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Historic Appalachian Trail shelter gets a lift
 

Historic Appalachian Trail shelter gets a lift

The Nantahala Hiking Club recently renovated an 80-year-old Appalachian Trail shelter about a mile north of Burningtown Gap in Macon…
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Holiday gear guide to the rescue: SMN serves up goods bets for the outdoors person on your shopping list
 

Holiday gear guide to the rescue: SMN serves up goods bets for the outdoors person on your shopping list

For outdoors enthusiasts, Christmas brings but fleeting respite from the cold, dark days of winter — with the promise of…
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REI grant used to save Chimney Tops trail in the Smokies
 

REI grant used to save Chimney Tops trail in the Smokies

Recreational Equipment Inc. donated $5,000 to support the Smokies Trails Forever program and helped fund a crew and 106 volunteers…
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New speciality plate looking for support
 

New speciality plate looking for support

Show your support for the Mountain to Sea Trail by being one of the first 300 people to buy a…
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Appalachian Trail ambassadors sought
 

Appalachian Trail ambassadors sought

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy seeks to fill 15 volunteer positions as Appalachian Trail community ambassadors. These ambassadors will support the AT…
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The day the sun stood still
 

The day the sun stood still

Ladies and gentlemen, return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts. Spaceship Earth will be screeching to a stop at…
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Gear Guide 2012: Blackrock Outdoor Company
 

Gear Guide 2012: Blackrock Outdoor Company

Hammocks by Eagle’s Nest Outfitters — $55 to $80 These hammocks are a great gift for anyone simply looking to…
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Gear Guide 2012: Nantahala Outdoor Center Wesser
 

Gear Guide 2012: Nantahala Outdoor Center Wesser

GoPro Hero3 Camera: Black Edition — $400 If you’re tired of showing boring vacation photographs and videos to friends and…
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Gear Guide 2012: Outdoor 76 Franklin
 

Gear Guide 2012: Outdoor 76 Franklin

Outdoor 76 t-shirts and “828” caps — $22 to $26 If you fish local, hike local or kayak local, then…
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Gear guide 2012: Mast General Store
 

Gear guide 2012: Mast General Store

Sawyer Squeeze Filter — $60 This may be the best, and last water filter, you ever buy. The new filter…
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Over the fiscal cliff – and into the abyss
 

Over the fiscal cliff – and into the abyss

First Mate McConnell: “Cap’n the ship is headed straight for that iceberg and there’s no way we kin stop her…
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Little Tennessee heralded for wildlife spotting
 

Little Tennessee heralded for wildlife spotting

The Little Tennessee River in Macon County landed a spot on the N.C. Wildlife Federation’s “top nine” list of spots…
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Is the chestnut making a comeback?
 

Is the chestnut making a comeback?

Volunteers and scientists planted 200 American chestnut seedlings in the Nantahala National Forest that are hopefully blight resistant in efforts…
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Land trust protects entrance to protected area
 

Land trust protects entrance to protected area

In November the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy purchased 89 acres at the southern end of the Yellow Mountain State Natural…
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Scouting a Smokies Blueway Trail: Recreation abounds, but knowing where and how to tap it can be a mystery
 

Scouting a Smokies Blueway Trail: Recreation abounds, but knowing where and how to tap it can be a mystery

The mountains rising above the valleys have long been the main attraction for tourists planning a trip to Western North…
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Christmas bird count is counting on you
 

Christmas bird count is counting on you

Tune up your listening ears and wipe down the binoculars: the Highlands Plateau Audubon Society is calling all birders to…
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Red wolf exhibit gets upgrades at WNC Nature Center
 

Red wolf exhibit gets upgrades at WNC Nature Center

A $50,000 grant will fund improvements to the red wolf exhibit and build a covered pavilion at the Western North…
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Hometown biologist honored for saving quail
 

Hometown biologist honored for saving quail

A biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, who hails from Haywood County and has played a leading role in…
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Mingus Creek and more on guided hike
 

Mingus Creek and more on guided hike

A guided hike of the Mingus Creek Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be held Saturday, Dec.…
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Endangered red wolves on the line in lawsuit over night hunting
 

Endangered red wolves on the line in lawsuit over night hunting

After four endangered red wolves were killed by hunters who possibly mistook them for coyotes while night hunting, a North…
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Park bracing for devastation of ash trees
 

Park bracing for devastation of ash trees

The first backcountry emerald ash borer infestation has been confirmed in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
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Power birding at Tessentee (again)
 

Power birding at Tessentee (again)

Don’t know why, but the last two birding trips to Tessentee Bottomland Preserve in Macon County — one last Sunday…
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Sweet single-track coming to WCU
 

Sweet single-track coming to WCU

Outdoors enthusiasts and diehard mountain bikers are waiting in anticipation the winter opening of a seven-mile mountain biking and hiking…
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Feast your eyes on wild turkey facts
 

Feast your eyes on wild turkey facts

The domestic, farm-raised turkey most Americans eat on Thanksgiving Day is nothing like the wild turkey feasted on by the…
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Tuscola wins annual FFA dirt competition
 

Tuscola wins annual FFA dirt competition

Tuscola High School students placed first among the 13 competing teams at the 2012 Area Land Judging contest hosted earlier…
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Funding helps turn teachers into rangers
 

Funding helps turn teachers into rangers

Friends of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has received a $12,000 grant from Verizon to empower teachers with science…
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Build it and they will come
 

Build it and they will come

Back in spring of 2011 I wrote about a wetlands restoration project at Lake Junaluska - www.smokymountain news.com/archives/item/3686-a-perfect-fit. Candace Stimson,…
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Snow guns get ski season off with a bang
 

Snow guns get ski season off with a bang

As superstorm Sandy hurled itself toward the Northeast, soon to leave a wreckage of flooded streets, sunken boardwalks and dangling…
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Venus and moon dance in front of the sun
 

Venus and moon dance in front of the sun

Early mornings kind of go with the territory around here. With work, kids and the never-ending list of chores, every…
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Discussion focuses on climate change and the Appalachians
 

Discussion focuses on climate change and the Appalachians

A discussion about the local effects of climate change and development will be held at the historic Rickman Store near…
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Community asked to weigh in on regional bike plan
 

Community asked to weigh in on regional bike plan

The Land-of-Sky Regional Council will host a round of community input meetings Nov. 5 through Dec. 6 to gather input…
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Residents recognized for land stewardship and research
 

Residents recognized for land stewardship and research

Two environmentalists were honored by the Franklin-based Land Trust for the Little Tennessee at its annual celebration Nov. 3 in…
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Cherokee 5k to benefit cancer support group
 

Cherokee 5k to benefit cancer support group

The annual Cherokee Choices 5k Run, Walk or Roll will be held at noon on Saturday, Nov. 17, at the…
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Backpacking 101 held Nov. 17 in Cullowhee
 

Backpacking 101 held Nov. 17 in Cullowhee

Novice outdoor adventurers can learn the basics of wilderness excursion at a 45-minute workshop beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday,…
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Take only pictures, leave only footsteps: Outdoor photographers hone the craft of capturing the Smokies
 

Take only pictures, leave only footsteps: Outdoor photographers hone the craft of capturing the Smokies

They stood in a line, trigger fingers poised, eyes fixated on the target.  It was early morning, and the predawn…
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Some things never get old
 

Some things never get old

Last Saturday (Nov. 3) was this year’s annual fall hike in the Waynesville watershed. The hikes started back in 2007,…
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Lily effort takes root around WCU
 

Lily effort takes root around WCU

An effort to re-establish a favorite local flower while also growing a scholarship fund at Western Carolina University is off…
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Stranded hiker rescued from national park backcountry
 

Stranded hiker rescued from national park backcountry

A hiker stranded on the Appalachian Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was successfully evacuated by rescuers last…
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Cherokee hopes bounty will help rein in pesky coyote population
 

Cherokee hopes bounty will help rein in pesky coyote population

In Cherokee, a dead coyote is worth more than a live one — about $25 more. In the coming weeks,…
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Guided hikes continue as fall gives way to winter
 

Guided hikes continue as fall gives way to winter

Hike amidst flowing creeks and historic remnants along the Smokemont Loop Trail on a guided hike through the Great Smoky…
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A WCU campus run with a twist and a message
 

A WCU campus run with a twist and a message

Western Carolina University, as part of its Love Your Body Week, will hold a station run on campus at 4:30…
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Diamond Brand partners to produce outdoor rec website
 

Diamond Brand partners to produce outdoor rec website

Asheville retailer Diamond Brand Outdoors has partnered with RootsRated.com to introduce a new, locally-sourced digital outdoor recreation guide for the…
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New trout website aims to hook anglers
 

New trout website aims to hook anglers

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has fired up its new trout fishing webpage, which provides useful information for trout anglers…
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Fourth-graders conquer Appalachian trails on hiking trip
 

Fourth-graders conquer Appalachian trails on hiking trip

More than 70 fourth-graders and parents trekked across the Appalachians in Macon County as part of an annual student trip…
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Trails initiative seeks input from Haywood residents
 

Trails initiative seeks input from Haywood residents

A public workshop focusing on ideas for Haywood County trails that could become part of a Regional Trails Plan will…
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Water stewardship videos shown in Swain
 

Water stewardship videos shown in Swain

Four short videos that are part of a Watershed Film Series titled “It’s Our Water” will be shown the evening…
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An easy, historical hike on the Carolina side of the Smokies
 

An easy, historical hike on the Carolina side of the Smokies

Hikers can participate in a leisurely, guided hike Saturday, Nov. 17, on the North Carolina side of the Great Smoky…
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This winter?
 

This winter?

Finch irruptions are not that uncommon. They generally occur in some numbers, in some locations almost every year. But in…
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Forest Service cracks down on ginseng poaching
 

Forest Service cracks down on ginseng poaching

Kristin Bail, forest supervisor of the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests, warned would-be ginseng poachers last week that law enforcement…
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See shuttle artifacts and night sky viewing
 

See shuttle artifacts and night sky viewing

A special presentation of the fall night sky and the first public display of new space shuttle artifacts will be…
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