Eco-Friendly Community

Circling the White House to Stop the Tar Sands Pipeline

2011-11-09T12:30:00.000-08:00

Last weekend (October 6), I went to Washington DC to join hands with 12,000 concerned people to send President Obama a message that we care about the future of the earth and the future world our children are inheriting. People came together from all across the country and Canada and formed a circle around the White House four people deep. We were asking Obama to deny the permit for the Tar Sands XL Pipeline, over which only he has the final say on whether to approve it or not.

This pipeline will carry the dirtiest oil on the planet across the US heartland from Canadian tar sands in Alberta. This oil is not even intended to be used in the US! It will be shipped overseas to China and other places. It will not reduce energy dependence and not create jobs. Studies show it will actually do the opposite, taking away jobs while harming the environment and further delaying the necessary switch to using renewable energy technologies.

This is what I learned from the scientists, activists, native American elders and people living near the tar sands and the pipeline. Over 20 speakers and experts shared the real facts the mainstream media continue to ignore.

I learned that this is the largest scale, most destructive environmental project on the planet today. Canada is in the process of digging up an area the size of Florida or the size of England, to get at what is called tar sands oil. More earth has already been moved than in building the Great Wall of China and the 10 largest dams on earth combined! This oil is buried deep in shale deposits and can only be extracted by first completely destroying the natural habitat by clear-cutting the pristine northern boreal forests, the largest forests outside of the Amazon. Then the oil companies must inject highly toxic chemicals into the shale under high pressure to force out what is called bitumen, a thick sludge. This uses over 5 barrels of pure water for every barrel of oil. All the toxic chemicals that come up to the surface with the oil are dumped in open pits where any birds that land on it die. Any animals drinking the water die. Any native American communities downstream find their water full of cancer causing chemicals. Cancer rates have already skyrocketed, especially among children and the elderly.

This bitumen oil is much heavier than other oil, since it is full of other impurities. To send it out by pipeline requires much higher pressure. The smaller pipeline in place now was promised to leak once in 20 years. It has already burst over 13 times in little over a year since it went in! This very dirty oil acts like course sand paper that wears out the pipeline from the inside. The proposed route will go over the largest pure water aquifer in the country , the Ogallala in Nebraska. A spill here would contaminate the water used by millions and necessary for the farming breadbasket of the country! Scientists and engineers agree that it is not if a spill will occur, but when. The pipes are virtually guaranteed to leak. It is more profitable for the companies to just patch the pipeline each time a spill occurs, since they don’t have to pay for the damages caused to our drinking water. And this is only the beginning of the global attack on our drinking water supplies.

I know this is hard the hear, but don't give up reading yet. There is a solution coming.

Oil and gas companies have removed all of the easy-to-get oil. Now they are going after "extreme" oil, gas and coal. This includes deep well off-shore drilling, mountaintop removal of coal, and fracking. We scientifically know how much harm each of these processes cause, yet these companies are allowed to pursue them without paying for the damage they are causing to our environment. It works great for them, the profits are theirs, and the cleanup costs are ours! We have seen what can happen from deep water drilling with the BP disaster in the gulf, which I learned is still leaking oil onto the gulf coasts and still killing marine life. Mountaintop removal of coal in West Virginia continues to pollute the water downstream from these sites and sickening people, yet the coal companies are not required to pay for any of the damages.

Equally bad or worse is fracking. This is very similar to the tar sands extraction process. Toxic chemicals are injected deep underground under pressure to force the natural gas to be released from shale. In the process, these chemicals stay in the ground and seep into the water table polluting our drinking water with cancer causing chemicals. Again the gas companies get to keep the profits and not pay for the damage to our health and our children's health. They have already had major accidents and contaminations in New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio Louisiana, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming and California. Now they are in the process of trying to expand further. They are even getting permits to drill within city limits like in Denver. It seems that nowhere is off limits to their enormous greed and arrogance for public health. The existing regulations and new ones being passed say that if they contaminate your well or water supply, you're out of luck - it's not their problem.

We even heard that these oil and gas companies want to build another new gas pipeline from Pennsylvania up to the Alberta tar sands in Canada. The only purpose of this is to provide energy to extract and refine the tar sands oil before sending it down the pipeline. Does this seem insane to you? The people who live in Pennsylvania will get their waters polluted with toxic chemicals for energy they will not even get to use. It will all go to Canada to enable the planet's dirtiest oil to be piped to Texas to then be sent to China! Our environment is being destroyed faster than ever before just to make enormous profits for these companies that are already the most profitable corporations in the history of money!

If this upsets you as much as it does me and makes you angry, it should. It is out of control. The world we all live in and that our children live in is being destroyed by a small number of very powerful corporations for insatiable greed. It appears that these oil, gas and coal companies can never make enough profit or amass enough power. However, they can justify this since, as corporations, they are required to make as much as they can for their shareholders. This means legally they cannot put the environment and our health first! It also means they must fight anything that might limit profits, including fighting environmental regulations, denying scientific studies on climate change, fighting to lower their taxes, gutting health care and social security as "unnecessary expenses" that don’t generate profits for them, lobbying for oil and coal subsidies, and spreading daily disinformation through the media. From their point of view, this makes totally logical business sense when the motivation is purely to maximize profits.

This rally taught me that the tar sands pipeline is just the tip of the iceberg. But it is the planet's biggest environmental disaster now unfolding. If permitted, it will allow wholesale destruction of Canada's forests and water. It will pollute the US aquifers. It will greatly accelerate the climate change problems by releasing vast amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. And it will encourage these energy corporations worldwide to think they can continue to go after extreme oil and carelessly destroy our water, air and health.

They seem to have all the money and all the power. Even Obama has taken large donations from these companies to get re-elected. Oil company supporters are in the White House and involved in his campaign. He even appointed a chief lobbyist of TransCanada to work in the State Department, which is making recommendations on whether this project should be approved! TransCanada also got to pick their own company to do the environmental assessment that said NO environment harm will be caused by this project. Does this sound rigged? Obama's administration initially accepted this report until it was brought to light and it is now being investigated.

Many of us voted for him in 2008 and many of us worked on his campaign. Most of the 12,000 people who came to circle the White House last week had believed his promises that he would fight for the interests of ordinary people and children, and stand up against the special interests of big oil and big coal. We are still hopeful he will do this, but so far he has not done so. During the past 3 years he has been unable or unwilling to stand against them. So it seems pretty clear now that it is up to all of us to protect the health of our children. No one else is looking out for us.

So what is the good news? What can be done about this? Anger is useful up to a point. It is certainly better than apathy or depression. But it only has limited power. The most powerful and universal weapon we all have that cannot be stopped is our personal power of caring and love, love we feel for our children, our families, our friends, and our love for nature. Parents are willing to give their lives to protect their children. They will do anything to protect their families from harm. Children love their pets and animals. This love can be used to overcome fear. If we can see what is going on in the world as personal, as threatening our loved ones directly, then we can harness this powerful love inside us. We can take action that is based on love rather than anger. This will make our actions unstoppable!

If we can harness this power of love, we can change the world. It is many hundreds of times more powerful as a motivator than fear. This has been proven in scientific studies. If we can tap into the depth of this love and be willing to add our love to the global effort of ordinary people to speak out, to demand a safe world for our children and grandchildren, to demand protection of our sacred waters and forests, to speak up and expose corruption and hidden illegal activities wherever we see them, we will not fall into fear and apathy. If we can do this because we have great love, we will tap into its enormous energy and power, and then amazing changes will happen. The impossible starts to become possible. Help comes from unexpected sources. New deep friendships and bonds are formed. We become happier inside when we take actions we believe in.

The ongoing #Occupy movement shows this process has already started and is rapidly expanding in over 900 cities around the world in over 80 countries. Ordinary people like you and me have decided to stop being passive and to speak up and seek change. Our leaders are not going to do this for us, since the majority of politicians and governments all over the world are already controlled by banking, oil, coal and other multi-national corporate special interests.

The change has to start with each of us. It can be as simple as learning more about what is really going on. Sharing this with friends and family in emails, on Facebook, at local gatherings, in churches, dinners, to whomever you can talk to about these issues that affect us all. Writing blogs, sending donations, or whatever small things each of us can do adds to this global shift and positive transformation to a more just and sustainable world.

Please pass along whatever ideas you find useful from this to your friends and others in your community. You can learn more at tarsandsaction.org, earthjustice.org and many other sites. You can go to youtube and watch videos on tar sands and fracking. I promise it will shock and alarm you to see for yourself what is going on. Become aware. Turn off your TV for a half an hour and use that time to educate yourself and your children. If you can't do this for yourself, then do it out of your love for your children and your family and friends.

The future starts now. It's time for all of us to wake up and take responsibility for our world. A small number of very powerful people around the world have been in charge of these decisions for far too long. We all need to express our feelings and opinions of what we want to see for our future. I personally believe it can and will be a beautiful future once we start committing to this vision. The sooner we begin to help bring about this change, the less unnecessary suffering there will be. The global transformation has already begun! Please find a way to join in and add your voice!

Here is a video of Bill McKibben discussing the Washington Rally and the pipeline

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HUMhsB8eG2I

and an article in the Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-pope/tough-times-for-tar-sands_b_1080640.html

and some images
http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1396&bih=616&q=tar+sands&gbv=2&oq=tar+sands&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=1630l4019l0l5501l9l8l0l1l1l0l261l1383l1.2.4l7l0

Moving Planet Event

2011-09-27T13:01:00.001-07:00

We participated in the local Moving Planet event at UNCA last weekend, a world-wide day of increasing awareness about the needs to address the growing problem of Climate Change. Here is a link to an article about Bill McKibben and other events around the globe.

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/sep2011/2011-09-24-01.html

A New Renewable Energy Program with Asheville Schools and Universities?

2011-09-19T21:47:00.001-07:00

We have just been approached with a great opportunity to purchase and install a Bergey 10kW wind turbine for half the normal price. For a long time, we have had the idea to create an educational program around renewable energy through Mountain Roots, a not-for-profit based at Laughing Waters Retreat Center at Hickory Nut Forest Eco-Community.

We are approaching local colleges including UNCA, AB Tech, Warren Wilson, ASU, WCU, as well as Asheville High and some local charter schools. We envision that these schools could conduct on-going classes and internships and bring their students out to see renewable energy systems in operation and learn more about their use and benefits.
We are also seeking some small grants and donations to help pay for the equipment. We have a very good Class 5 wind site above the cliffs, where we plan to monitor the wind over the next few months to verify the wind speeds shown on the maps.

If we can successfully raise the funds to purchase the turbine and tower, we would like it install it by spring. We are also installing a micro-hydro system at Laughing Waters this winter, which will create electricity to power the retreat site. This year two solar-powered homes were also completed in Hickory Nut Forest.

If you know anyone interested in being part of this project, feel free to have them contact us.

John Myers

Apple Fest Playlist on Youtube!

2011-09-17T21:13:00.001-07:00

Sustainability

2011-09-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

- The Next Great Paradigm Shift -

In a world with finite resources, unlimited growth is no longer an option. We are exceeding the limits of natural systems all over the globe: high levels of CO2 in the atmosphere caused by burning fossil fuels, over-fishing of oceans, depletion of aquifers, erosion of soils, contamination of water supplies, loss of old growth forests and many other disruptions. Population growth and industrialization of the third world creates ever increasing demands for food supplies and energy. Around the globe, people are noticing the effects of climate changes on their lives.

Awareness is growing of the need for all of us to shift to sustainable approaches in how we use energy, grow food, use water, and manage our forests. Many solutions already exist for making positive changes that will allow us to live on this earth in balance with the natural systems. We need to act NOW and begin adopting new ways of living and using our planet's resources.

The upcoming Global Transformation Festival is a chance to learn more about solutions and meet people who are using them in their lives. There are so many important actions that we can take including: advocacy, low-carbon living, organic growing, personal health self-care, community building, conservation of resources, renewable energy and other green opportunities.

Over the next few weeks in this blog, we will be highlighting various local people and organizations who are making positive changes toward sustainability. Stay tuned for their inspiring ideas and stories!

What: Global Transformation Festival
When: October 15, 2011
Where: Laughing Waters at Hickory Nut Forest Eco-Community

Sponsored by: Hickory Nut Forest, Blue Ridge Sustainability Institute, Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, ECO-Environmental Conservation Organization, Equinox Environmental, Riverlink, Sundance Power, WNC Green Building Council and NC Sustainable Energy Association.
For more information: www.LaughingWatersNC.com

Florence Nature Preserve

2011-06-28T15:54:00.000-07:00

There is now a new trail head for the Florence Nature Preserve, a 600-acre preserve off of highway 74A in Gerton. The preserve is owned by Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy and is a special treasure in the upper Hickory Nut Gorge. The property was donated to CMLC by Dr. Tom and Glenna Florence, but access to the trail system was along a private property right-of-way.

To improve this access, Hickory Nut Forest Eco-Community is transferring 26 acres to CMLC, so they will have more vehicle parking and a scenic route of entry. Hikers can also use this trailhead to access the Hickory Nut Gorge Trail System which extends down through the gorge.

The location is approximately one mile down the gorge from Nita and Susan's Hickory Creek Market in Gerton, at the old stone chimney. Hiking here can be fairly strenuous, so bring good hiking shoes and plenty of water. Please do not use the old access on Kelly Hill Road as that is now closed.

We are enthusiastic about the Florence Nature Preserve and the experiences it holds. We hope to see you on the trail. See the Trail Map.

Interested in ensuring the lasting future of the Florence Nature Preserve? Contact Volunteer Coordinator Julianne Johnson at julianne@carolinamountain.org to receive more information about the Florence Nature Preserve Volunteer Management Team today!

Design Charrette for Sustainable Community near Asheville

2011-06-22T12:53:00.000-07:00

We invite you to come join us for our first Design Charrette for the Hickory Nut Forest Eco-Community.

A Design Charrette is a fun way for those interested to share their vision, values and ideas for what makes a truly sustainable, livable community. The goal is to bring people together from different disciplines and backgrounds to explore options and ideas to make a community better.

Some components we will be discussing include: sustainable house designs, land usage, rental and shared-housing, permaculture, using renewable energy sources, education, recreation, activities for children, social/community events, growing organic food, creative financing, and more.

This is a 3 hour process with lunch provided at the end. Please come ready to share your ideas and be a part of this creative process. Together we will be designing a great community where we all would love to live. This is open to anyone who is interested.

Where: At Appalachia School of Holistic Herbalism in West Asheville
Cost: Free
When: 9am - Noon, Saturday, June 25.

For more information, email John at John@HickoryNutForest.com.

Living in an Eco-Village in Western North Carolina

2011-06-16T11:09:00.001-07:00

One of the best-kept secrets in Western North Carolina is the quaint mountain village of Gerton, tucked high in the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge. The setting takes one back in time, having managed to stay relatively untouched in the midst of Western North Carolina’s rapid growth. Above this hamlet soars Bearwallow Mountain with breath-taking rocky cliffs. Through the main valley cascades the boulder-strewn Hickory Nut Creek with its many tumbling waterfalls.

What is Gerton like today? - the local social “Ecosystem”
Little Bear Wallow Baptist ChurchLiving in Hickory Nut Forest and in Gerton offers many diverse opportunities for recreation, entertainment and enjoyment of the outdoors. There are tennis courts, many miles of hiking trails, horseback riding, bird watching, fishing, picnicking, boating, over a dozen golf courses in the area, biking, gardening, and community social events. Amenities are within walking distance: Nita’s Grocery/General Store, the Post Office, Gerton Fire Department, the Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Community Center.

Hickory Nut Forest is just the beginning of what is possible for Gerton.
Village RenderingWhat would be worse than simply watching sprawling growth absorb this special place?

Let’s envision a different future for Gerton. You can be part of creating the hub of an eco-village that retains the authentic, rustic feeling of the community and serves the needs of all its residents. Your ideas might include a village center with an old-time general store stocked with basic supplies for the village, small shops, a natural foods café and juice bar, fresh local produce stand, coffee shop, pub with local musicians, and a bed and breakfast. It could include work spaces for entrepreneurs, artists, and professionals. It could be an entirely “net zero renewable energy eco village” where people could live as well as work. It could include cohousing, seniors housing and neighborhoods for families and children.

Simple things for sustainable living: Heating

2011-06-16T11:08:00.002-07:00

As the fall nights get cooler, some people may be turning on the furnace, wood stove or other heating device. Statistics show that nearly half of all the energy used in our homes is wasted. In our desire to live ever more sustainably, here are some tips to for more efficient heating.

Conserve
You may have overlooked the simplest heat-save method of all......during the winter months, wear a sweater indoors and turn the thermostat down a couple degrees. It's perfectly comfortable, and the cooler air indoors keeps one from getting dozy.

Draft Check
The one home improvement which saves the most energy with the least investment is draftproofing.

A simple way to locate outside air coming into your home is with a stick of incense. (Some hardware stores sell "smoke pencils" for this purpose.) Light the incense and inspect your home, from the inside, for air leaks. Choose a breezy day, and go around windows, areas where plumbing and wiring go through walls, attic doors, entry doors and fireplace dampers.
How much the smoke drifts horizontally from the incense will reveal how serious the leak is.

Most leaks can be quickly plugged with exterior silicone caulk - be sure to caulk the leaks from the outside of the house, or moisture will build up inside the walls. Weatherstripping and door sweeps will fix the door leaks quickly and easily. For larger voids use easy to apply insulating foam.

Work the drapes
Most heat loss in the average home is through and around the windows. Drawing the drapes at night is an effective block, making it harder for your warm air to escape. Lined drapes are best. Drapes will also help reduce window condensation because the space between the drapes and the window is cooler than the room air. Drapes can be lined with less expensive material or re-used bed sheets. The cost of the material is recouped by the savings in energy.

Door Sweeps and Draft Guards
The warm air in a heated home exerts a "pull" on outside colder air, drawing it in wherever it can. Under the door is the common site for cold air entry.
Door sweeps are available online or at home supply stores for about $10. They can be installed without having to take the door off its hinges. Simply slide the sweep under the door and cut off excess length with a hacksaw. A few screws, provided with the sweep, hold it in place. Draft guards are also available to stop drafts coming from under interior doors.

Block drafts from electric outlets
Rooms in many homes may have cool air seeping in through the electic outlets on walls which face outdoors. A simple draft check (see above) will let you know if this is the case in your home. Simply plug the outlet with inexpensive outlet safety caps to prevent drafts. This is also a safety measure if there are young children who might otherwise poke things into the outlet slots.

Ceiling Fan
Although ceiling fans are most often associated with home cooling, they can also help with home heating. Most of the heat generated by your heating systems rises to the ceiling where it slowly dissipates or radiates into the upper walls and ceiling.

If you have ceiling fans in your home, check to see if they are reversible. In winter, the blades should rotate clockwise. This reverse rotation will collect warm air from the ceiling and pull it downwards. Set the fan at its slowest speed so as not to create a breeze. The energy savings will only be realized if you lower your thermostat correspondingly. For each degree you lower the thermostat, heating costs will be reduced by 3 - 5%.

In the Garden: Fall time planting

2011-06-16T11:08:00.001-07:00

In the organic community garden at Hickory Nut Forest Eco-Community, we planted Heirloom Garlic and a peach tree this past weekend.

A couple of tips for you gardeners out there...

Fall is one of the best time for planting fruit trees. It give the roots the fall, winter and spring to establish its roots before the sumer heat comes.

Also, If you planting garlic before Halloween will provide a delicious garlic harvest next July. yummy

Check out Hickory Nut Forest Eco-Community, just outside of Asheville, at www.HickoryNutForestEcocommunity.com

Design Charrette for Sustainable Community near Asheville

2011-06-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

Is your dream is to live in a multi-generational, eco-friendly community with a center for healing arts and celebrations in a gorgeous setting? The seeds of this dream are already sprouting at Hickory Nut Forest Eco-Community, and we are eager to hear your ideas on ways of growing it further.

We want to invite you to our first exploratory meeting of like-minded folks who may be interested in living in Hickory Nut Forest and helping us in realizing this common vision.

If you are not yet ready to own a home site or build a solar home, we are considering other options including house and small cottage rentals and shared co-housing.

When you join Hickory Nut Forest Eco-Community, you are becoming a member of something much greater. You are part of:

• an adjacent 200-acre nature preserve including cliffs, streams and waterfalls with over five miles of hiking trails,

• an organic, community garden with vineyard and over 100 fruit trees,

• the Laughing Waters Retreat Site and Community Center - a gathering place for a wide variety of public events, programs and classes, and

• a more sustainable way of life that creates more balance in the world.

In the next few years, we aspire to becoming a completely self-sufficient and sustainable community by:

1. achieving a net-zero energy efficiency using solar, hydro, wind and wood,

2. enlarging the community garden and food production,

3. increasing the number of people living full time in Hickory Nut Forest,

4. expanding the Laughing Waters programs and offerings.

Please contact us if you have any questions or want more information about living in Hickory Nut Forest. We will be hosting a Design Charrette on June 25th from 9-1 to talk about what you would like most about living in a green, sustainable community. Please contact us at HickoryNutForest@gmail.com for more informatino.

We look forward to talking more soon.

Blessings,

John Myers, Jane Lawson, and
everyone at Hickory Nut Forest Eco-Community
A green community, a sustainable community, a growing community near Asheville, NC

Laughing waters is under construction!

2009-10-08T16:18:00.000-07:00

Laughing waters is under construction! We began building the foundation last winter , and we are now close to completing the waterproof shell. This is our labor of love, to create a place where people can come learn, attend workshops and gatherings, and feel the healing presence of the land.

Overlooking the waterfalls on Hickory Nut Creek, the sound of “laughing waters” fills the air. Recycling and re-using everything we can, we have placed the trees that were growing on the house site back into the main hall as part of the timber frame design (video link).

As Laughing Waters takes shape and comes to life we are excited about sharing it with new people who come to spend time here and discover this magical place. We hope to open Laughing Waters for classes by next spring. Stay tuned for more updates and pictures!

Bluegrass Music in Gerton!

2009-07-09T16:14:00.001-07:00

Those lucky enough to be in the mountain village of Gerton last weekend were in for a big treat. The Dehlia Low bluegrass band came out from Asheville and played an amazing concert. While we were expecting less than 50 people, over 125 filled the hall to standing room capacity.

The musicians played a variety of fast high energy dance songs and slow mellow ballads. Some people couldn’t sit still, and spontaneously began dancing in the hall. This is one special band of wonderful musicians, destined to make a big name for themselves. If you get a chance to hear these folks, you are in for a treat!

Inaugural Hike of the Hickory Nut Gorge Trail

2008-12-11T14:01:00.001-08:00

November 2008

On the weekend before Thanksgiving, we had our inaugural hike of the completed section of the Hickory Nut Gorge Trail. We had just finished some new sections at Raven Rock and put up some new trail signs the week before. We were ready to show off our new creation.

It was a beautiful clear sunny day, cold and crisp. 19 people came out for the adventure. We carpooled up to Raven Rock to begin the hike. The Upper Raven Rock loop is a short hike, but with quite spectacular vistas. The trail goes to the very top of the cliff and looks out over the whole gorge. Scrambling over the giant boulders, the hikers made their way along the crest and then down along the trail under the base. From below, they could look up at the hundred foot high walls of vertical and overhanging granite. And this was just the beginning!

From here we retraced our steps, and then headed down on the Raven Rock Trail toward the lower Raven Rock cliff. The first part went through an old rhododendron forest creating a canopy of leaves and branches overhead. Then we came to the first challenge of the day – a steep descent down a rocky gully to the base of the cliff. The trail here was only partially completed with a few steps cut, but not all the way. I had warned the hikers to be prepared for this section, but everyone made it, sliding, scrambling, and clinging to branches all the way down. At the bottom, they were treated to more soaring cliffs, even taller than the ones above.

Glistening white walls and midnight black walls greeted us. We could even see the raven’s nest high up in the chimney corner in the middle of the cliff. On previous visits, the ravens had squawked at me, but today they were gone.

The scenery was so captivatingly beautiful that the group took about twice as long as I had estimated for this portion, so I threw away my planned schedule.

The next bit was easier, walking down a long woods road to the creek. At the water’s edge, we turned upstream and paralleled the stream for another half mile. This has always been my favorite part of the trail, different from the cliffs, but equally gorgeous. We started out near to the water and then climbed to a bluff over looking the rushing rapids below. While there were traces of some old roads, most of the trail was new footpath winding its way along the banks above and along the water’s edge. The trail passes so many waterfalls, I have never counted them all.

With daylight getting short, we decided to stop at the halfway point, and save the next two mile stretch for another day. We crossed the creek by rock-hopping at a big log, and then climbed up a steep bank to the cars. It was a great outing and everyone said how much they loved it and wanted to come back again.

By then we hope to get the trail in even better shape.

How the Hickory Nut Gorge Trail Came About – Part 2

2008-12-11T13:56:00.000-08:00

In Part 1, I discussed how I went about getting permissions for the trail. Once that was done for a large portion of the trail, we began the on the ground work to clear the trail and make it walkable.

Looking at maps and envisioning a possible route from the topo lines is one thing, but getting out on the ground is something else. The land never quite looks like one imagines it from a map. The first few trips out, we just explored the land. Since the first 3-4 miles of the trail lay on over 700 acres of land, there was a lot to explore. We knew we wanted to get from the Florence Nature Preserve to Chimney Rock State Park eventually, so we looked for a possible route that would take us in that direction. Also we wanted to pick the most scenic and interesting route along the gorge. This meant looking for outcrops with views, waterfalls, ridgelines and different types of forests.

On this particular portion of the trail, there happened to be many old woods roads once used for logging or moving dairy cows years ago. Most of these were now overgrown with fallen trunks, younger trees, greenbriers and other prickly vines.

We started out with small clippers, just so we could get though any particular thick patches. To our pleasant surprise, several of the woods roads went the direction we wanted to go, and they were generally passable with a minimal amount of clearing. After 3 or 4 exploratory hikes we finally decided on a preferred route, and began putting up flagging tape to mark it. Eventually about 75% of the trail was on these old roads and the other 25% was on new terrain.

The next step was walking the route with a chain saw to cut our way through the downed tree trucks blocking the path. Then I hired two helpers to come out for a day with me and weedwack the low lying brush along the path. For the new trail portion, I hired my regular trail builder to clear and cut a footpath along the side of the ridge.

We worked off and on over a period of several months and finally finished cutting the last few steps down a steep dirt bank in the early summer. The next stretch was a beautiful walk along Hickory Nut Creek past a dozen small cascading waterfalls. I’ll save that for Part 3.

How the Hickory Nut Gorge Trail Came About

2008-12-11T13:49:00.001-08:00

Going for a hike sounds like a pretty simple thing to do. You put on your hiking boots, grab some water and trail mix, and go. But what goes into getting the trail ready to be hiked?

The history of trail making in this country goes way back. Of course, the original footpaths were created by Native Americans and used for hunting, gathering and traveling between summer and winter areas.

Recreational hiking became more prominent in the 1920’s when the Appalachian Trail was conceived as a long distance corridor from Georgia to Maine, a distance of over 2000 miles. The popularity of hiking has been growing ever since, and now it is a favorite outdoor activity.

A few years ago, I began imagining a hiking trail that would run the entire length of Hickory Nut Gorge, encompassing its dramatic natural features. It would run along ridgelines with distant mountain views, beneath soaring rock cliffs and along streams with tumbling waterfalls. Hikers could walk through a variety of verdant ecosystems and diverse plant communities along the way.

Having worked for non-profits for nearly 27 years, with many of those years spent with trail organizations and land trusts, I was familiar with the process of getting permissions for a trail. Because there was never much money available for buying land for trails, we usually relied on asking private landowners for permission to walk over their lands on a simple dirt footpath. My personal experience with this approach was that if I asked enough owners, and if I was willing to persist long enough, eventually some of them would agree to grant us permission. This was usually a “revocable permission” meaning that they could change their mind at any time in the future, if problems arose.

In Hickory Nut Gorge, we had already built three miles of trail on our lands at Hickory Nut Forest on Little Bearwallow Mountain. We then linked these to another three miles in the Florence Nature Preserve across the road on Little Mount Pisgah. The state had recently purchased Chimney Rock and was acquiring more land for a new state park near Lake Lure.

My vision was to connect by trail the upper gorge, where we were in Gerton, with the lower gorge in Bat Cave and Chimney Rock. I began by getting maps of all the owners along the proposed route and calling them up to present the idea. It was slow going at first, with some false starts and dead ends, but gradually I began to piece together a feasible route. Through the permission and generosity of one large landowner, we were able to begin work on the first half of the proposed trail corridor last spring. Our first “Hike the Gorge” event is in November , and hikers can experience this portion of the trail.

Stay tuned for the next blog to find out more about what we had to do to get this much of the trail open and walkable…

Halloween Monster Jam Blog

2008-11-03T10:30:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday we held our First Annual Halloween Monster Jam at Hickory Nut Forest. We could not have picked a more beautiful day – bright sunny skies, mild temperatures, colorful fall leaves and a slight breeze.

M.o.n.s.t.e.r. stands for mountain music, organic foods, natural building/permaculture, sustainability, treasure hunt, eco-friendly and renewable energy – all components of our eco-community vision. With bluegrass music playing in the background, people dropped in all day long to press apple cider, eat pumpkin pies and dip caramel and peanut butter apple slices.

For the kids, there were buried treasures on the trails in the woods. We put colorful balloons tied to small paper bags of candy and hid them at the waterfall, the big cliff, the orchard and the gristmill ruins. Adults also enjoyed the treasure hunt, hiking on the three miles of trails that wander through the forest and along the creek.

Old friends got a chance to see each other and lots of new friendships were made as well. We had prizes for the Halloween costumes, which included a pirate, Paul Revere, Johnny Appleseed and the Forest Goddess. The pumpkin carvers made some unique and creative works of art.

All in all it was a great day with lots of laughter, and an opportunity for a lot of people to come out and discover the amazing beauty and wonder of Hickory Nut Gorge. For more information about our next event in November or about the Hickory Nut Forest Eco-Community go to www.HickoryNutForest.com. Hope to see you next month for a hike up the gorge!

Sharing Our Abundance with Those in Need

2008-10-17T14:15:00.000-07:00

Today we had 25 people of all ages out in our organic apple orchard, Honey Bear Orchard, shaking trees and picking apples. We had a great abundance of apples this year, and we wanted to find a way to share this with people in need in the surrounding community.

The Society of St. Andrews came out with all of these volunteers to gather apples from our trees. They are an organization that does gleaning, which is the gathering of fruits and vegetables from farmer’s fields at the end of the season that would normally go to waste. They then distribute the food free to hungry people in their community.

People came from the surrounding three counties to help out. It was a perfect sunny, fall day to be up on ladders shaking the branches and catching the falling apples in the tarps on the ground below. They collected thousands of red and golden delicious, romes and winesap apples.

I watched as boxes and boxes were being filled and carried to trunks and back seats of cars. Several pick up trucks filled their beds full of apples. By the time we were all done, Bill calculated that we had picked nearly 9000 pounds of apples to give away!

I was totally amazed at the amount and really happy that all this food was going to good use. My wife and I have decided to make this an annual event. It is so much fun to share our abundance and feed others.

The orchard is part of our eco-community that we are in the process of growing. You can learn more about it at www.HickoryNutForest.com.

To learn more about the St. Andrews gleaning effort or to share some of your harvest abundance, you can go to http://www.endhunger.org/.

John Myers
October 2007

What is the mystery of the laughing waters?

2008-10-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

Gurgling,
Burbling,
Chugging,
Giggling,
Warbling syncopation.

I sit on a moss-covered stone throne on a temporary island in the middle of the creek, misted by the water hurtling by. Tiny sandy beaches with mossy benches, big enough for one person, dot the banks. Rhododendron and hemlock groves frame the creek to the water’s edge. I imagine the massive rocks being tossed downstream from the Continental Divide by ancient gods in the beginning of time, when the mountains were so high that they touched the sky.

After a strong downpour, the water are so high, I look across the raging Hickory Nut Creek at this sacred place - this wild jewel. “What is your name, great land? Please let me hear your voice. How do we honor and protect you? How do we mesh our dreams with yours?”

And I hear – “Keep the energy moving.”

As I wander along the creek I see the foamy currents tumbling over craggy boulders, waxy green foliage of rhododendron groves, leaf-strewn banks, fallen trunks and branches, an old neglected, un-pruned orchard of lichen-encrusted trees, an overgrown meadow with gnarly old grape vines pulling down hand-made post fences.

In the midst of all this beauty, I imagine the Laughing Waters Retreat Site arising next to the old stone ruins of a gristmill along the creek. I envision high-energy healing retreats, community gatherings and sharing laughter with friends and family. I see community gardens and trout ponds, meditative cozy corners on the banks and boulders amidst the fallen logs. I can taste the pure drinking water from the springs on the mountain and the creek-side hot tub grotto. I see this sacred land protected for future generations in its natural state, a safe haven for folks living in a small intentional community of green-built homes, abundant renewable energy harnessed from the ever-flowing creek, the sun, and the wind.

I say a prayer and ask the help of the land itself in supporting this dream. “Please speak and act through us, help us to marry our dreams to the effortless beauty that already exists, without disturbing the balance. Help us to create a safe haven, not only for ourselves but to share with others. Help us to learn how to attune to the great power of this land - the power that roars in the winds and waters - that shines down from above - to create vibrant community among humans, plants, animals, minerals and the spirit that dwells here. Help us to be one with the ever-flowing energy of the stream and the solid power that abides in these ancient mountains.”

And I hear - “The waters are so happy they are laughing…”

Honey Bear Orchard Apple Fest

2008-10-13T11:10:00.000-07:00

Apple picking, cider making, apple bobbing and eating homemade apple pies – an old time fest for families and kids of all ages. What a day!

People came to climb ladders, shake trees and catch the apples as they fell. They carried bags of apples to the cider presses and made fresh juice the old-fashioned way.

Honey Bear Orchard is in the heart of beautiful hickory Nut Gorge, with old-time varieties of organic golden and red delicious, romes, and winesaps. The trees were loaded with apples this year with so many more buds than usual, due to last year’s late frost.

Some folks hiked our hiking trails along the stream and through the forest past waterfalls, rocky cliffs and to special swimming hole. The whole mountainside of Little Bearwallow Mountain was just beginning to turn into its annual blazing rainbow of colors.

Honey Bear Orchard is part of the Hickory Nut Forest Eco-Community where we are building eco-friendly green homes powered with renewable energy, and creating organic gardens, all of which are surrounded by over 200 acres of forestland.

Check out our website, www.HickoryNutForest.com to learn more.

We hope you can come to the Apple Fest next year and join the fun!