Raven’s View

In honor of last week’s news about the wilderness bills in the U.S. Congress, here are some interesting numbers to think about:

1,000 – Acres of private land at Chimney Rock we are fighting to protect in Western North Carolina.

76,000 – Acres of public land up for wilderness designation in New Hampshire and Vermont. The U.S. House of Representatives adjourned last week before approving a bill to protect these lands.

177,768 – Acres of public land already designated as wilderness area in North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. The federal “wilderness area” designation gives public lands the maximum amount of environmental protection.

310,000 – Acres of new wilderness area approved for Idaho by the House last week.

4,388,330 – Acres of wilderness area already existing in Idaho.

Sources: Associated Press, Wilderness.net

I love this time of the year, when the mornings and evenings are perfect for a light fleece vest.

That’s why I’m taking this opportunity to promote the new Columbia fleece vests we received. Since I’ve returned from my paddling trip, I’ve been unpacking box after box after box of new stuff. Frankly, the store is getting a little crowded, so please come in a get some of this stuff off our hands.

The Cathedral Peak Vest is a simple model with two hand pockets that comes in black, blue, green and brown. It costs a measly $38. The Ballistic Vest adds a chest pocket and nylon reinforcements in a few key areas, raising the cost to just $59.95.

I walked the dogs this morning and noticed fall in full effect.

The chill air played perfectly off the storm fronts passing through the sky. The clouds stood like two huge waves, with a bright stretch of blue streaking between them. For a moment on a neighborhood hill, I had a remarkably clear view of Mount Pisgah and its ridge. The mountains looked dark, and the clouds hung on their heights.

The cherry and walnut trees have begun to show a little yellow, while the dogwoods have gone a deep, earthy maroon.

Our journey ends tomorrow in Knoxville.

Time to return to work. From what I hear, the two Black Dome stores have hundreds of boxes of new merchadise waiting to be priced and put out. Judging by the cooler days, it’s definitely time to start changing the wardrobe.
For now, Hartwell and I each posted entries on the Citizen-Times.com blogroll.

When we return to Asheville, we’ll post a bunch of photos, so keep checking back.

For the past 3 days Mark and Hartwell paddled a remote section of water starting at Hot Springs. Read about their adventure in their new entry on the Tour de French Broad blog. Check it out.

Hartwell and I are eager to get back on the river Wednesday after two separate days off the water. We took Sunday off, paddled Monday, and then led UNCA freshman during a cleanup Tuesday at the Swannanoa River.

Read our latest Citizen-Times.com blog entry.

Check out my Tour de French Broad blog entry on the Citizen-Times.com.

I just posted a blog entry on the Asheville Citizen-Times Web site, while Hartwell gave a talk to college students and guests here at Brevard College. We are on Day Two of our 16-day journey down the French Broad River.

The paddling was easy yesterday with the water level up, thanks to recent rains. Fortunately, the storm cleared yesterday and we had great weather.

The low point of the trip was coming across a dead pig in the river. Talk about nasty!

I’ll primarily be blogging with Hartwell through the Citizen-Times.com, so check out their Web site if you want to hear more about our trip.

Sorry I haven’t posted anything recently, but I’ve been planning and preparing for a big trip. Plus, it was Labor Day weekend.

Tomorrow, I will embark on 219-mile journey from the headwaters of the French Broad River, near Rosman, NC, to its confluence with the Tennessee River in Knoxville, TN. I am accompanying Hartwell Carson, Riverkeeper for the non-profit group RiverLink, to document his adventure. I will write a newspaper or magazine article when I return, as well as an authoritative guide to paddling the French Broad River.

Carson works hard to raise awareness about environmental issues facing the French Broad, so I’m excited to see him at work. He’s also a helluva guy, so I’m stoked to canoe with him for the next 16 days.

To read about our adventures, visit the Asheville Citizen-Times blogroll.

I’ll be back here to blog again on Sept. 22.

A Citizen-Times article today discusses a study on spending in national parks with some interesting figures.

“…American taxpayers in 2005 spent $2.6 billion on the National Park System, and the return on their investment was more than $12 billion,” the park service said.

Locally, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park attracted 9.2 million visitors in 2005 who spent� $652 million in surrounding communities and� supported more than 14,000 local jobs.

People want to visit the Smokies because they love beautiful, natural scenery. They come for� hiking trails, pristine trout streams and vast panoramas of undisturbed wilderness.

And they spend a ton of money nearby.

Isn’t this an economic� case for preserving as much public land as possible?

Whatever the state spends on Chimney Rock, for example, we are sure to get back over time…

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