News & Events: Upcoming Events

The Bearwallow Beast 5K Trail Run and Honey & Hops Festival

Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy and Park Ridge Health present the Bearwallow Beast 5K and Honey & Hops Festival. This challenging race ranks among the most difficult in the southeast, featuring 1,300 feet of elevation gain over its 3.1 miles.

When: Sunday May 6th, 2012 at 2:00 P.M.

Where: Gerton, NC

Cost: $25 for pre-registrants, $30 for week of registrants

Are you ready to tackle the Beast?

Join the race to Save our Mountains!

Find out more at

www.bearwallowbeast.com

Get Connected with Conservation! Volunteers Needed for Rivercane Planting, Invasive Species Removal, and Trail Building!

CMLC is asking you to get involved with the conservation in your community! We have two workdays coming up that will help steward some of the areas we have protected, and we need volunteers! Here they are:

Lewis Creek Preserve Afternoon Work - Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012; 1:00 - 5:00 PM. Volunteers are needed to help do some finishing work on a half-mile walking trail that is currently under creation at Lewis Creek. Additional volunteer help is needed with invasive species removal in the rare Southern Appalachian bog habitat present on the preserve. Project Challenge, a fantastic service organization for youth in North Carolina, will be helping at Lewis Creek this afternoon, so come out and work with some youth working to make their community a better place!

Cane Creek Workday at Fletcher Community Park - Saturday, February 25th, 2012; 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. CMLC is working to restore River Cane to the Greenway along Fletcher Community Park.! Volunteers will help local youth remove invasive species and plant River Cane to restore the historical ecology and heritage of this valuable public space.

Volunteers are a valued and critical part of CMLC's work. If you can't make these workdays, never fear- volunteers will be needed for future workdays, spring conservation easement monitoring, and CMLC and Park Ridge's spring Bearwallow Beast 5k. Please consider volunteering for a few hours! Please contact Mark van der Linden at (828) 697-5777 or mark@carolinamountain.org to learn how you can help fulfill our mission, and watch our website for upcoming opportunities!

Lewis Creek Restoration Days - Get Outside and Volunteer - Dec. 10th

CMLC is working on restoring bog habitat and constructing a trail extension at Lewis Creek, and we need your help! We need volunteers for three workdays coming up at the end of November and the beginning of December.

Here are the dates and what you'd be doing to help!

Sunday, November 20th: Flagging a path for a new section of trail through the bog area, clearing understory from the flagged trail, clearing the field of cut brush.
Tuesday, November 29th: Chipping wood into mulch for the new section of trail.
Saturday, December 3rd: Spreading wood chips to help form the new section of trail, and helping to restore the ecological integrity of the bog by removing invasive plants.
Saturday, December 10th: Spreading wood chips to help form the new section of trail, and helping to restore the ecological integrity of the bog by removing invasive plants.

All of the workdays will be from 10:00 AM - 3:30 PM. December 10th is bolded as we particularly need help on this day!

If you're interested or would like more information, please get in touch with Mark at mark@carolinamountain.org or at (828) 697-5777. Thank you!

Join us at CMLC's Holiday Friend-Raiser December 6th

CMLC's Annual Holiday Party

Tuesday, December 6th, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Salon Blue Ridge
(Architectural Warehouse & Showroom)

518 S. Allen Road (off of Upward Road)
Limited space, please RSVP by Thursday, December 1st

Join CMLC for a festive evening as we wrap up a successful 2011! Attendees enjoy wine, hors d'oeuvres and live jazz guitar by Dan Keller.

This year's holiday gathering is a true FRIEND-RAISER as follows:

$25 per for CMLC members

$35 per for CMLC non-members

FREE for CMLC members that bring a non-member as guest**

**You, members of your household and your non-member guest are welcomed gratis if you will kindly encourage that your guest become acquainted with CMLC's mission to conserve a regional network of locally and nationally significant farm, forest, park and natural lands. How can you know if your guest is a non-member? Simply ask! Email Kristin Harkey at kristin@carolinamountain.org.

To sign up for this year's friendraiser, click here!

RSVP to the Bearwallow Mountain Oktoberfest - Saturday October 15!

Join CMLC atop the scenic summit of Bearwallow Mountain to celebrate conservation successes in the Hickory Nut Gorge and the opening of our new Bearwallow hiking trail with food, fun, and fall foliage! Admission is free! RSVP today to join us!

How to Get to the Top of the Mountain

Click here to enter your address and receive turn-by-turn directions to the trailhead. GPS users may enter N35.4607, W-82.3681 in their units. The trailhead is at the crest of Bearwallow Mountain Rd. where the pavement turns to gravel. Signs will direct you to a parking area set up at the Grand Highlands at Bearwallow Mountain. From there, volunteers will help shuttle you to the start of the trail.

Once inside the gate, locate the trail to the right of the gravel road. The path switchbacks up the mountain slopes to arrive at the grassy meadow summit in one mile. Alternatively, hike up the gravel access road to reach the summit in 0.75 miles. Or consider using this road for your descent after the event, making a loop hike.

When To Come

Bearwallow Oktoberfest begins at 4:00pm, so consider beginning your hike to the summit in advance to allow plenty of time to reach the top.

A CMLC guided hike will begin from the trailhead at 3:30 or 4:15pm if you wish to walk to the top with a group.

The celebration goes until 7:00pm, when the sun is due to set (bring a headlamp for the walk down).

What You Should Bring

-A picnic blanket and/or a camp chair (chairs can be shuttled to the top by our vehicle while you hike)

-Wear boots or sturdy shoes due to the steep terrain of the trail

-Consider layers of clothing for the changing temperatures at the top of the mountain as the sun goes down

-A headlamp or flashlight to walk down in the dark if you choose to stay at the summit for the sunset

Raffle for Free Outdoor Gear!

Enter our raffle to win a REI Half Dome 2 tent ($179.00 retail value) or a mountain bike from Bikeways! Raffle tickets are $5 each or 10 for $20.

This is a Free Event, but RSVP to Let Us Know You're Coming

Click here to RSVP to the Bearwallow Oktoberfest event on Saturday October 15, 2011 *Rain Date: Sunday October 16th same time, same place!