e-Bulletin: Club tops 3,000 Members…

Well… we did it! As of right now we’re over three thousand strong and growing. Y’all can help us to grow even more by encouraging friends, family and other like minded people to join in on the fun.

Heck, memberships are great as gifts! Download the applications to mail or buy online at: https://highpointers.org/application and select “Gift.” If you buy for more than one person/family you’ll have to do the membership process for each membership.

From all the trip reports and count changes, it certainly looks as though there are plenty of Highpointers on the move around this big ole country.

As many of y’all may already know, this past Newsletter had a delivery glitch and a couple of you may not have received it yet? Hopefully that is not the case. At any rate, the next one will be out soon.

I have your Highpoint Count at . If it’s different let me know. I keep track of the “Family Memberships” in a different field in the database. It will, however, show up in the annual directory. If your name is John and you go by Jack or your name is Teresa and you go by Teri then that’s what we want in the database. Please let us know.

Notice the changes below. I’m trying to give y’all some information to help you to gear up for your 2010 Highpointing trips. Take your time and enjoy your self, be safe and keep me updated on your accomplishments. Have a good day!

Craig Noland
The Membership Guy
membership@highpointers.org

2010 Highpointers Annual Convention in Mississippi…
Registration has now started for the 2010 Highpointers Club Annual Convention to be held October 7th – 9th highlighting the Mississippi Highpoint on Woodall Mountain.  This convention is being held in the Fall due to the brutal heat that befalls the “Deep South” in the Summer.

It is understandable that some of the younger members will not be able to make it due to school commitments so that’s why it’s going to be held over Columbus Day Weekend with hope that as many as possible will be able to make it.  School Credit and Excused Absence may pertain in some cases.  Please contact Gary White at whiteman@centurytel.net for more information.
At the Convention Headquarters we have rooms blocked for Highpointers with a rate of $84.00 per night. Please contact the Holiday Inn Florence/Sheffield4900 Hatch Blvd, Sheffield AL 35660 – Phone: 256.381.4710. It is located in the center of the Sheffield, Muscle Shoals and Florence area in beautiful North Alabama near the intersection of US Highways 72 and 43.

2010 Convention Agenda & Registration Application (pdf. file)

Mississippi 2010 RegistrationWord file

Events, Happenings and Other Stuff..
Black Mountain, Waiver…

Black Mountain in KY is privately owned by a coal company.  There are active mines  in the area so the company has made the waiver mandatory for visits.

  • You MUST first obtain this waiver by clicking the link.
  • Download the Waiver and Mail it to the address below.
  • If for some reason you cannot return it in time, please have it with you!!!

New Address:

Penn – Virginia Resource Partners, L.P.
7 Sheridan Sq Ste 400
Kingsport TN 37660-7451

Black Mountain KY Waiver Download  Here!

*******

Mount Whitney CA…

Year-round, everybody in the Mt. Whitney Zone must possess a valid wilderness permit. Permits are issued only at the Inter Agency Visitor Center, 1 mile south of Lone Pine, CA.

From May 1st – Nov 1st, all use is regulated by limited entry quotas. Permits for the quota period may be reserved in advance. Most permits for Mt. Whitney are reserved during the Mt. Whitney Lottery, in February.

For more information about obtaining wilderness permits follow this link. For more information about the Mt. Whitney Lottery follow this link

Along the Appalachian Trail…

June 5th, 2010

The Appalachian Trail Museum Society is holding it’s Grand Opening on June 5th, at the Old Mill in Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Pennsylvania and we plan to have a booth there!!!  Wear your Highpointers attire and drop by for a visit.

The Main Ceremony will begin at 11:00 am and they are expecting Pioneer “Thru-Hiker” Gene Espy and other pioneer thru-hikers as well.

The Museum will operate on weekends in the spring and fall and daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day during the hours of noon to 4 pm.

This schedule matches park visitation.

The Museum Society is continuing to collect artifacts. Questions about the museum project may be directed to info@atmuseum.org.

Spruce Knob – West Virginia…

The following acts are prohibited in the Spruce Knob Area located along Forest Roads 1 and 112, Spruce Knob Lake, Spruce Knob, in Pendleton and Randolph Counties in the state of West Virginia.

Camping in parking lots at Spruce Knob Lake, Spruce Knob, trail head parking lots and within 300 feet of roads in the Spruce Knob area, extending from the road junction of Forest Roads 1 and Route 29, east to a point on the east side of Spruce Mountain.

Building, maintaining, attending or using an open fire of any kind at Spruce Knob, Spruce Knob Lake Parking lots, trail heads or within 300 feet of Forest Roads 1 and 112 in the vicinity of the Spruce Knob area, except at the Spruce Knob Lake Campground and Gatewood Group Campground.

Mount Magazine / Signal Hill – Arkansas…

May 22, 2010 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. Highpoint Hike

Enjoy a guided woodland walk to the highest point in Arkansas with a park interpreter. Explore a wide variety of spring wildflowers and plants found on Signal Hill.
Admission is Free  Contact: Ph: 479-963-8502,
mountmagazine@arkansas.com

Johnson Shut-Ins  – Missouri…

The new campground opened April 30th and the grand re-opening of Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park on May 22nd. This redeveloped park provides many of the key features visitors enjoyed in the past and several new features. The shut-ins area of the park now open for swimming. A new boardwalk provides easy access  for viewing.
The Black River Center, being built in the Day Use Area of the park, will be completed in spring 2010. The center will feature interpretive exhibits, meeting rooms and a small retail area.

National Parks Now Subject to Firearms Laws…

On February 22, 2010, a new federal law went into effect that now allows people who legally posses firearms under federal and state law to also possess those firearms in the national parks in that state. More details are available in the National Park Service news release on their website.

The Highpointers Foundation “Silent Auction” Ends July 15th…

The featured item this quarter is an original “K2 – Life and Death on the World’s Most Dangerous Mountain.”
The book was donated by Highpointer, and all around nice gal, Beckie Covill who attended a function sponsored by the Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum in Golden, Colorado.

The event was a “Hall of Fame” induction ceremony for 4 fabled American climbers, and Ed was the keynote speaker, giving his standard slide show on the 14 8,000 meter peaks.
He was gracious enough to personalize it to “The Highpointers Club.”

Click Here to go to the Foundation Auction Site.

Road Conditions and Closures…

I-40 in North Carolina Reopens:

Interstate 40 in Western North Carolina near the Tennessee State line has re-opened from a rockslide in October. Both eastbound lanes are open. There is a three-mile stretch westbound that will carry one-lane traffic as work is completed.

Clingmans Dome Road (TN) :

The road will not reopen until May 29, 2010 due to road repaving. The project will continue until June 30, 2010 but the road will be open to traffic after the end of May.

The road will be closed to all public use, including hiking, bicycling, sledding, skiing, snowshoeing, and auto touring through May 28, 2010.

Although trailhead access from along Clingmans Dome Road will be closed, these trails will remain open and hikers can access them via connecting trails in the area. The Appalachian Trail, which runs parallel to the road, will be accessible from Newfound Gap. Download a park trail map to view area trails.

The project will consist of the installation of asphalt overlay on the seven-mile-long road including repaving the eight parking areas along the road as well as the parking lot at the terminus.

Blue Ridge Parkway (NC) Closure & Mount Mitchell Directions:

Due to heavy rains, engineers have determined that a high risk of slides exists in the area, necessitating this closure between Mile Post 399.7 (Bad Fork Valley Overlook) to Mile Post 405 (NC 151). The closure will be in place until early July.

From Asheville, take the Blue Ridge Parkway north to mile Post #355 and turn left onto NC 128, which leads to the park.

From I-40, east of Asheville, take exit 86, NC 226 to Marion/Shelby. NC 226 merges with US 221 and US 70 in Marion. Veer left on US 70. After about two miles, turn north on NC 80. Follow NC 80 north/northeast for 16 miles. Turn left onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. Follow the parkway to Mile Post #355 and turn right onto NC 128, which leads to the park.

From Highway 19, travel south on Highway 80 and turn right onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. Follow the parkway south to Mile Post #355 and

turn onto NC 128, which leads to the park.

“Three Day Weekends” Special in Central Wisconsin…

Nearly twenty area hotels in the Wausau WI (Central WI) area are helping you make the most of your travel budget by offering Sunday Nights Free with a Friday and Saturday night stay.

Pay the regular published rate for Friday and Saturday night and you’ll get Sunday night free! “Three Day Weekends” are available every weekend in 2010 so just Click Here for more information.

Highpointers’ Denali Blogs..A couple of our members are blogging this year as they climb Denali in Alaska.Troy Bacon, from Frankfort, Indiana, is with the Cops on Top team that is currently on the mountain. You follow him on blogspot.

Dave Covill of Evergreen, Colorado is planning to climb Denali later in May. You can follow him here.

“CREW Members” & Others Needed!!!The “CREW” needs your help for the Mississippi  Konvention and other functions when available.  An hour or two – what ever you can spare.We can also use some folks to help by sitting in at the Wilderness Wildlife Week in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee –  January 2011. Benefits include:

  • On the Job Training
  • Making new friends
  • Meeting and greeting many of the convention attendees
  • A reserved seat at the banquet with fellow “CREW Members”
  • Recognition at the banquet for all your tremendous hard work

  • Great praise from the host after the convention is finished

  • All the goodies you can eat at the registration table

  • The satisfaction that you have given your club a valuable service

Email Nikki Hemphill at greyghost92@yahoo.com or call 219-545-2169.

Highpoint Liaisons and Helpers Needed…

Regional Coordinators needed are a Northeast Regional Coordinator effective now and a Southern Region Coordinator ASAP.

Highpoint Liaisons are the Clubs points of contact with the owners of a specific Highpoints and are the Clubs primary contact with the owner.

The Club needs Liaisons for:

  • AZ, ID, NV, NM, OR and WY in the West Region.
  • DE and NY in the Northeast Region
  • MN, SD, MI and NE in the Midwest Region
  • AL, OK and Puerto Rico in the South Region

The Highpoint Helper Helpers offer a variety of services and may provide directions, local conditions, tips, advice or perhaps even guide members.

The Club needs Helpers for:

  • ID, WY and MS
  • Here’s your chance to help the Club and meet other Highpointers in the process.

Email Stony at: stonyburk@yahoo.com

Climb Up So Kids Can Grow Up Campaign…

Climb Up the Fifty is a fundraising event created to benefit kids with AIDs. Created by the American Foundation for Children with AIDs,

This charity challenge invites climbing and hiking enthusiasts to select and train for a challenging climb or hike while raising funds through sponsorships. All funds raised are donated to African children with AIDs.

For individuals or teams, this is a self-directed event scheduled for June 26 – July 5, 2010.

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