I’m eager to see people and walk, of course, but I also want to photograph the MST and its people, so I can enter, not one, but two photo contests. Neither have an entrance fee and both have great prizes.

Carolina Mountain Club photo contest. This is the first (hopefully) annual CMC contest. It has three categories: landscape, people on the trail, and plants and animals. You can only enter one picture per category, so choose carefully.

The picture must have been taken on a hike that CMC has in its hike data base. So  no pictures of your vacation in Maine. But the photo doesn’t have to have been taken on a CMC hike. That’s a good thing, since serious nature photographers don’t want a bunch of eager hikers around them.

See the Carolina Mountain Club website for details. Deadline: September 30, 2015

Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail Photography Contest

A second but connected photo contest is sponsored by Friends of the MST.

Here you can submit your photos of North Carolina’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail — from Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the Outer Banks.
Photos will be judged by a panel of prominent judges in three categories:
– The View from the Trail
– People on the Trail
– Youth Photographer (17 and under)

The deadline for submitting photos:  Saturday, October 31, 2015.

See their website for all details.

So, as you guessed, by taking pictures on the MST in the mountains, you could enter both contests. Good Luck!

Carolina Mountain Club announced a new hiking challenge:  The CMC A.T.-MST Challenge.

Hike all the Appalachian Trail miles and Mountains-to-Sea Trail miles that are maintained by the club.

CMC currently maintains 93 miles of the Appalachian Trail from Davenport Gap to Spivey Gap (going northbound) and 135 miles of the Mountains -To-Sea Trail from Waterrock Knob to Black Mountain Campground (going eastbound). Members who hike the combined 228 miles of the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) and the Mountains -To-Sea Trail (MST) on sections maintained by the club will be awarded a certificate of completion and a commemorative embroidered hiking patch.

Please check the CMC website Challenge page for details. If you have further questions please e-mail Vance Mann who is coordinating this new challenge. You can reach Vance at [email protected].

This hiking challenge, like all the other CMC challenges, is on the honor system. As you learned in school, if you cheat, you’re only cheating yourself.  Similarly, you have a lifetime to hike these miles. But I wouldn’t suggest you take a lifetime.

The South Beyond 6000 is the oldest CMC challenge. It requires you to climb a specific list of 40 peaks higher than 6,000 feet. Other challenges include the Pisgah 400 (all the trails in Pisgah National Forest), Lookout Towers and Waterfall 100.

For all the details, see the CMC challenge information.

Sometimes, Carolina Mountain Club hike leaders get together to talk about good hike leadership. This past week, 57 hike leaders – all day, half-day, occasional leaders – discussed principles of leading a good, enjoyable and safe hike. The CMC hiking committee hosted the dinner and the program. See the picture on the right.

Here are some obvious pointers we discussed.

*  Know your sweep.

Sweep, tailender, trailend Charlie. That’s the hiker at the end of the line who makes sure that no one gets lost. He or she is a strong hiker. You don’t want to accept someone who says “Well, I’m slow. So I’ll be your sweep”.  A sweep is really a co-leader.

*  Stop at trail intersections.

Isn’t that obvious? Well, no, because Marcia Bromberg, above, had to emphasize this. Sometimes leaders get so gung-ho on socializing with others (good) or keeping a reasonable pace (also good) that they forget that the whole group isn’t behind them.

*  Stop to rest.

Another obvious point. We are hikers, not racers. We keep moving but we need specific rest stops. I always schedule in a morning break at about 11 am, calling it  elevenses, from the British custom of morning tea at 11 am. By 11 am, we’ve hiked a couple of miles. Just as important, most of us had breakfast hours ago. I have a lunch break and then, if it’s a long hike, an afternoon break.

When I lead, a rest break starts when the sweep sits down. So everyone has a scheduled break. The hikers in front just have a longer one.

* What happens if there’s a problem? The leader may have forgotten to lock her car or someone doesn’t feel well? However the leader deals with the problem, she or he has to remember all the other hikers in the group. A new leader should assigned, if needed. Better, the original leader should assign a strong hiker to help the person with a problem. The important thing is not to let the rest of the group flounder or just wait.

Lots more was discussed. But if you’re a leader, think about some of these principles. And think about volunteering to lead. That’s the way hiking clubs work.

This is the time to give to your favorite non-profit. There are many worthwhile charitable organizations and it’s time to give to others. Here was the line-up of days around Thanksgiving.

* Thursday for giving thanks and eating. Most people say that they’re thankful for their families. Let’s widen the circle a little and include causes outside ourselves.

* Black Friday for shopping, mostly at the mall. This year, so much of Black Friday started on Thursday evening. We ended up in downtown Asheville spending money locally. We were just ahead of the crowd.

* Local Saturday for shopping locally. In Asheville, local stores did well. We skipped it and went to Carl Sandburg Home

* Monday is CyberMonday. Probably not relevant anymore. It dates back to the time that speedy internet access was only available in the office.

But Tuesday is the time that we give to charities. We ought to give some time year-round but on Tuesday, we can remember our favorite charity with a check.

Several charitable organizations are worthy of our support.

Carolina Mountain Club – My local hiking club and the largest hiking club in Asheville

Friends of the Smokies – Which assists Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I lead monthly hikes for the group.

Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail – Which champions the  Mountains-to-Sea Trail Across North Carolina

Great Smoky Mountains Association which assists the Smokies by managing the bookstores.

Which organization are you going to support?

It is the purpose of the Government to protect the game on the preserve in order that here it may have a refuge and breeding ground from which to replenish the adjacent mountain regions. It is expected also to establish elk and buffalo on the game preserve in fenced enclosures announced Verne Rhoades, the first Forest Supervisor in Pisgah.

This is only one of the fascinating pieces of history that I learned after reading Pisgah National Forest: A History by Marci Spencer, just published by The History Press. Spencer starts her book before George Vanderbilt came to Asheville to build Biltmore Estate. Vanderbilt bought land from several locals, including Thomas Clingman, of Clingmans Dome fame.

From this beginning, the book elaborates on first forester Gifford Pinchot and, my favorite character, Dr. Carl A. Schenck who came from Germany to manage Vanderbilt’s forests. Schenck later started America’s first school of forestry.

No discussion of Vanderbilt’s influence is complete without talking about Bucksprings Lodge, his hunting lodge just below Mt. Pisgah. Spencer enlisted Walt Weber, an expert on Bucksprings Lodge and an active member of Carolina Mountain Club, to give her an in-depth tour of the lodge site.

But enough of the Pisgah district. Spencer writes with the same authority about the Appalachian District –Max Patch and Roan Mountains — and Grandfather District — Linville Gorge and Wilson Creek. The author walks through the human, political and natural history of Pisgah National Forest. She enlisted the help of dozens of expert historians and naturalists to make sure that her story is based on solid research.

If I have one quibble about the book, it’s that it only mentions the Mountains-to-Sea Across North Carolina twice just in passing. With over 250 miles of the MST through Pisgah, the trail might have gotten a bigger billing.

The History Press puts out beautifully illustrated books. The center of the Pisgah book displays 16 pages of color inserts. Many historic black and white pictures pepper the text. The bibliography and index are impeccable, another indication of a quality piece of work.

After retiring as a nurse practitioner, Marci earned her certificate as a North Carolina environmental educator and a Blue Ridge naturalist. She is the author of Clingmans Dome: Highest Mountain in the Great Smokies, and a soon-to-be released children’s book based on a true story, called Potluck Message Delivered: The Great Smoky Mountains are Saved! Marcia Spencer is a volunteer for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at Clingmans Dome.

PS – What happened to those buffaloes? The experiment failed and the buffalo didn’t survive.

Book Launch
Marci Spencer will launch her book on Sunday November 16 at 3 pm at the historic Buckspring Cabin at The Ramble Biltmore Forest. The Main Entrance is on US-25/Hendersonville Road, Asheville, NC 28803 139 Valley Spring Road.

A book signing will follow the author’s discussion. George Cecil, the last George Vanderbilt descendant to own Buckspring Cabin, will speak on his grandfather’s Buckspring Lodge in Pisgah Forest and his own personal memories there.