Hike - Save trails - Make friends
March 30, 2012 
From the Editor
After almost seven years as editor of the eNews, I would like to give someone else the chance to edit and distribute the eNews. Now, the monthly eNews goes to over 1,700 addresses including Parks and Forest officials and magazine and newspaper editors.
Being eNews editor is all about the editing, writing and staying on top of Conservation News in the area.
The technical skills are not that important. If you are comfortable with word processing, email and searching on the web, you can learn the rest. The eNews will probably be done in a different manner than now, so don't worry about the technical details.
So if you are a committed CMC member and want to find out more about editing the eNews, please email our CMC President, Marcia Bromberg. Danny.
News and Happenings
Spring Social - Saturday April 28
Come to the seventh annual CMC Spring Barbeque, held in the beautiful NC Arboretum on Saturday, April 28, from 2:30 until 8:30.
Who are these three people above and where are they anyway?
Danny Bernstein, Sharon McCarthy and Matt Kirk are the three CMC members who have recently completed the entire Mountains-to-Sea Trail, a 1,000 miles through North Carolina.Where does the trail go after it leaves the CMC section at Black Mountain Campground? What's it like to complete the whole trail?
Kate Dixon, Executive Director of Friends of the MST, will moderate the program.
Highlights include
2:30 pm Casual hike around Lake Powhatan, about five miles
3:00 pm Wildflower hike on the Arboretum trails, about three to four miles
5:00 pm Social hour in the main building.
6:00 pm Dinner by Bubba Q. The menu will include barbeque pork and chicken, sides and dessert. Vegetarian lasagna will also be available.
7:00 pm MST Program
All questions should be directed to Les Love at lesrlove55@gmail.com. Please register with the form at Springsocial2012 and mail it with your check to Les Love today.
Volunteer to lead a hike at the ATC Biennial Conference
The 2013 Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) Biennial Meeting will be held at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee on July 19-26, 2013, only 16 months from now. CMC is one of the host clubs of the meeting, which is expected to attract up to 1,000 attendees. Members of the various meeting planning committees have begun collecting the names of people who would like to volunteer, and we request your help.
Our biggest need is for hike leaders. About 170 hikes will be offered, and a hike leader and co-leader are required for each of them. Hikes will be offered in categories from easy to strenuous and we need volunteers all across the board.
If you're interested in leading a hike at the Biennial contact Bruce Bente at bbente@bellsouth.net and get your name on the list. You will be contacted at a later time to get your preferences concerning length of hike, available dates and other details but for now we would like to record the names of possible volunteers.
We also need volunteers to work on the registration, housing, hikes, excursion, workshops, and information desks. If you are willing to help in this fashion, please contact Peter Berntsen of Smoky Mountain Hiking Club (rennur99@bellsouth.net) who is in charge of volunteer recruitment.
If you’d like to learn more about the ATC Biennial, contact Lenny Bernstein.
Backcountry Fee Approved for the Smokies
Starting next year, Great Smoky Mountains National Park will start charging a fee for camping in the backcountry. With the money collected, the Park will expand and improve the way backpackers can reserve a backcountry campsite. You'll be able to make your reservation online.
At this time, they're considering a fee of $4 per person/per night. For more details, see the Park website.
North Caroline Mountain Treasures Camporee, April 13-15
Join CMC in a camping weekend to explore the North Carolina's Mountain Treasures, places on the Nantahala/Pisgah National Forests identified by The Wilderness Society as deserving higher measures of protection.
The details are on the Hike Camporee page.
The revision of the Forest Management Plan will begin soon for our national forests in WNC. As part of the effort, we're hosting a series of hikes and camporee events to the 41 areas, that are grouped into eight larger ‘conservation areas’
On our hikes we will be on the lookout to observe and record old growth and recovering forest, rare plants, streams, waterfalls, and other noteworthy natural and geological features. What could be better than exploring new corners of our backyard wild places, learning what old-growth really means, and sharing meals and time on the trail with friends?
Information provided by Jill Gottesman
Blue Ridge Parkway needs your help
The Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway Asheville Chapter is sponsoring Spring Improvement Projects at The Mount Pisgah Campground, MP 408 on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Join us for two Saturdays: April 21st and/or 28th.
We plan to begin at 8:30 in the morning. Lunch for all volunteers will be provided from Chick-fil-A!
Our goal is to get the campground ready for visitors this season by cleaning up debris, leveling any erosion on camp sites, and installing bear proof lockers at campsites. Opening day for the campground is May 15th, 2012. If you are interested or would like more details please visit our website AVLfriendsBRP.com.
If you will be attending please let us know so we can provide enough food for everyone. In the event of inclement weather on those days you may confirm plans by phone or email to Hugh W. Stephens, Asheville Chapter Chair at (828) 274-9048 or hwstephens@bellsouth.net
CMC will be at Appalachian Trailfest on Saturday April 21
The Appalachian Trail Fest in Hot Springs is a great event to get out and socialize with other hikers. Activities for all ages will range from fantastically hilarious hiker games to bike decorating, a spaghetti dinner, and so much more. Also vendors of outdoor gear, entertainment, and a silent auction for gear and crafts. See www.hsclc.org/newsevents/trailfest.html
CMC will have a booth with hike photos, patches, decals, business cards, and copies of the 2nd quarter Let's Go, along with membership applications. Anyone interested in volunteering one to two hours at the CMC booth on Saturday April 21, please contact Kayah Gaydish kayita79@gmail.com
Interview
Meet Jeff Brewer
Jeff Brewer has been a member of CMC for years, even though he's never lived in Western North Carolina. After Allen de Hart, Jeff is also the person most associated with the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.
That's not a coincidence since Allen and Jeff have been working together on the trail for so long. I had a chance to talk to Jeff when I took a trip to the Triangle.
Read the Interview with Jeff Brewer
Book Review
Family Hikes in Upstate South Carolina by Scott Lynch
We all know Upstate South Carolina as a good place to hike in the winter. The views are great, the waterfalls are plentiful, and spring flowers come early.
Scott Lynch has managed to distill 20 hikes for families in his new book Family Hikes in Upstate South Carolina (Milestone Press, $14.95 list price). All the hikes are less than four miles length. But hikes with children (and that's what family hikes are) need more than just easy hikes. They need a hook, a reason for hiking. It reminds me of a joke:
A child was promised that he was going to be taken hiking this weekend. He knew that his parents loved hiking and now he was big enough to go hiking too. So they bought him a pack, a small water bottle, a couple of snacks and off they went. The trail in the woods was enclosed by trees and the family walked. After a little while, the boy asked "All we're doing is walking. When are we going to start hiking?"
Kids won't be asking this when they go on the Hagood Mill Nature Trail (pg. 50). This 0.75 mile trail around the Pickens County Museum has a covered bridge and an old mill. Not bad for less than a mile.
I turned to a familiar hike (pg. 100) in Cowpens National Battlefield. My visit to Cowpens was all about the history of the Revolutionary Battle. But of course, National Park Units are perfect for short hikes and full of exciting history. [The British came from this way, the Patriots from the other way...]
The book has plenty of information to help parents choose a hike - maps of the hike and trailhead, GPS coordinates of the trailhead, mileage and difficulty and highlights of the hike and several black and white pictures for each hike. This light paperback can be stuffed in your pack or back pocket. This will be perfect for choosing hikes with my younger granddaughter
Now all I need is another book with longer hikes. My older granddaughter is growing up!
Family Hikes in Upstate South Carolina is available from Milestone Press, wherever good books are sold, and of course, from Amazon.
The Small Print
The next issue will come out on Friday, April 27. 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 me your news by Monday evening at 9 P.M. before the newsletter comes out, that is, by Monday evening April 23 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
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.