Carolina Mountain Club
Since 1923
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MST in a Day
Saturday, September 9 - mark your calendars! On this day,volunteers across North Carolina plan to hike ALL the miles of the MST in this one day! The date is special, as it is the 40th anniversary of the proposal to plan and build a state-wide trail; the MST. Organized and sponsored by the Friends of the Mountain to Sea Trail, volunteers can sign in using Meetup and RSVP to hike part of the trail. CMC is helping facilitate two portions, or Segments, that correspond to the parts of the trail we maintain. Segment 2 runs from Waterrock Knob to the Pisgah Inn, and Barbara Morgan (
barbc129@gmail.com) is Segment Leader for that. Segment 3 runs from Pisgah Inn to the Black Mountain Campground, which is just east of Mt. Mitchell, and Gregory Bechtel (
gabechtel@yahoo.com) is its Segment Leader.
To get started, go to the FMST website (
mountainstoseatrail.org) or to Meetup. Join Meetup at Meetup.com, if you're not already a member, find and join the Meetup for MST Segment 2 or MST Segment 3. Each portion, or Leg, has its own meetup under the general Segment 2 or Segment 3 listing. Find a hike (termed Leg) to do, and RSVP that you plan to hike that Leg. If the one you've chosen already has several hikers, perhaps you can move on to a different Leg. Later, those choosing the same hike can coordinate to carpool and set up shuttles. There's great information about this event available right now on the FMST website. Check it out! -Barbara Morgan
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Meet the New eNews Editor
Susan Canale arrived in Asheville 5 years ago from the San Francisco Bay Area and already an experienced hiker, she stepped right into CMC's Sunday afternoon hikes. Living the dream (retired!), she spends her time hiking, creating art, dancing, gardening, working on her old house, traveling, and writing. Having edited newsletters in the past, volunteering for the eNews seemed a natural fit and she has been the editor since February.
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"Feelin' the Burn"
Sugarlands
By Michael Knies
I have been fascinated by the impact of the Chimneys II fire in the Smokies since the beginning. I first saw evidence of it when Mike, Ken, Cindy and I were hiking down from Clingmans Dome looking for the old CCC trail that follows Kuwahee Branch from the Little River up toward Collins Gap. As we climbed the scar on the way back above 6000 feet of elevation what had been a clear view to the north became completely obscured by smoke from the fire. Mike had seen the fire burning north of the Chimneys on his way up 441 to meet us at Newfound Gap. It was hard to believe that such a forest fire could happen in "our" Park in the wet and wild southeast. Major fires were what happened out west not here and how could a fire that started on the chimneys reach all the way to Gatlinburg and cause all that devastation where lives were lost and over 1000 buildings were destroyed. It really was almost beyond belief. It was the result of a set of incredible coincidences that equaled a perfect storm when three elements combined to cause the devastation. The absence of any one of those elements would have relegated the situation to a non-event.
More more of the story and more photos, click here
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Recipe for a successful Spring Social
by Bobbi Powers
1 lovely day at the Arboretum with rain holding off until after the gathering
31 hikers enjoying either a stroll around Lake Powhatan or enjoying a hunt for wild
flowers
92 cheerful people socializing, enjoying Earth Day in a beautiful setting
+/-500 pounds of yummy Bubba's BBQ and all the fixins
1 master of ceremonies, Les Love, who carried out his duties with good-natured
efficiency in this, the 12
th
year of the event
1 program about the French Broad River, suggested by Sherman Stambaugh, age 96,
initial organizer of the Spring Social.
Mix all together, and we end up with one scrumptious finished product.
The many CMCers and invited guests enjoyed a social hour including a slide show of photos taken on the MST as
a warm-up for a program introduced by Jim Stokely, son of Wilma Dykeman
who authored
The French Broad.
Jim talked about his environmentally conscious mother's belief that commerce and environmentalism can co-exist and benefit each other. What a concept! Dykeman truly was ahead of her time. Jim transitioned into introducing Garrett Artz, Executive Director of RiverLink. Artz gave an overview of RiverLink's mission and its accomplishments. He talked about "the long man and the chattering children," the Native Americans' description of the French Broad and its tributaries. Two factoids he shared: The French Broad is the third oldest river in the world. The river is unique in the USA because it flows north.
Artz also mentioned that CMC and RiverLink both provide escapes from modern life, technology, and business. On that note, a pleasant afternoon and evening ended, and we headed back into the world, turning on our cell phones as we left.
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Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Partnership
The Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Partnership is a non-profit organization in which Carolina Mountain Club is represented as a full-participating member -- meaning that our club is allowed to participate in the voting process (one vote per member organization). The group was officially established in 2013. Each member organization is allowed one representative (myself) and one alternate (Ruth). Prior to its official formation, most of the current members started meeting in 2012 to discuss what the future purpose would be. Its main purpose is to gather pertinent forest data and present, discuss, and mutually agree upon positions that are sent to the U.S. Forest Service for consideration in its new management plan which is expected to roll out in 2018.
The Partnership is divided into teams -- recreation organizations, conservation organizations, cultural organizations, timbering or wood products organizations, economic organizations, wildlife habitat, and others. Carolina Mountain Club is represented in the Partnership as a "recreation" organization (a hiking club) along with other organizations such as horseback riding, mountain biking, rock climbing, fishing, rock hounding, white water kayaking, and others. Examples of conservation organizations in the Partnership are Wilderness Society, The Nature Conservancy, Mountain True" water conservation organizations, and others -- in other words, those organizations whose mission statements are totally devoted to conserving natural resources. Usually a U.S. Forest Service representative attends the Partnership meetings, recognizing that input from a collaborative representation of forest users aides in the planning process.
What have we been working on so far? Recently, positions for wilderness recommendations, wildlife habitat areas, and wild and scenic rivers were approved by the partnership and sent to the Forest Service. Currently, we are working on what the recreation team wants in the new plan. This is the area where Carolina Mountain Club can provide valuable input. A draft presentation was given by the recreation team leaders (horseback riding and mountain biking members are the recreation team leaders) at the April meeting. The presentation focused on one geographic area only -- "Pisgah Ledges" (Pisgah Ranger District) -- North Mills River area, Daniel Ridge area, and South Mills River area. Details and alternatives are being discussed regarding declaring this a forest recreation area. All meeting details are e-mailed by myself to CMC council to keep them apprised of current discussions.
Your CMC Representative,
Tish Desjardins
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Rescued by an App - For a Fee!
Update to article in last month's eNews. Please be aware that the App profiled in the article by Karen Chavez in
Citizen-Times, RapidSOS has an annual fee after the first year. If downloaded on your phone, the icon will appear as "Haven." Please review the Terms and Conditions of the App to understand its fees.
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The newsletter usually goes out the first Friday of the month.
The next issue will come out on Friday, June 2nd. S
end your news by Friday, May 26th, to eNews@carolinamountainclub.org. Include your email address at the end of your story. Thank you.
To join Carolina Mountain Club go to:
www.carolinamountainclub.org. Click on "Join CMC" on the right side. Follow the instructions. Send all address and email changes to Dennis Bass at
dbass3607@gmail.com. Do not resubscribe yourself to the eNews. That will be done automatically.
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Carolina Mountain Club | P.O. Box 68
Asheville, NC 28802
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