck Spring trails. All of this work was completed by September 1986. A new trail was started in December 1990 between Forest Road 816 and the Looking Glass overlook at MP 417 on the Blue Ridge Parkway which was later extended to connect with the Buck Spring Trail. This new 11.9 mile trail, completed in March 1996, became the Pisgah Ridge section of the Mountains-to-Sea trail and reduced the original length of the MST by 16.4 miles. Read the whole story.
Assault on Plott Balsam - Sept. 4 We are making another try on Saturday, Sept. 4, to reach Plott Balsam since our Memorial Day attempt had to be ended early. This is a difficult hike, and you should be in excellent shape to attempt it. See details in our third quarter hike schedule http://www.carolinamtnclub.com/Hiking/Schedules/sundays-all-day-10-3rd.asp. Becky Smucker bjsmucker@gmail.com Wildlife in North Carolina Photo Contest Wildlife in North Carolina magazine is accepting entries for its annual nature and wildlife photo competition. Awards Nominations: Your Input is Needed by Sept. 1 Each year CMC sets up a committee to consider which of our members we might want to recognize for their outstanding contributions to our Club. We have two main awards, and they serve different purposes. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes a member for extraordinary service to CMC over at least five years. The Award of Appreciation is for an exceptional contribution during the past year. The committee needs your input and your nominations if you know of someone who deserves an award this year. Guidelines are included with a nomination form as an insert in the third quarter Let’s Go. It's also on our website at Service Awards where you will also find a list of members who have received these awards since they were established. Nominations must be received by September 1. Contact Becky Smucker, Chair, with questions bjsmucker@gmail.com On the E-news Thanks for doing a great job on the eNews all these years! I particularly enjoyed Stuart English's account of his zip line adventure. It made me think that an article like that really livens up the newsletter. I occasionally read the hike reports and it occurred to me that perhaps you could feature the "best" hike report (or most interesting) from the last two weeks in each newsletter. Just my two cents. John Whitehouse Another Perspective on the Navitat Canopy Adventure - Bobbi Powers
Yes, indeed, it was like nothing we had ever experienced, and that leads to some adrenalin pumping. But from the initial steep climb up a mountain in the 4-wheel drive vehicles to our final rappel to the forest floor, I found it totally exhilarating. Every step of the way we were secured by more clips and bolts than the Great Houdini used in his stunts, so I had no worries on the safety front. I was expecting to get a bird’s eye view of the forest, and we did during several zips, but more often we saw the trees from the perspective of a squirrel (a very appropriate mascot for Navitat billboards). We zipped through the trees as a squirrel would leap from branch to branch. The landing/takeoff platforms were cleverly disguised within the boughs of gigantic tulip poplars and oaks. While Stu watched the heavens when zipping, I was focused on the world below which, I admit, went by pretty fast, but not in a blur. I saw Mother Nature in a way I had never experienced her before. What a huge WOW factor! For me, the Navitat adventure was utterly cool. Yes, there is a degree of fitness, balance, and nerve needed, but any CMCer who is not phobic about heights quite likely would find Navitat a “natural high” – literally and figuratively. Note: There were 4 other CMCers who zipped, and all of them will undoubtedly have different perspectives; just ask them – Jean Gard, Meredith Lenell, Gale O’Neal, and George Grunewald. The photograph is of Jean Gard, taken by Gail O'Neal. From Land for Tomorrow We need your help! The NC House and Senate have approved their budget proposals for the upcoming fiscal year, and the two plans have now been sent to a conference committee to work out the differences. We are very pleased with the support and funding recommended for the Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF). In both the Senate and House budgets, CWMTF received $50 million for FY 2010-11, which begins July 1. In addition, the House budget includes $2 million for the Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund (ADFPTF),but no funding was included in the Senate budget. As the conference committee begins its work this week, please contact your legislators and thank them for the House and Senate's strong support of the CWMTF, and urge them to include $2 million for farmland preservation in the final budget proposal. Go to the bottom of the page and enter your zipcode to find contact information for your legislators. The following links provide information about how senators and representatives voted, and a list of conference committee members: Members of the NC Senate who voted for the appropriations bill that included $50 million for CWMTF Members of the Joint Senate-House Appropriations Conference Committee Thank you for your efforts to ensure adequate funding to protect our natural lands, drinking water, parks and trails and wildlife habitat! Land for Tomorrow P.S. To find your legislator's mailing address, go to www.ncleg.net and look on the right for your representative. Adopt a Section of the A.T. Adopt a Section of the MST If you're interested in either the A.T. or MST, email Don Walton. Maintenance Reports created by Jim Ariail
Oconaluftee Visitor Center
The new Oconaluftee Visitor Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will hopefully open in late fall, 2010. It will be larger and have more facilities. Photos are by Terry Maddox, Executive Director of Great Smoky Mountains Association. The eNews comes out on Fridays. So ... The next issue will come out on Friday, July 2. Wednesday hike reports for the hike just before the eNews comes out will be published in the next eNews. Hiker leaders, please send all your eNews hike reports and photos to Dave Wetmore at dwetmore@citcom.net So send me your news and maintenance reports by Tuesday evening at 9 P.M. before the newsletter comes out, that is, by Tuesday evening June 29 to Danny Bernstein at 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. Westgate parking - Park in the northernmost part of the lot - past EarthFare, in the last row of parking spaces. How to join the Carolina Mountain Club If you are a non-member subscriber, you need to go back to the | ||||
Danny Bernstein
danny@hikertohiker.com
erford, Polk, Henderson and Buncombe counties, including Hickory Nut Gorge. It is probably the closest state park from Asheville.
How many of you have seen the treasures at Promontory Stump? Or, how many of you have even heard of Promontory Stump or know where it is located?
During Rorschach tests, different people see different pictures, and they are all valid. The same goes for Stuart English’s description of our Navitat Canopy Adventure that was published in the previous E-News. Stu’s facts were totally correct, but I viewed the adventure from a different perspective.
