SECOND QUARTER 2014 Quarterly News Bulletin and Hike Schedule P.O. Box 68, Asheville, NC 28802 • www.carolinamountainclub.org • e-mail: [email protected] COUNCIL CORNER It's hard to believe that 2014 is our 91st year as Carolina Mountain Club! I had the pleasure of hiking a little with the club in the 1970s, and I remember the folks like Bernard Elias "hiking the pants off me," and I was not even 30 years old! Much later, I went online and found that the hike for the next day was Looking Glass Rock – one I'd enjoyed for literally years, hiking with my parents, then Cold Mountain. Photo by Danny Bernstein. my husband and his family, and later on my own. It seemed an omen of good things to come now that I was Celebrate the 50th Anniversary retired. Last year, after much pleading on of the Wilderness Act the part of Barth Brooker, who was responsible for filling the slate of By Danny Bernstein in the Pisgah District and Linville Gorge in nominees for the next year's offic- This year, hikers and outdoor enthusiasts the Grandfather District of Pisgah National ers, I found myself agreeing to be will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Forest. The Shining Rock area was declared Vice President for 2014-2015, which Wilderness Act, signed Sept 3, 1964, by a wilderness area in 1964, one of the origi- means becoming President for the President Lyndon Johnson. The Act cre- nal pieces of the system. next two years after that, and then ated the National Wilderness Preservation Wilderness areas have been designated as Past President for the following two System. By now, almost 110 million acres special places that should be left, well, wild. years. Had I lost my mind? of land have been protected throughout the Each wilderness area, created by an act of I hope not; I don't think I have. U.S. The Wilderness Act protects undevel- Congress, comes with its own rules. If there Since joining in 2007, I've found that oped Federal land retaining its primeval are any old roads, they're now gated. No CMC and the people I've had the character and influence. Famous environ- roads or permanent structures are allowed pleasure of knowing have changed mentalists and activists were involved in in a wilderness area. Roads cause erosion my life. I've never been involved in helping to push this act, including Bob and cut off wildlife from roaming through a group of folks that is more positive, Marshall and Aldo Leopold. Harvey its natural habitat. More cuts to the land active, caring, and loves this region as Broome, who grew up in Knoxville, fought encourage more spread of exotic weeds. much as I do! I want to give back to hard against inappropriate development in Bicycles aren't allowed on wilderness area the club for what it gives me. I know the Smokies and was one of the founders of trails and that by itself should make hikers I have a lot to learn about the many the Wilderness Society. happy. No roads means no logging, another facets of the club's business. I hope Most CMC hikers recognize that they major way to protect land. to be able to be the type of leader you will be in a wilderness area when they Only hand tools can be used to maintain want and can come to with questions look at the schedule and see that they have the trails, so trails aren't maintained to the and suggestions. I'll try to make them to sign up for a hike; wilderness hikes same level as outside the wilderness areas. happen. Thank you for your trust in are limited to ten people. This includes It's much harder to saw a large tree that me. Shining Rock and Middle Prong Wilderness continued on page 2 – Barbara Morgan 1 Wilderness Act Bernstein focuses on CMC's future continued from page 1 By Bobbi Powers the next two years I hope to create a CMC has blown down with a hand Lenny Bernstein, our new CMC President, operating manual that will tell the next saw than with a chainsaw. Trail (as well as Past President 2006-2007) brings a group of Council members how we have maintainers can't bring in weed wealth of leadership experience to his job. done things in the past. They can change whackers to cut down the mid- It’s great to be back on the CMC Council. the way things are done, but at least they’ll summer growth. Becky Smucker To be honest, I didn’t expect to return as your know what they are changing. leads the Wilderness Maintenance President. However, when the job was offered to Our third challenge is the perennial one, Crew, which works two Saturdays me, I had no difficulty saying yes. I may wander finding volunteers to maintain trails, lead a month, mostly in the Pisgah off for a while to work on ATC biennials, but hikes, and run the Club. It takes many District wilderness areas, with CMC is where my heart is. thousands of hours of work each year to hand tools. It's tough but neces- I see three major challenges for CMC. The keep CMC operating at the level it does sary work. first is to protect the land we hike on. Most of it – 200 hikes per year, 400 miles of trail Another quote from the belongs to the Federal government. The Forest maintained, spring picnics, annual meet- Wilderness Act: A wilderness, in Service and National Park Service have had to ings, a useful and interesting website, Let’s contrast with those areas where deal with budget cuts, which have led to trails or Go and eNews. “They” have done it in the man and his works dominate the the access to trails being closed. We’ll probably past. It’s up to each of us to contribute to landscape, is hereby recognized face more closures in the coming years. Even doing it now and in the future. as an area where the earth and without budget cuts, we need to be vigilant in pro- its community of life are untram- tecting hiking opportunities. The Forest Service meled by man, where man himself is developing a management plan for Pisgah and is a visitor, who does not remain. Nantahala National Forests which will guide If the Forest Service took the resource allocation decisions for 15 years or phrase literally, it would mean longer. National Forests have many users, and untouched woods with no trails, their objectives are rarely the same. We need to no pipe spring, and no emergency work with other hiking organizations to ensure rescue. The land would be impen- that our interests are given full consideration by etrable to almost everyone and no Forest Service planners. CMC’s Conservation one would ever go there, includ- Committee, chaired by Tish Desjardins, is taking ing Forest Service employees. the lead in presenting CMC’s position to other However, in our forest, it means stakeholders and the USFS. The committee can that trails aren't blazed, and it's use all the help it can get. a little more challenging to stay Our second challenge is to make sure we don’t on trails. lose any of the expertise we’ve gained over Wilderness areas are not just the past few years. We need to document our in national forests. Yosemite, software systems and the procedures we use to Shenandoah and even Cumberland carry out the Club’s functions. If not, each new Island National Seashore have officer and committee chair will have to waste sections of their parks that are Bruce Bente, left, and Lenny Bernstein at the time and energy reinventing the wheel. Over Hike Leaders' Dinner. wilderness areas. Areas of Great Smoky Mountains National Park are managed as wilderness but are Bente honored by hike leaders not officially protected as such. Most places east of the On February 28th, at the Annual Hike Leaders’ new and old leaders scout their hikes. The Mississippi have been “roaded, Dinner at Pack Tavern, Bruce Bente was award- sixty hike leaders present responded to the logged, farmed and otherwise ed an Honorary Life Membership. As CMC announcement of the award to Bruce with impacted by humans at one time or President Lenny Bernstein explained, this is a standing ovation. another.” That certainly includes the Club’s highest honor, awarded to members The rest of the program consisted of Shining Rock. Congress felt it whose contributions over an extended period of a panel composed of Bruce, Jim Reel, was more important that wilder- time have significantly changed the Club. Carroll Koepplinger, Helen Carleton, and ness lands would be untramme- Bruce has been responsible for the club’s Lee Silver answering questions about prob- led in the future and passed the hikes schedule for the past twelve years, during lems facing our hike leaders. One of these Eastern Wilderness Act of 1975. which time the number and variety of hikes the was what to do when the sweep has disap- Otherwise, almost no area in the Club offers has significantly increased. He has peared from sight to stay with a slow hiker. Eastern United States would fit also been a tireless recruiter and mentor of new The panel stressed the need for the rest the original wilderness require- hike leaders and has taken responsibility for the of the group to be aware, and wait for the ment. Who knows! Next year, we hikes database, one of the most valuable parts of sweep and slow hiker to catch up.