In Memoriam – Phil Smith

A few weeks ago we lost a great friend, Phil Smith. Born in Ohio 71 years ago, he retired to the Asheville area in 1989 and soon became the leader and mainstay of the CMC trail crew.

Mostly Phil was a trail worker — and an inspirer of trail workers — and a leader of trail workers. Phil led a year-round, three-day-a-week operation that maintained the Carolina Mountain Club’s 92 miles of the Appalachian Trail, much of the Mountains-to-the-Sea trail in our area, and numerous other trails in the surrounding forests and parks.

All of us who hike the surrounding mountains are bound to walk the trails Phil and his crew built and maintained. We traverse the forests on his treadways, are helped up the steeper grades by his rock and log steps, and cross the streams on his stepping-stones and bridges. Indeed future generations will walk these same forest paths not knowing the name of their generous and anonymous benefactor, Phil Smith.

The work will go on, but Phil Smith cannot be replaced. And those of us who knew him will, each time we shoulder our tools and start off into the woods, think of him and miss him. Certainly, those of us who knew Phil will never forget him.

– Misha Lazer

Maintenance Crews Reorganized

After the death of Phil Smith, it was decided that a reorganization of the CMC Maintenance Program would be a good idea in order to more fairly distribute the duties that have become associated with the effort to keep our area trails in shape. Misha Lazer has volunteered to chair the post and has a team of others who help him get the job done.

He explains that there are basically two types of involvement: l) adopting a bit of trail as a section maintainer, 2) joining a work crew for one or two or three days a week (normally Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). He coordinates the activities of the crew type work. This includes both maintenance of existing trails and construction of new trails as well.

Anyone interested in joining this effort, call Misha at 259-9729. He says that his group maintains several hundred miles of trails, including 92 miles of the Appalachian Trail and about 75 miles of the Mountains-to-the-Sea Trail. “We clear blow-downs (fallen trees), move rocks and build bridges, steps and stiles. Year round our work is occasionally dirty, occasionally tiring — but always healthy, satisfying and even exhilarating. We have lots of fun, which we are willing to share.”

So who needs an expensive exercise program when this is available? Those who want to volunteer to be responsible for a particular section of the MTS should call Don Walton at 298-5084, or Howard McDonald at (828) 693-8258 for a section of the AT.

Smith Memorial Fund Established

Misha Lazer reports that a Phil Smith Memorial Fund has been established and will be maintained by the CMC. The Fund, he says, will be dedicated to the purchase of supplies and equipment for trail maintenance crews and will be tax free. Contributions may be sent to the club treasurer.

Dues Are Due

A reminder to all members that annual dues are due by January 1, 2002. Those of you who joined after October 1, 2001, are paid up through December 31, 2002. Others mail $12.00 to Carolina Mountain Club, PO Box 68, Asheville, NC 28802, now to avoid the expense of reminder invoices later. If you have questions, contact Becky Smucker at 298-5013 or beckysmucker@remax.net

This, That & The Other

Did you know there is a North Carolina Mountains-to-Sea Trail web site? If you want to get involved on a state level, go to www.ncmst.org

Sherman Stambaugh reports the marriage of Richard Walkey and Anita Downs on August 3. It was the third anniversary of the hike on which they met. Our congratulations.

Check with the leader before getting ahead of him or her on club hikes. Ask yourself what you expect the leader to do if you become unaccounted for, or how you would feel if you were the leader in the same circumstances. Most members are too new to remember the time in the 70s when some on a hike got out front and took the wrong turn coming back. The rescue squad was called and they were finally located before midnight. Your current editor will not forget. He was the leader.

Awards at Annual Dinner

The Award of Appreciation, given in recognition of an exceptional one-time contribution to the operation of CMC, was presented to Don Walton for his many hours given creating the CMC internet web page. The site includes a bit of club history, a posting of the monthly newsletter, the quarterly hike schedules, trail descriptions and maps as well as a photo gallery of CMC activities.

The Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes a member who has made consistent and cumulative contributions to the Club over many years, was presented to Bernard Elias. A member of the club for 60 years, Bernard is well known as one of the club’s original and most active trailblazers and mapper of trails. Who does not have a well-worn copy of the 100 Favorite Trails map, written and revised for years by Bernard? As long as any of us can remember he has been leading hikes and promoting hiking in WNC. We all know he never goes anywhere without a supply of CMC hike schedules for newcomers. — Linda Blue

New Members

Jacob Ebert, Huston Fortner, Trent Price, Janet Edwards, Ann Holt, Maurice Dubois, Jane Apple, Gerald & Cornelia Deland, William Bruce, Neil McKinney, Lee Belknap, Kenyon & Esther Temple, Brian Tribby, Jacqueline Fitch, Robin & Bill Zipperer, Bill Thrasher, David Greiner, Cecilia Brien, Bill Hallock, Cornelia Hendershot, Kevin Kenney.

Saturday Work Day

Give some of your outdoor time back to the trails by helping on a Saturday workday, and learning what is involved with trail maintenance. These are held quarterly and we will meet next on March 16, at the Moose Cafe at 8:00 AM for breakfast. We will be back from working around 4:00 PM. Fun, educational, and productive. Call Les Love 658-1489.

Mountaineering Information

To lovers of mountain trails - both visitors and local residents - the Carolina Mountain Club dedicates this quarterly bulletin in the hope that it will open the way for new pleasures from the outdoors.

Western North Carolina is blessed with places of rare beauty, yet they are denied to many people because a practical means of visiting them is lacking. The Carolina Mountain Club exists to fill this need. Views, forests, rock formations, wild flowers, streams, and waterfalls are incorporated in the club’s year-round hiking program.

Special information on hiking and equipment is given below. The inside pages present a schedule of outings taking place every weekend and every Wednesday. Consult the trip leader or hike chairman for additional information regarding any particular hike. Hikes may be cancelled due to adverse weather, causing dangerous road and trail conditions. Please call hike leader if weather conditions are questionable.

Visitors are cordially welcome but should select trips within their endurance. When reservations are necessary, mention will be made in hike description. In this case, the leader will have to be called to reserve a space. Hikers usually carpool from the meeting places to trailheads and back. Passengers are expected to share operating expenses with the driver.

Clothing & Equipment, Etc.

Footwear comes first. Never start a mountain trip in brand new footwear. Lightweight hiking boots are recommended. Clothing of any substantial type will do. Carry a sweater, even in summer, and some kind of rain wear.

Equipment for all-day trips should be a lunch, plenty of water, compass, first aid kit, matches in waterproof case, flashlight, cellphone if available and personal medication including allergy medication. On overnight trips, carry tent, sleeping bag, foam pad, extra clothing, stove, fuel, mess kit, eating utensils, and food in addition to the above.

Maps are helpful when hiking on your own. U.S. Geological Survey and T.V.A. topographic quadrangle maps are for sale at $4.00 per sheet at local outfitting stores or by mail from Branch of Distribution, U.S. Geological Survey, Box 25286, Denver, CO 80255. State index maps for selecting quadrangles are free from the Denver office. U.S. Forest Service topographic maps (based on U.S. Geological Survey quadrangles) and maps of selected areas in Western North Carolina are available at the National Forest Service Office, 160 Zillicoa St., P.O. Box 2750, Asheville, NC 28802. Call (828) 257-4200 for further information.

Club Trip Regulations: From the start of the trip, both members and visitors are expected to abide absolutely by club regulations and by instructions of the leader. Visitors should make themselves known to the leader on arrival at assembly place announced for the trip. No one is to start ahead of the leader without definite permission, or lag unreasonably far behind the group. The party is pledged not to pick shrubs or wild flowers, damage property in any way, or endanger forests and property by smoking while walking.

Membership: Any person is eligible for membership by completing a Membership Application form and paying dues. Individual and Family memberships are $12.00 per year. Frequent non-member participants in club hikes are expected to join the Carolina Mountain Club. All members are encouraged to participate in one of the club’s many maintenance efforts. Contact a club officer for details.

Carolina Mountain Club Officers

Don Walton 298-5084.................... President

Les Love 658-1489................. Vice President

Mary Swain 863-2125.................... Secretary

Becky Smucker 298-5013................. Treasurer

Council Members: George Munoz -658-0606, Neal Andreae - 883-3098, Jan Lounsbury - 689-5006, Brad VanDiver - 669-2740, Linda Blue - 645-4488, Joe Cirvelo - 627-1797.

Quarterly Council meetings are open to all Club members. Call any Council member for date, time and place.

Morgan Sommerville 254-3708........ ATC Field Rep

THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL: The Carolina Mountain Club is a member of the Appalachian Trail Conference, PO. Box 807, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia 25245 Telephone (304) 535-6331. This association is made up of hiking clubs which laid out and now maintain the Appalachian Trail, a 2,160 mile footpath following the mountain crests from Mt. Katahdin, Maine, to Springer Mtn., Georgia. The association has assigned the Carolina Mountain Club the maintenance of some 92 miles along the North Carolina-Tennessee line of Spivey Gap to Davenport Gap. The National Scenic Trails Act was passed in 1968, which is when the AT was designated a National Scenic Trail. Guide books are available from ATC: AT Guide to North Carolina-Georgia and AT Guide to Tennessee-North Carolina.

Responsibility For Safety

There are certain risks which are inherent in any hike or other Club activity. Each CMC member, guest or non-member hiker agrees to accept personal responsibility for his or her safety and the safety of minors accompanying such persons. The Club cannot ensure the safety of any participant on hikes. In participating in Club hikes, each such person agrees to hold harmless and free from blame the hike leaders, and the CMC, its officers and members, for any accident, injury or illness which might be sustained from participating in hikes or other Club activities.

CUTLINES FOR PHOTOS:

Maintenance Leader, Phillip Russell Smith, 71, died Friday, Oct. 26, 2001. In addition to his work with the CMC, he also volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, the ABCCM, and participated in disaster relief through the Methodist Church. (Photo by Don Walton)

Bernard Elias is pictured here receiving his DSA commemorative hiking stick at the Annual Meeting from Don Walton, now President and winner of the Award of Appreciation, himself.