Hike - Save trails - Make friends
From the Editor
We are all delighted to announce that Kathy Kyle will be taking over the eNews. It's time for new blood, a new look and a new approach to the eNews. Kathy is a committed CMC member, a regular Sunday hiker and a former reporter. You all read my interview with Kathy last month. So look for a new eNews as it transitions to a new editor. Danny Bernstein
News and Happenings
CMC Spring Picnic was a Blast!
The CMC Spring Picnic, held at the North Carolina Arboretum last month. had a record breaking attendance. There were 106 hikers, friends and families who enjoyed the two hikes, the program and socializing. More detail in the next Let's Go.
Changes in Diamond Brand gift cards - From our CMC President, Marcia Bromberg
For the past seven years Diamond Brand Outdoors has been giving each CMC membership a gift card, a wonderful benefit that demonstrates the company’s support of our club and the work we do to promote hiking in Western North Carolina. Over the years the type of card issued and the rules governing use of the card has varied.
This year the value of the card will be $10. Although a lesser amount than in previous years, the card can be used for any store purchase within a year of issuance. The continuance of the gift card for CMC members demonstrates Diamond Brand’s commitment to the Club even during challenging economic times. However, the card must be used within a year of receipt.
This card represents a way for Diamond Brand to thank CMC members for all we do for the outdoors. I hope that you find good use for this card and will, in turn, thank Diamond Brand for their generosity when you make your purchase with your gift card. Thank them as well for their efforts to encourage people of all ages to take advantage of the beautiful western North Carolina mountains.
Thanks to you for joining or continuing your membership with the Carolina Mountain Club. I look forward to seeing you on the trail!
Marcia Bromberg
Save our North Carolina full color license plates
Lenny and I have a mixed marriage.
I have a Great Smoky Mountain National Park license plate on my car and he has an Appalachian Trail specialty plate. But right now both tags are in danger of disappearing.
I couldn't imagine that I'd be worried about what's on the back of my car but I am.
A specialty plate says that you care about Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the A.T. or the Blue Ridge Parkway and so many other worthwhile organizations that protect the coast and the arts.
Right now, if the NC legislature does nothing, all those full-color tags will go away in 2015. Why would our North Carolina legislature want to prevent their constituents from donating $30 a year to help a nonprofit group? I have no idea. Read my article in National Parks Traveler and make up your own mind.
But in the meantime, we need to call, email or even write a letter to our North Carolina senators and representatives and let them know to undo this harmful law. Friends of the Smokies explains how to do this.
No matter what kind of specialty tag you have, you can use their hints on how to contact your North Carolina state legislators - both your representative and senator. Thanks! Danny.
Jim Spicer interviewed by Blue Ridge Now
Jim Spicer is a committed CMC maintenance crew member and the education chair on the council. But he does a lot more. See the great interview by Blue Ridge Now.
Open Areas on the A.T. under Threat
The National Park Service budget for 2012 contains no money for maintaining open areas, such as Max Patch and Big Bald, along the A.T.
Unless these areas are regularly maintained, they will quickly revert to brush and trees and we will lose some of the most iconic points on our section of the A.T.
CMC President Marcia Bromberg wrote the following letter to Pam Underhill, Superintendent of the Appalachian Trail Park Office, expressing our concern about the lack of funding for this important activity.
Dear Ms. Underhill:
Joe DeLoach, Tennessee-Eastman Hiking and Canoeing Club, has shared his e-mail exchange with you concerning the zeroing out of funding for open areas management in your FY 2012 budget. On behalf of Carolina Mountain Club, a 900+ member ATC Club, I would like to add our support to Joe’s plea that you do whatever you can to find funding for this critical activity.
The open area atop Max Patch is probably the most visited point in the 92 miles of A.T. that Carolina Mountain Club maintains. It and the other North Carolina balds, including Big Bald, are iconic spots on the A.T. Unless maintained, they will quickly revert first to brush and then to forest, as many of the unmaintained balds in our area have. The A.T. is often referred to as “the long green tunnel,” but it is the times that the trail breaks out of the “tunnel” that are most memorable.
In your April 25 e-mail to Joe, you alluded to the competition for limited funding between worthy work efforts. We appreciate the difficult decisions you and your NPS superiors have to make. However, the balds along the A.T. are a unique scenic resource, which easily could be lost if not maintained on a regular basis. We believe that a long-term commitment needs be made to providing that maintenance.
Please let us know if there is anything that Carolina Mountain Club can do to help you spread that message among budget decision-makers.
Interview
Meet Jim Ariail by Bobbi Powers
The very first question I posed to Jim Ariail was
“Are you a hiker who does trail maintenance or a maintainer who hikes?”
His answer surprised me. Jim replied, “I’m a skier first, a hiker second, and a maintainer third
It turns out that when Jim and his wife of 43 years, Carolyn, moved to East Asheville after his retirement from 33 years of federal government service, his top requirement was a home close to snow skiing.
See the whole interview with Jim.
In Memoriam
Remembering Brad Van Diver by Carol Deal
Brad Van Diver died on April 26th, 2012, at the age of 85, after a long illness.
Brad and his wife, Beverly, were long-time members of the Carolina Mountain Club. Until four years ago, Brad led hikes for the club, and helped educate us in the geological features of these mountains.
Brad and Bev maintained the section of the MST from Rattlesnake to Rich Knob, including the two access trails from Tanbark Tunnel. Brad loved leading hikes and sharing his passion for the mountains with other enthusiasts. He called everyone he met his friend, had enormous stamina, and enjoyed whatever opportunities he had, even as his illness robbed him of many of his pleasures.
As he gazed at the mountains from the confines of his wheelchair, he would say: "Life is good. I want to keep doing more of it."
Brad was also a member of the Adirondack Mountain Club and the Colorado Hiking Club, as well as a member of the Adirondack 46ers and the AMC 11 Club, a group that has climbed all 111 peaks over 4000' in the Northeast. He had an extensive history of rock climbing, dating back to his time at the University of Colorado. He was an avid photographer, mountaineer, hiker, woodworker, kayaker, skier and world traveler.
Brad was a native New Yorker, who graduated from the University of Colorado. He earned his PhD in geology from the University of Washington. He taught at the University of Colorado, the University of Washington, and as a guest professor in Munich, Germany. He retired as emeritus professor of geology at SUNY Potsdam, where he taught for 24 years. He was the author of six books, one of which was a photographic album of geology as art.
The Small Print
The next issue will come out on Friday, June 29. 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 hiking@carolinamountainclub.org
So send your news by Monday evening at 9 P.M. before the newsletter comes out, that is, by Monday evening June 25 to Kathy Kyle at katherinenkyle@gmail.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
1. Go to www.carolinamountainclub.org
2. Click on “Join CMC” on the right side and follow the instructions
For CMC members only - Send all address and email changes to Gale O'Neal at gogalemail@gmail.com. Do not resubscribe yourself to the eNews. That will be done automatically.
If you are a non-member subscriber, you need to go back to the eNews and make the change yourself.