April 30 the Highland Hiker and Jackson-Macon Conservation Alliance will host 2 clinics on living with bears. One clinic will be held in Cashiers at the Highland Hiker at 1pm and the other will be held in Highlands at the Cabin store at 3:30 pm.

Both clinics will cover the same topics which will include tips such as how to keep bears from invading your yard, how to safely live in an area with bears, what not to do if you encounter a bear, and more.

Stay tuned for more information on the Living w/ Bears clinic!

Each year, in honor of Mother’s Day, the Highland Hiker has a series of fun and free events that span over the week leading up to Mother’s Day.

All events are on a first come, first served basis. For more information about any event or to register for fly-casting lesson, please call the Cashiers’ store at 743-1732.

Thursday, May 5

10am - Meet at the Cashiers Highland Hiker for a Leki Trekking Pole demonstration with Nathan Smith. Try out the Leki Trekking Pols and learn how to use them for hiking. Limit of 12 people for this class.

5pm - Meet at the Cashiers Highland Hiker and take a walk with Debbie Adams using Leki Nordic Walking Poles. Limit of 12 people for this walk.

Friday, May 6

10am - Meet at the Pavilion in Village Green in Cashiers for a binocular demonstration and birding walk with Debbie Adams and David Wilkes. Limit of 10 people for this class & walk.

5pm - Meet at the Cashiers Highland Hiker and take a walk with Debbie Adams using Leki Nordic Walking Poles. Limit of 12 people for this walk.

* All events are free of charge on a first-come, first-serve basis.

** For casting lessons, visit the schedule for Highlands.

Each year, in honor of Mother’s Day, the Highland Hiker has a series of fun and free events that span over the week leading up to Mother’s Day.

All events are on a first come, first served basis. For more information about any event or to register for fly-casting lesson, please call the cabin store at 526-5298.

Tuesday, May 3

10am & 1pm - Fly fishing casting lessons, ladies only, with Joan Cabe. Limit of 5 people per class. Call to reserve a spot.

5pm - Meet at the Highland Hiker Shoe Store and hike to Sunset Rock with Robert Keller.

Wednesday, May 4

9am - Meet at the Highland Hiker Shoe Store for a 1-hour Yoga class with certified instructor Diane Levine. Bring your own yoga mat. Limit of 8 people for this class.

1pm - Fly fishing casting lessons, ladies only, with Joan Cabe. Limit of 5 people for this class. Call to reserve a spot.

Thursday, May 5

1pm - Fly fishing casting lessons, ladies only, with Joan Cabe. Limit of 5 people for this class. Call to reserve a spot.

5pm - Meet at the Highland Hiker Shoe Store and hike to Sunset Rock with Robert Keller.

Friday, May 6

5:15pm - Bring your dog (leashes required) and meet at the Highland Hiker Cabin for a walk to Sunset Rock with Katie Cochran and puppy Coal, then continue to the Dog Park to play.

Saturday, May 7

9am - Take an interpretive hike to Whiterock on the Bartram Trail with Tom Olson, 4.5 miles round trip. Meet at the Highland Hiker Cabin at 9am and bring your lunch, water and rain jacket. Limit of 6 people for this hike.

* All events are free of charge on a first-come, first-serve basis. For casting lessons, please call the Cabin Store in advance to register at 526-5298.

** For more events, visit the schedule for Cashiers.

Join Highland Hiker and Jackson-Macon Conservation Alliance in celebrating Patagonia Footwear’s Advocate Weeks.

From April 16 to May 1, Patagonia will donate $10 for every pair of Patagonia footwear the Highland Hiker sells. This money will be donated to the Jackson-Macon Conservation Alliance.

J-MCA is a grassroots conservation organization whose mission is to address environmental issues through education, advocacy, collaboration and hands-on initiatives. Learn more about J-MCA.

Carolina Outdoors Guide, a comprehensive directory of national and state outdoor recreation properties in North Carolina, has recently been updated with photos and information about Nantahala National Forest sites in the Highlands area. Check it out.

A sampling of walleye taken from lakes Fontana & Santeetlah in the western North Carolina mountains last fall were found to have high levels of mercury. This testing was the first of its kind in over two decades, according to Jeff DeBerardinas, environmental specialist with the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). “This was a one time shot to help fill in data gaps in our data base.” There are no plans to collect more at this time, because as DeBerardinas says, “we are limited as far as our resources go”.

Walleye were the only fish sampled and only from those two lakes. One has to wonder if other lakes in the region, like Glenville, Nantahala, Chatuge and Hiwassee, and other species of fish aren’t contaminated as well. It was only at the urging of toxicologists with the state Health Department that got DENR to conduct the testing in the first place.

Mercury enters the food chain at the bottom by attaching to the lake sediments and works its way up through the process of bioaccumulation. The major factor in high levels of mercury found in fish around the world are coal-fired power plants. Even though many politicians and government officials these days are using the term “Clean Coal” it’s questionable whether that term is even viable. Perhaps the term is actually an oxymoron as Dan Becker the director of the Sierra Club’s Global Warming and Energy Program states.

“I say this based on my experience as the former head of the TVA, which bought and burned more than 30 million tons of coal a year. I was deeply involved in the strip mining, underground mining, trucking, and most importantly, the burning of huge quantities of coal. No one who has been deeply involved with coal can rightfully say it is clean.”

—S. David Freeman in “Winning Our Energy Independence: An Energy Insider Shows How”

Originally inspired by the article, “Mercury In Mountain Fish” by Becky Johnson
Smokey Mountain News

http://www.highlandhiker.com/

 Not only does plastic threaten our landfills but a recently discovered area in the North Pacific Gyre, a place where 4 prevailing ocean currents form what is essentially a whirlpool, has been nicknamed the “Pacific’s Garbage Patch”.

The peculiarities of this location arise from the fact that four prevailing ocean currents–the North Pacific Current to the north, the California Current to the east, the North Equatorial Current to the south, and the Kuroshio Current to the west meet here and create a clockwise circular vortex, or whirlpool, that draws waste material in, and once in, traps it. Consequently, most of the trash that enters the Pacific eventually winds up here.

Here are some disturbing facts about this area of ocean which is approximately 540,000 sq mi:

• It’s also known as the “Eastern Garbage Patch” & “Pacific Trash Vortex”
• The location is between the equator and 50° N latitude
• In 2001, the mass of plastic particles in the area exceeded zooplankton (animal life) by a ratio of 6 to 1
• Area covered with trash is approximately twice the size of Texas 
• Occasionally currents will shift, releasing large amounts of trash that are deposited on land

I urge you to watch this short video below and think about where that next plastic bottle or grocery bag you are throwing away may finally end up.

Plastic Vortex

The packaging for a microwavable “microwave” dinner is programmed for a shelf life of maybe six months, a cook time of two minutes and a landfill dead-time of centuries.  ~David Wann, Buzzworm, November 1990

Have you been to the grocery store and observed someone loading up cloth bags instead of using the plastic ones the store gives you? If so, you have seen someone who is conscious about the environment we live in.

Reusable shopping bags are really easy to use and have a great impact on the environment. And they do not take up much room between shopping trips.

I have over a dozen shopping bags now. I simply fold them up and put them in a pile then stuff them into one of the bags. I keep them in my trunk and when I head into the store, pull out some or all of the bags. I also found some reusable bags that are insulated to help keep my food cold. And I will say, the insulated ones have been wonderful at keeping my frozen food frozen!

After paying attention on my shopping trips, I found that using one reusable bag can equate to 2 to 4 plastic bags. If you use just 3 bags on each grocery trip, you are saving 6 to 12 bags from being tossed into your landfill.

Why is it so important to keep plastic bags out of the landfills? I have a list and am sure you can find even more reasons.

1. They do not decay.
2. Plastic bags often blow around getting stuck in trees.
3. If they do not make it undergroud and blow around, animals can get trapped in the handles and possibly suffocate.
4. The base material in plastic is the same petroleum base our gas is made out of. Want those prices down? Use less plastic anything and recycle.
5. It is estimated that each year we throw away between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic grocery bags. Out of all those used, an estimated 380 billion are consumed in the US alone.
6. It is estimated that over 100,000 turtles, birds, seals, and whales are killed every year by plastic bags.

More stores offer these for sale for under $10 per bag. The Highland Hiker has partnered with the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust to help preserve the beauty around us. For a limited time, when you come into any one of the Highland Hiker stores, you can pick up a reusable shopping bag for just $5. By purchasing one of these bags, you are not only helping keep those nasty plastic bags out of landfills, but also helping preserve the Highlands & Cashiers, NC area we all love so much.

Cartoon provided by www.NaturalNews.com

Congratulations to Robert, Jason & David on their beautiful window display which took first place in the contest held by Mephisto Shoes.

We’d also like to welcome two new employees to our shoe store: Alyson Baumrucker & Paul Inman.

Some of you may know Alyson from our Cashier’s store and with her knowledge of the brands we carry, she will be a great addition to our shoe store staff.

Paul has an extensive background in shoe sales and we all look forward to having him with us this season.

Well I went out for lunch and it seems that people are already up here for Memorial Day! The entire Highland Hiker staff would like to welcome each and every visitor this weekend.

We will have our warehouse open today and tomorrow from 10am to 5pm. We have got some great stuff in the last few weeks so come and check it out!

If you are planning to get outdoors this weekend, the weather is due to be great for that! Sunday looks to be just beautiful with mid 70’s and sunny. I am going to the lake on Sunday and am so excited to get back on the water!

But don’t forget your personal safety while being outdoors. Wear clothing that will help block the sun. Put on sunscreen to keep the harmful rays off your skin. Wear your Buzz Off clothing or use some bug repellent.

If hiking alone or with others, always tell someone where you are headed and when you expect to return. Remember to take plenty of water with you. You may think it is not hot enough to dehydrate but dehydration can happen any time of year. If you are physically active, make sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Wear comfortable hiking socks and shoes. And don’t forget your day hike guide!