Laurel Falls Trail Clean up!

Some park staff and volunteers spent Tuesday the 19th cleaning up and repairing the Laurel Falls Trail. About half a dumpster of trash, a large portion of which was plastic and aluminum beverage containers, was picked up this day by volunteers, while trail maintenance staff repaired portions of the trail worn from time, use, and misuse. This annual effort gathers lots of garbage, much of which is recyclable, and it is a sad statement on those who leave the trash and their lack of understanding or caring for some of the things which make our human existence possible, (i.e. water, plants).
Thanks to all the GSMNP staff and volunteers who helped make a positive difference on this day.

Rich Mountain then OTG

This is a route which I tried last year about this time I think and today was as challenging as I recalled, and more. I started at the Rich Mtn. trailhead and climbed this strenuous route at healthy clip stopping once to lose a layer early into the climb and another short pause to take some pictures. The OTG section takes one down into a deep and steep drainage off of Rich Mtn trail about a 1/2 mile from the top. As the stream grows and the drainage widens becoming a hollow it is possible to follow closer to the stream, which I did not always do. Doing this you may avoid some of the very steep grades however in doing so you have some rock hopping and rodo's to deal with.

This is some beautiful forest! Trillium was blooming and there are numerous waterfalls some bigger than others. For instance the one in the photo is probably 15' cascading over and down the face of a boulder while others were not as big, though as pleasing to the senses. This stream parallels Rich Mtn. trail for part of the way and also the route taken into and over the Rich Mtn. Gap pass into Cades Cove.

Laurel Falls Trail Closed....for cleanup on the 19th

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials have announced the one-day closure of the Laurel Falls Trail on Tuesday, April 19 for litter clean-up and graffiti removal. Mangers say that the closure will both improve the experience of hikers and reduce the likelihood of bears being attracted to the litter and food waste along the trail.
The Trail closure will only affect the 1.7-mile paved section from the trailhead on Little River Road to Laurel Falls. Not only will trash will be cleaned up from the Trail itself, but personnel will be rigging ropes to safely remove litter that has been discarded over the side of the trail. A full closure was deemed necessary to provide for the safety of visitors and the workers.
Employees will also be removing graffiti that has been building up over the years. Graffiti including such things as people’s names and the dates they were in the park can be found on rocks and trail markers along the route. Both littering and defacing Park features with graffiti are illegal and Park visitors are advised to refrain from doing either.
The Laurel Falls Trail is highly used due to its low-moderate difficulty rating, its handicapped accessible features, and its accessibility from a main road. Paper and aluminum litter is not the only form of trash that accumulates and causes problems.
“Sometimes visitors do not think of bio-degradable items like apple
cores and orange peels as trash, as they would soda cans or food wrappings.” Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson said, “But these items are powerful attractants to bears and other wildlife that can quickly become
dependent on these foods sources, causing them to lose their fear of humans and pose a hazard to future visitors to the area.”
The Trail is expected to be closed from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will be open to all visitors for the remainder of the day once the clean-up is complete.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park
in the National Park Service with more than 10 million visitors annually. For more information about the park, and other hiking trails that will be open during this trail closure, visit www.nps.gov/grsm

The new Oconaluftee Visitor Center

Great Smoky Mountain National Park officials are inviting the public to the Grand Opening and Ribbon-cutting at the Park’s new 100% Partner-funded Oconaluftee Visitor Center just inside the Cherokee, N.C.entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The event will take place at 11:00 a.m. Friday, April 15 about 1.5 miles north of Cherokee, NC along Newfound Gap Road.
The new Oconaluftee Visitor Center is the first new visitor service facility to be constructed in Great Smoky Mountains National Park since the early 1960’s and is the first structure in North Carolina to be constructed explicitly as a full-service Visitor Center. Since the 1940’s the Park has been serving up to 3,500 visitors daily at a small 1,700 square foot building constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps for use as a Ranger Station.
The new 6,300-square-foot visitor center and adjacent 1,700-square-foot comfort station were constructed and donated by the Great Smoky Mountains Association at a cost of $3 million. The Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park provided over $550,000 to fund the visitor orientation and museum components. The theme of the new facility is the rich cultural history of the Smokies ranging from pre-historic times, through the arrival of European settlements, logging, the Park’s Creation, and the contributions of the Civilian Conservation Corps.
The Center was designed from the ground up to be a model of energy efficiency and sustainability. It incorporates a broad suite of features including geothermal wells, solartube lighting, rainwater collectors to supply the restrooms, and extensive recycled building materials.
According to Park Superintendent, Dale Ditmanson, “We are exceedingly proud that we were able to put together a partnership that has allowed us to create this exciting new visitor destination at no cost to the taxpayer. Between the diverse cultural exhibits and the Great Smoky Mountains Association bookstore we expect the new center to quickly become a destination in its own right.”

Clean Water for who? Why? (click here)

We were in the District of Columbia, the capitol of this country, for the last five days showing legislators why they should support the Clean Water Protection Act(CWPA). And tossing a Frisbee in the halls of congress.

This is one of those bills that is a "no-brainer" except for those who have a financial or political interest in allowing the permanent destruction of mountains, the poisoning of our drinking water, and the waste of our lands. Please educate yourself about MTR and learn why your children will thank you for an educated vote. Call the congressional hotline and ask for your congressman and then ask that legislator to vote for the CWPA, Ph# 202-225-3121

Spring Walks