Great Outdoor Blog

Our next workday is Saturday, October 25, 2008 – fall color and fall weather! RSVP by October 22, 2008 so we can put the final plan for the workday together. (919-868-6274 or jdbrewer@bellsouth.net)

NEW MEETING SITE – We will now meet at the Food Lion Parking lot at the intersection of Sherron Road and Highway 98. The Food Lion is behind the Shell gas station and across from Patterson Road. Your physical address for google maps is – 121 Sherron Road, Durham, NC 27703. We will meet here at 9:00 AM and then move to the project sites. This new meeting site will save us time and gas in your tank.

MORE INFO

2009 Dates Just Announced: January 10, February 28, March 21, May 2, & June 6

See you on the trail

- Jeff Brewer
Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail

“There are starving children in Ethiopia!” Despite this well known fact I still could not finish off my childhood plate of brussel sprouts. “Name one of them!” was my usual knucklehead response. Well on September 30, Majka Burhardt in her presentation, Vertical Ethiopia, provided a breathtaking glimpse of that country’s stunning landscape and introduced a people of matching beauty. Majka’s experience as a climber takes the audience to magnificent heights yet it is her gift of storyteller that captures the essence of Ethiopia. Majka’s narrative combined with the superb photography of Gabe Rogel offer an intimate look at the intersection of culture, adventure, history and opportunity. We recommend Majka Burhardt and her new book with enthusiasm.

Chuck Milsaps
Minister of Cuture
Great Outdoor Provision Co.

OCTOBER 18, 2008; Pamlico County, NC

THE PAMLICO PADDLE, an annual delight for kayakers and canoeists of all skill levels, is this year scheduled to cover some of the finest, most pristine paddling water on the East Coast. Spring Creek, just off the Bay River, in Pamlico County, North Carolina (between the towns of Bayboro and Oriental), is our destination for the morning of Saturday, October 18, 2008. Truely one of the most scenic, untouched waterways in the Carolinas, Spring Creek boasts only one man-made structure along its shores. Paddlers often spot a pair of bald eagles nesting. Located on the Atlantic Flyway, the waters of Spring and adjoining creeks offer frequent refuge to herons, loons, geese, ducks, terns, gulls, pelicans, and other shore and water fowl. The adjacent forest and marshes are home to many species of land birds, deer, otters, bears, bobcats, foxes, and beavers. All of us will leave this trip longing for this little spot of heaven to remain as it is for future generations.

Most folks are surprised to learn that Pamlico County is blessed with more inland shoreline than any other North Carolina County. THE PAMLICO PADDLE is designed to showcase a different outdoor venue each year. It has traditionally drawn scores of eco-friendly paddling persons into Pamlico County. This event offers paddlers the opportunity to explore the very best of our splendid environmental and cultural offerings.

On Saturday morning, October 18, check-in begins at 8:30am. There are three trails: a 4-mile beginner, a 5.5 mile intermediate, and a 7.5 advanced. Volunteers will help unload and load kayaks and canoes, and will assist in your launching and landing. Detailed driving directions, course maps, lodging, and kayak rental info is available at pamlicopaddle.com.

Please take a few moments right now to register for this event, ask questions, and/or obtain details by browsing to: pamlicopaddle.com, or by calling: 252-249-1850. Registration fee is $35, and includes a t-shirt, lunch, guide service, and fun! Bring your friends and family. It’s only one week away!

Proceeds from this event enable the non-profit Pamlico Rural Tourism Council, to move toward its goal of preserving the area’s natural resources through environmentally responsible tourism.

Does your child enjoy being outdoors? Are you seeking a project that provides an opportunity for your child to practice responsibility and learn about service to the community? Hike for Habitat fits you both!

Join us Sunday, November 2 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. at Blue Jay Park in Raleigh. Hike for Habitat teaches lessons of giving and service. It’s an afternoon of youth-friendly building projects, games, coloring, snacks, prizes, and fun! Because it’s a service project, it’s also a creative way to cultivate compassion in your child. With information in hand about how the Habitat Wake homeownership program works, youth can ask family and neighbors for small financial contributions. Youth can also collect beverage aluminum cans, which Habitat Wake will recycle for cash. We’ll purchase home maintenance kits for Habitat homeowners.

Hike for Habitat will be an experience for your child – even your entire family – that demonstrates a tangible why we can collaborate and make a positive difference in our community.

>> Learn More @ habitatwake.org

>> Mark your calendar: Habitat Day is Sat, Dec 6

Check out Mark Synnott live in Winston-Salem on October 10!

Everybody has a dream job. The problem is that for most of us, that’s all it is—a dream. What we actually do for money is often a far cry from what we wish we did for money. But it seems the best advice an old-timer can give the young is this: “find a job that you love, no matter what.” The bottom line is that you should pick something that makes you happy since you’re going to spend most of the rest of your life doing it. The problem is that dream jobs are like dream girls who don’t have boyfriends—hard to find. Let’s take a look at mountain guiding as an example.

So you’re a climber, and nothing makes you happier than being out on the rocks. You need a job, and you can see that every time you’re at the crag, the guides are there too, doing roughly the same thing you are. Only they’re getting paid. Sounds good, right? You go to the climbing school and ask for a job. And they ask what guiding experience you have, which is a problem because you have none.

In the old days you would be plain out of luck, but with the growth and development of the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) in the United States, you now have clearly defined steps you can take to get into the guiding profession. Think of it as your guide apprenticeship program. The sooner you get started, the better.

The very first step in the AMGA apprenticeship is the Top Rope Site Manager Course. It is four days in length. The exam typically takes one or two days, and can be taken directly after the course or any time up to three years afterward. Unlike other AMGA certifications, which are good for life, the TRSM certification is good for three years, provided you keep your AMGA membership and first-aid certification current. After three years, you need to recertify by retaking a two-day course that includes a curriculum review and a one-day skills evaluation. The great thing about the TRSM is that it allows a relative newcomer to the sport to achieve an introductory certification level. Prerequisites for the course include:

• Two years of climbing experience
• A resume showing at least 40 days of climbing and/or climbing instruction in the past two years or a minimum five years of climbing experience
• Ability to climb 5.8 on top rope
• Ability to safely set up top rope climbs, belay stations, and rappel stations without guidance
• Familiarity with basic anchoring principles
• Possession of the necessary equipment, including rope, rack, slings, etc.
• Possession of current basic first aid and CPR
• Age of at least 18 years

While not trivial, this list of prerequisites should be achievable for anyone who is serious about going after a dream. With your TRSM under your belt, it should be relatively easy to find a summer job working as a climbing instructor at a camp, university program, or school. At this point you’ll be on your way, and if you decide to continue with the certification process, your next step will be to take the Rock Instructor Course. So what are you waiting for? You can find everything you need to know at www.AMGA.com.

Mark Synnott is the owner-operator of Synnott Mountain Guides (synnottmountainguides.com, 603-383-6976), located in Jackson, New Hampshire, in the heart of the White Mountains. He is a member of The North Face Athlete Team.

Do you enjoy the freedom of working outdoors, the thirst to work with cutting edge technology, and the passion to manage and protect the world’s precious natural resources? If you answered yes to these questions, there is ample opportunity for you to emerge as a leader in this field.

NC State’s Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources in the College of Natural Resources is one of the best schools of its kind in America. Offering graduate and six undergraduate degree programs, we are committed to promoting the science and practice of modern forestry, as well as state-of-the-art environmental resource management.

At NC State’s Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, we don’t just educate students, we graduate leaders.

Join us for an Open House on Saturday, October 18, 2008 from noon until 3 PM. Meet our faculty and current students, tour our facilities, and attend numerous information sessions to find out more about our degree programs, international travel opportunities, and scholarships.  Please visit http://cnr.ncsu.edu/2008_cnr_open_house.htm for more information.

Shannon Shinault
Undergraduate Program Coordinator
Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources
North Carolina State University
www.cnr.ncsu.edu/fer

PEA hosted a booth at Rock the Block in Winston-Salem last month. We had a lot of fun playing “Are You Greener than a Fifth Grader?” Few were. Only three people won a PEA tote bag by answering more questions correctly than our fifth-graders, most of whom were children of Board Members.

One of the questions posed to the contestants in our game was how to eat more sustainably at school. The choices included “have your Mother bring you a happy meal.” Clearly that was not the correct answer. The right choice was to take your lunch in a lunchbox. Another question asked why eating less meat was an eco-friendly choice. Our fifth-graders knew that the answer was because it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions from methane.

Many of us recycle.. and use CFL bulbs.. and take our own bags to the grocery store. But are you eating sustainably? Fall is a great time to start by purchasing locally grown produce. I love visiting the Farmers’ markets this time of year, which are brimming with locally grown butternut and acorn squashes. Local apples are bountiful and delicious. This weather could not be better for picking cool season vegetables from my backyard garden – lettuce, radishes, spinach, carrots.

On October 23rd, PEA will host an Environmental Exchange on eating sustainably. Come learn how you can make a real difference in the sustainability of our planet just by doing what we all love to do – eating! It will be a special evening. I hope you will join us.

Terri E. LeGrand
Executive Director
Piedmont Environmental Alliance

October 1, 2008

Customers of Great Outdoor Provision Co. can get more than a great deal on outdoor gear this month – they can help provide a coat to a neighbor in need.

During the month of October the locally owned Great Outdoor Provision Co. reaches out to community missions and delivers coats for the homeless during their 4th Annual Great Outdoor Coat Swap. Customers who donate a clean used jacket will receive a 20% discount off the regular price of a new jacket. Last year’s Coat Swap delivered nearly 2500 jackets to the needy.

“I’ve always known our customers are special.” comments Tom Valone, owner. “Every time we sponsor a charity drive our and customers come through, I’m reminded why I love this business.” Bruce Storer, director of development for the Raleigh Rescue Mission in downtown Raleigh, remarks on last year’s Coat Swap and says “It’s a significant gift. This is the time of year that we really need coats as well as food and blankets. We’re blessed to have this relationship with Great Outdoor Provision Co.”

If you want to do more—or are looking for volunteer opportunities this season—local shelters and missions always need warm clothes, blankets and food during the winter. Here’s a list of rescue missions in the eight communities we do business in; you can call them or check their Web sites for the best way to help:

• RALEIGH: Raleigh Rescue Mission
• DURHAM: Durham Rescue Mission
• CHAPEL HILL: Orange Congregations in Mission
• CHARLOTTE: Charlotte Rescue Mission
• GREENSBORO: Greensboro Urban Ministry
• WINSTON-SALEM: Samaritan Ministries
• WILMINGTON: Good Shepherd Ministries
• GREENVILLE: Greenville Community Shelter

The annual Coat Swap program is one of several philanthropic efforts the Great Outdoor Provision Co. and its customers help support. Others include Habitat for Humanity, local land trusts, Scouting (both boy’s and girl’s organizations), and the N.C Wildlife Federation.

Founded in 1972, the Great Outdoor Provision Co. is a family-owned retailer of clothing and gear for outdoor recreation enthusiasts. We have nine stores in eight North Carolina cities. Learn more at Coat Swap at greatoutdoorprovision.com/coatswap