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November 30, 2006
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield
Looking North from near the top of Kennesaw Mountain
On Thanksgiving Day, instead of sitting around watching football, I decided to take my daughter and two of her cousins for a short hike. Since we were in Marietta, Georgia, I decided to take them to the closest National Park - Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield.
The park itself is an island in a sea of sprawl. New housing developments are popping up all around - like mushrooms after a spring rain. This development places tremendous stress on the park in the form of added visitation, and degredation of park resources.
Thankfully, the trails inside the National Park are maintained beautifully by a local volunteer group. The Kennesaw Mountain Trail Club is a member of the Southeastern Foot Trails Coalition, and they have done some fantastic work relocating old eroded trails, and working regularly to ensure that park visitors can have a pleasant experience on the trail network. The club is always looking for volunteers, so if interested in participating in a half day of trail maintenance or helping to eradicate invasive species, please send them an email.
We drove over to the park, only to find that the parking lot was closed, so we parked on the street with the rest of the visitors, and walked into the park. We chose to hike a short one-mile trail from the Visitors Center up to the summit of Kennesaw Mountain.
Since the park is located close to Metro Atlanta, it receives a tremendous number of visitors. More than 1.2 million visitors are estimated to visit the park each year! The primary purpose of this National Park is to protect and interpret the Civil War history of the area. According to the National Park Service, “over 5,350 soldiers were killed in the battle fought here from June 19, 1864 through July 2, 1864."
As we climbed Kennesaw Mountain, evidence of the hostilities could be found in the form of earthworks (fortifications), and old cannons. We stopped occasionally at the benches that lined the trail, and took in the views which included downtown Atlanta to the south, and Stone Mountain off to the east. One of the most heartening aspects of our visit, was the fact that so many families were out enjoying the day. Unlike many backcountry trails where diversity is sorely lacking, the visitors to the park actually looked like a microcosm of America.
I'll end this entry with a few photos taken during our short visit. We'll be back to explore more of the park. I hope you'll take the opportunity to do the same.
Cannon and earthworks near summit of Kennesaw Mountain
Stone Mountain off in the distance
Post-war carving atop Kennesaw Mountain. According to Park Historian Willie Johnson, the carving predates the establishment of the park. Today this would be considered vandalism.
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 12:31 PM
November 27, 2006
Fires Creek Rim Trail
View to the Southeast from Potrock Bald
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of exploring a new area here in the Southern Appalachians. The 25.5-mile Fires Creek Rim Trail is an area that I've been planning to hike since 2004, and I finally took the time to get out there and hike it.
The Fires Creek Rim Trail is a rugged loop trail located near Hayesville, North Carolina in the Tusquitee Ranger District of the Nantahala National Forest. The beauty of a loop trail, is that you can park your car at the trailhead where you begin your hike, and walk the trail (without retracing your steps) right back to where you started! Joining me on this hike was John R. Ray, and my regular hiking buddy Dave "Youngblood" Womble. John, a retired Physicist from Clemson University discovered this trail about 6 years ago, and has since developed a comprehensive hiking guide for the area. He has also spent a considerable amount of time clearing brush and downed trees, and placing blue plastic trail markers on the trail. Dave is a friend that I met while hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2000. We have since hiked a number of trails together.
We started our 3-day trek on Friday November 24, and it was great to know that while most of America was jostling for their place in checkout lines at the mall, we were out hiking on a glorious fall day.
Continue reading "Fires Creek Rim Trail"
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 09:33 AM
November 22, 2006
Big Coal
Last week I gave a presentation at a local University, and as I was leaving, the Professor gave me a gift card from an online bookseller. I promptly went online and ordered Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future by Jeff Goodell and An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore. Both books were purchased used - and arrived in yesterday's mail.
I started reading Big Coal last night, and have been sucked in pretty good. If you'd like to read the introduction of this book online, you can do so here.
Since the book has me in its grip, I'll probably carry it with me this weekend during a backpacking trip along the Fires Creek Rim Trail in Western North Carolina. I don't often carry a hardcover book while I'm backpacking, but I'll make an exception for Big Coal.
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 08:57 AM
November 21, 2006
Mountaintop Removal: What's at Stake?
Cerulean Warbler - Photo credit: USFWS
I just received my November-December 2006 copy of AT Journeys, the official magazine of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. In there is an article entitled Slip-Sliding Away by Scott Kirkwood. Kirkwood is the Senior Editor of National Parks magazine, the official publication of National Parks Conservation Association.
The article discusses the threats that Mountaintop Removal poses to a small migratory songbird - the Cerulean Warbler. The coalfields overlap with the breeding grounds of the Cerulean Warbler, and 10-20% of the bird's habitat is threatened with destruction due to Mountaintop Removal. That's a lot, considering that the bird's population has plummetted by more than 70% since the 1960s. For many folks - like me - birds are an integral part of the hiking experience.
For more information about the conservation of migratory birds - you can visit the Partners in Flight (PIF) website. American Hiking Society is a non-governmental member of PIF.
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 04:15 PM
Buncombe Turnpike to play the
Great Southeastern Hiking Festival May 4
Buncombe Turnpike, a 5-person bluegrass band based out of Asheville, NC has been booked to play the upcoming Great Southeastern Hiking Festival. They'll be performing on Friday night May 4.
Buncombe Turnpike is one of the most popular bands in an area rich in music. According to Julie Koehler of Bluegrass Unlimited, "Buncombe Turnpike has found that pencil-thin piece of ground between traditional and contemporary bluegrass and made it their home."
Registration for The Great Southeastern Hiking Festival will begin in early January. Check back here often for additional announcements regarding this weekend of fun, entertainment and education!
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 10:47 AM
November 20, 2006
Learn more about Mountaintop Removal
Please help spread the word and share, rate, or comment on this video
As someone who has spent many months hiking in the mountains of Appalachia, I understand the need for clean water. After all, when you're backpacking in the mountains, you trust that the streams are free from contaminants, including mercury and other heavy metals - since that's where you're taking your drinking and cooking water from. But I'm only a temporary visitor to the mountains. What about the people who make their home near where mountaintop removal is taking place?
The video above is from the website iLoveMountains.org, and explains some of the many consequences of mountaintop removal mining - including the destruction and impairment of mountain streams. Already more than 1000 miles of streams have been buried as a result of mountaintop removal mining. According to the iLoveMountains.org website;
"More than 450 mountains have been destroyed by mountaintop removal coal mining. Watch this video (08:23) about mountaintop removal featuring Woody Harrelson and a soundtrack featuring an original recording of “Blowin’ in the Wind,” sung by Willie Nelson. Special thanks to Jeff Barrie and the Southern Energy Conservation Initiative for donating footage from the documentary Kilowatt Ours"
When you're done watching the video, please consider asking your Congressional representative to co-sponsor the Clean Water Protection Act (HR2719).
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 11:38 AM
November 18, 2006
Where Have All the Mountains Gone?
Mountaintop Removal as seen from the Pine Mountain Trail in Eastern Kentucky
Were you aware that there's a war going on, right here, right now, in our Homeland? No, I'm not talking about the war on terrorism. The war I'm referring to has received barely any notice by the mainstream media. What I'm talking about is mountaintop removal, and it's taking place right here in Appalachia.
Last May, an article entitled "The Rape of Appalachia" by Michael Shnayerson appeared in Vanity Fair Magazine. One of my partners at the National Park Service gave me a copy of the article to read. While the subject of mountaintop removal was not a new one to me, I was horrified by the impact on communities who live near mountaintop removal operations.
Now I've just finished a new book entitled Lost Mountain by Erik Reece. Reece is a Professor at the University of Kentucky, and is the co-director of the Summer Environment Writing Program conducted in eastern Kentucky's 10,000 acre Robinson Forest. Lost Mountain is a powerful and well written book chronicling the destruction of the ironically named "Lost Mountain" over the course of a year. For a sample of Reece's writing, you can read an article entitled "Moving Mountains" on the website of Orion Magazine.
Now I've learned that two campaigners from the West Virginia based Coal River Mountain Watch, as well as a representative from Kentuckians for the Commonwealth will be coming to The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee on Tuesday November 28. According to Dr. Bryan O'Neil from the University, this is "a very engaging program with personal testimony about the ills of a community living with mountaintop removal."
This road show will take place at 4:30 PM (Central Time) on the Sewanee Campus in Gailor Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public. If you can't make this meeting, please visit ilovemountains.org to learn about the campaign to end mountaintop removal.
Unspoiled Mountains in Eastern Kentucky. Will they remain that way?
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 12:37 PM
November 17, 2006
Grit Pixies Slated to play
The Great Southeastern Hiking Festival
Eliza Lynn and Jill Fromewick are the Grit Pixies - photo provided by the Grit Pixies
The Grit Pixies have been added to the entertainment slate at The Great Southeastern Hiking Festival planned for May 3-6, 2007 at the Montreat Conference Center in Montreat, NC. The Grit Pixies are two very talented young women, Eliza Lynn and Jill Fromewick. Together they create magic in the form of blues and roots music.
I first learned about Eliza Lynn at the 2006 Hot Springs Trailfest. She played solo at that event, and blew me away! I immediately picked up her CD "Frisky or Fair" and set about to book her for the festival. Shortly thereafter, Mountain Xpress named Eliza the Best Singer/Songwriter of 2006.
Now, Eliza has teamed up with Jill to create a unique sound that reminds me a bit of stripped down Po' Girl. Jill plays a great harp as well as the washboard, and Eliza's voice and guitar playing is simply fantastic. To checkout their sound, take a moment and pay a visit to the Grit Pixies' MySpace website where you can stream a couple of their songs. Then make your plans to attend The Great Southeastern Hiking Festival, where the Grit Pixies will play for us on Thursday night May 3. It's going to be great!
Be sure to come back in a few days for another exciting announcement regarding entertainment at the festival!
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 09:02 PM
November 15, 2006
Christine Kane to play Great Southeastern
Hiking Festival May 5!
Photo courtesy of ChristineKane.com
As planning for The Great Southeastern Hiking Festival continues, American Hiking Society is excited to announce that Christine Kane will headline our evening entertainment on Saturday night May 5. Christine is an enormously talented singer-songwriter from the Asheville area.
Additional announcements regarding entertainment, hikes, educational sessions and exciting speakers will be forthcoming in the days and weeks ahead. Registration for the event will be available in early January.
Y'all come! It's gonna be a hoot!
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 11:18 AM
Knoxville News reporting "Road to Nowhere Will Likely Dead-End"
It's not every day that you receive some good news, but I'm happy to bring you some today. With the election over and US Representative Charles Taylor swept from Western North Carolina's 11th Congressional District by Health Shuler, the "Road to Nowhere" appears to be DOA. Shuler is a proponent of a $52 Million settlement with Swain County, North Carolina. Taylor had supported construction of a road inside the boundary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park at an estimated cost of $590 Million.
The Knoxville News is quoting Swain County Commission's Chairman Glenn Jones as saying, "knew the road issue was dead when Heath got elected," To view a copy of the Knoxville News article, follow this link.
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 10:52 AM
November 10, 2006
What book is in your backpack?
What are you reading these days? Currently, I'm reading two books. Beyond The Wall by the late, great Edward Abbey and Pinhook: Finding Wholeness in a Fragmented Landscape by Janisse Ray.
These books both provide a sense of place about vastly different places in North America.
Abbey writes about the arid southwest and Ray writes about the soggy southeast. Both writers have an extraordinary ability to paint a portrait of a landscape with their words. Ray writes about the Pinhook Swamp, which is located between the Okefenokee Swamp and the Osceola National Forest in northeast Florida.
Beyond The Wall is a series of shorts essays about a variety of western landscapes. In his essay entitled A Walk in the Desert Hills, Abbey writes "Me and my feet walk on. (Hardly any tread left in these old jungle boots.) Once a foot soldier, always a foot soldier. But I'll say this much for walking: it's the only mode of locomotion in which man proceeds entirely on his own, upright, as a human being should be, fully erect rather than sitting on his rear end." I couldn't agree more!
In the upcoming winter edition of American Hiker magazine, I review a new book of Edward Abbey's letters. The book is entitled "Postcards from Ed: Dispatches and Salvos from an American Iconoclast." If you'd like to receive American Hiker, you can join American Hiking Society, and you'll receive four issues a year, plus a one-year subscription to Backpacker magazine - all for $30. Your support will also help American Hiking Society protect hiking trails all across America.
Happy Trails!
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 12:19 PM
Morning @ Signal Point
The Tennessee River Gorge from the Cumberland Trail
The southern terminus of the Cumberland Trail is located inside the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park at a place known as Signal Point. This morning while driving home after allowing my 16 year old daughter to drive herself to school in my Jeep, I saw an amazing sight. The Tennessee River Gorge was filled with fog, light, and amazing foliage!
I quickly ran home, grabbed my camera, and headed to Signal Point. Once there I set out on the Cumberland Trail. The trail was slick with leaves, but I was only traveling less than a half mile to an overlook.
Instead of waxing poetic about the beauty of the area, I'd prefer to let the photos tell the story. They were taken this morning at about 8:30 AM.
If you'd like to hike in this area, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has GPS route files available for download. If you decide to take a young person with you (and I hope that you do!), be sure to watch them like a hawk. There are steep bluffs on this section of trail. Enjoy!
View from a lookout on the Cumberland Trail. Edwards Point is at the top right.
Julia Falls from the lookout
Close up of foliage and fog from lookout
Returning to the trailhead from the lookout
Staircase on the Cumberland Trail - leading to the trailhead
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 10:04 AM
November 08, 2006
The Morning After - Election Day 2006
With Election Day 2006 behind us, the forecast for the 110th United States Congress is.... Partly Cloudy.
As of 9:30 AM Eastern Time on November 8, the Democrats have taken over the US House of Representatives. Control of the Senate remains in question with races in Montana and Virginia too close to call.
Swept out of office this year are two former Congressman who have a lengthy history of not supporting trails and protection for public lands. In North Carolina, Conservative Democrat Heath Shuler unseated incumbent Charles Taylor from the 11th District. The 11th Congressional District includes much of Western North Carolina including lands bordering Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Pisgah National Forest, and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Taylor served as the Chairman of the House Appropriations SubCommittee on the Interior and Environment, and supported the construction of the Road to Nowhere in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Shuler, the incoming Congressman does not support construction of the road, and instead, supports a financial settlement with Swain County, North Carolina. It is not clear what impact, if any, the 2006 election will have on the decision regarding the Road to Nowhere. But, according to an article that appeared in the Asheville Citizen Times on October 28, if Taylor isn't reelected, "the road’s probably dead." Lets hope so!
In California, Republican Congressman Richard Pombo has apparently lost in his bid for reelection to represent California's 11th Congressional District. Pombo was a member of the House SubCommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands. Pombo had advocated for selling off 15 of our National Parks, repeatedly held up legislation related to trails, and suggested offering corporate naming rights to trails. Pombo is being replaced by Jerry McNerney
In New York State, Republican Congresswoman Sue Kelly lost in her bid for reelection to represent the 19th Congressional District. Congresswoman Kelly was a stalwart supporter of the Appalachian Trail (AT), and attended an American Hiking Society reception held on Capitol Hill in February 2006. Hopefully her successor, John Hall, will continue to support the AT in his district, as well as trails across the nation.
In Tennessee, Republican Bob Corker was elected to fill the seat of the retiring Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. Corker, the former Mayor of Chattanooga, is a big supporter of trails. During his tenure as Chattanooga's Mayor, Corker started the Outdoor Chattanooga initiative. He also regularly takes backpacking trips along the Appalachian Trail.
Time will tell how the incoming Congress will deal with legislation and funding related to trails and our public lands. To receive regular Action Alerts about Trail Conservation & Policy issues, please take a moment and subscribe to American Hiking Society's Capitol Trails Broadcast.
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 10:38 AM
November 07, 2006
Mt. Mitchell State Park!
View from Mt. Mitchell State Park
On Saturday while in the Asheville area, I decided to head up to Mt. Mitchell State Park. Mt. Mitchell is the highest peak east of the Mississippi River, and I had never been there before. With glorious fall weather, and some time on my hands, it seemed like the right thing to do.
To reach Mt. Mitchell from Asheville, you hop on the Blue Ridge Parkway and drive north. The views from along the Parkway were spectacular, and many folks were out enjoying the day looking at the last of the fall foliage.
Sign at entrance to Mt Mitchell State Park
Once inside the park, I decided to take a short hike along the Balsam Nature Trail. The trail wound through a dense Fir forest, with the fragrance of Christmas Trees filling the air. There were also Mountain Ash trees with their glorious red berries set against a backdrop of a beautiful blue sky. Unfortunately, many of the Fraser Fir trees along the flanks of Mt. Mitchell are dying due to a combination of air pollution and an exotic insect known as the balsam woolly aphid. As a result, the situation atop Mt. Mitchell was chronicled in the book The Dying of the Trees by Charles Little.
The trail led me about .3 miles to where the trail to the summit of Mt. Mitchell was closed.
The summit was closed as they reconstruct an observation tower. Since I have still not been to the highest point east of the Mississippi, I'll have to return to Mt. Mitchell again. The next time I do so, I'll be sure to walk there on the Mountains to Sea Trail.
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 07:03 PM
November 04, 2006
Mahoosuc Notch - The toughest horizontal mile on the Appalachian Trail
Back on July 31, 2000 I was nearing the end of my 2167-mile thru hike of the Appalachian Trail. Having entered Maine the day before I was filled with excitement, but my energy was also starting to lag. Turns out that I was sick, and became ill in the middle of the Mahoosuc Notch, which is the toughest horizontal mile on the entire Appalachian Trail.
Although I made it out of the Notch, I wasn't able to enjoy my scramble through the rocks. Next year I hope to take my 16 year old daughter Martha back to Maine, and "hike" the Mahoosuc Notch with here. If you can call navigating the Notch hiking.
Yesterday, I found an article in MaineToday.com about the Mahoosuc Notch. The article includes a Flash Presentation entitled "Navigating the Notch" and some video footage of hikers scrambling through the boulders. Check it out!
Does that look like fun to you?
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 09:26 AM
November 03, 2006
"The Cranes! They're migrating!"
The Shiny Blue Marble From Space
Photo Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Image by Reto Stöckli
Sprawl, Pollution, Habitat Loss, Global Warming, Invasive Species. The signs are everywhere. The natural world is under assault from all angles. At times, the news can become overwhelming for those who see the clues in the mountains and hollers of the Southern Appalachians - and elsewhere on this shiny blue marble we call home.
Then this week I read two articles about one of America's favorite trails - the Appalachian Trail, and the threats facing the trail and it's corridor. The first article appeared in the Roanoke Times and is entitled "The AT: An uncertain path". The second article is entitled "Kittatinny Ridge under pressure from developments" and it appeared in the Pocono Record in Pennsylvania.
After reading these articles, I became despondent. The enormity of the threat can be intimidating, but just as I was feeling down - I received a call from a colleague - Sonja. She said, "Jeffrey - the Cranes! They're migrating!" Sonja lives in northern Virginia, and early yesterday morning she was awoken at 4 AM to the sound of thousands of migrating Sandhill Cranes flying over her home in the darkness. Sonja threw open the window and listened to the birds until 6 AM. What a miracle, and a hopeful one at that! Her enthusiam and joy lifted my spirits.
In that vein, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy is taking a proactive approach to the threats to the trail, and they are convening a gathering of scientists next week to talk about using the trail as an outdoor lab to monitor the health of the environment along the East Coast. The ATC and its federal partners hope to enlist thousands of volunteers to establish baseline data, and then monitor trends in future years. I'll post information here about how you can get involved - as it becomes available. I hope some of you will become part of the solution!
Please take a moment to visit the Roanoke Times website and view the multimedia content about the Appalachian Trail. Afterwards, put on your day pack and take a young person for a hike. You just might encounter some cranes. Wouldn't that be nice?
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 08:43 AM
Heading to Asheville
Tomorrow I head to one of my favorite cities here in the southeast - Asheville, North Carolina. Surrounded by mountains on all sides, and featuring a vibrant cultural scene including great live music, Asheville is a wonderful city to visit - especially in the fall. Hiking oportunities abound throughout the area including in the Pisgah National Forest, along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and on the Appalachian Trail just west of town.
I'm headed to Asheville to plan for the upcoming Great Southeastern Hiking Festival planned for May 3-6, 2007 - which will occur in nearby Black Mountain and Montreat. I plan to do a little hiking while I'm in the area. Hopefully you'll join me at the festival in the spring and see first-hand the beauty of the rugged Black Mountains.
Anyway, I thought I'd share a tune from an Asheville artist that I really enjoy - Christine Kane. Checkout her tune Right Outta Nowhere - which is available on Christine's blog. Enjoy!
Posted by Jeffrey Hunter at 08:05 AM