This Land, Your Land

A years-long project to rehabilitate Appalachian Trail shelters in Great Smoky Mountains National Park has concluded with the completion of shelter reconstruction at Laurel Gap, the various groups involved report.

The Laurel Gap shelter, near the intersection of the Sterling Ridge and Balsam Mountain trails, is the 15th AT shelter rehabbed since 1999, according to The Daily Times in Maryville, Tennessee.

The Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club provided money and labor for the project over the years.

The project provided the shelters with improved natural lighting, a cooking area to separate food odors from the sleeping space, improved bunk access, new roofs and masonry repair, the removal of chain-link fences, and drainage improvements, the newspaper said.

More than 250 three-walled shelters are spaced about a day's hike apart from one another on the Appalachian Trail. In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, AT hikers are required to camp in the shelters.

The ATC points out that "shelters can be grimy and rodent-infested when hikers don't clean up after themselves, and they may be crowded." On the other hand, "shelters are the best places to stay dry in wet weather, ... they are often a good place to meet and talk with other hikers, and most have privies and water sources nearby. But ... more importantly, staying at shelters reduces hiker impact on the Trail environment."

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is seeking grant proposals for up to $5,000 in funding for a broad range of AT-related projects.

The ATC says in a news release that proceeds from North Carolina Appalachian Trail specialty license plate sales have brought in about $135,000 this year, of which $35,000 is to be dispersed through grants in 2012.

Ten individuals and partner organizations won grants this year.

Proposals will be considered for "physical projects" on the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and its facilities; major public-service projects; enhancement of trail clubs’ long-term AT management abilities; natural heritage and environmental monitoring; education and outreach; and the ATC community partnerships. Grant funds must be spent in North Carolina.

Proposals are due by February 17.

The AT-specialty license plates cost $30 ($60 if personalized), and $20 from each sale reverts to the ATC.

Scroll down on the license plate page for grant application information.

If you don't have plans for Saturday, there are at least 20 opportunities in North Carolina to participate in cleanup and rehabilitation work as part of National Public Lands Day. There are also guided hikes on the Appalachian Trail and free admission to National Parks as part of the annual celebration.

National Public Lands Day, September 24 this year, is the nation's largest, single-day volunteer event for public lands in the United States. Last year, 170,000 volunteers worked at over 2,080 sites in every state, the District of Columbia and in many U.S. territories.

Projects planned in North Carolina (link above) range from spreading wood chips along nearly a half mile of the Lake Trail at the Carl Sandburg National Historic Site in Flat Rock to removing aquatic debris and collecting water quality data at the Rachel Carson Coastal Reserve near Beaufort, and from trail work in the Nantahala National Forest's Panthertown Valley Backcountry Area near Cashiers and in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, to removing litter and debris at hurricane-damaged Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge near Rondanthe on the Outer Banks.

Opportunities to help also exist at local sites, like Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve in Cary and Fairview Park in Hillsborough.

Up the coast from Pea Island, entrance fees are waived for the day at the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk the only National Park in the state to charge for entry.

A.T. Journeys, the monthly magazine of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, looks at quick opportunities to bag peaks on the AT, and all three it suggests are in North Carolina.

"ATC’s Laurie Potteiger notes that deep in the heart of the southern Appalachians are magnificent A.T. 'peak' experiences that require little more effort than turning off your vehicle’s motor, silencing your cell phone, and stretching your legs," the article says.

Potteiger visits Wayah Bald, with its "expansive views of rows and rows of other pristine mountains in the distance," Clingman’s Dome, at 6,643 feet the highest peak on the A.T., which features "a large concrete observation tower with a circular ramp that provides spectacular 360-degree views of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park," and Roan Mountain, where "flower lovers make the pilgrimage to see one of the most notable displays anywhere in world" when wild rhododendron blooms in June.

Though some of the A.T. at Roan Mountain is inaccessible most of this summer as the day use area is renovated, hikers can still access the mountain from nearby Carver’s Gap, Potteiger says.