October is Mountains-to-Sea Trail Month
Shelton Wilder volunteers his time to trailblaze a portion of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail between Boone and Blowing Rock.
Celebrate October as Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) month in North Carolina and learn more about the trail during a campfire program at the Price Park Campground Amphitheater Saturday, Oct. 15, at 7:30 pm.
The public is invited to join High Country MST leaders and volunteers for a program by photojournalist Randy Johnson, author of “Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway,” “Hiking North Carolina” and other books. He’ll present a statewide photographic tour of the trail and focus on the nearly completed Boone area portion of the path that runs along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The program takes place during a major weekend of volunteer work on the trail, so anyone attending can meet Mountains-to-Sea Trail leaders and other volunteers and learn a little about how the group builds and maintains the trail.
Also attending will be longtime Mountains-to-Sea Trail activist Allen de Hart, author of Hiking North Carolina’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail” and other books, and John Lanman, leader of the MST Watauga Task Force.
Johnson launched the Grandfather Mountain backcountry management program and is the MST task force leader for the Tanawha Trail to Cone Park portion of the path.
Everyone who attends the campfire program during peak autumn color will learn how to volunteer and help build this new trail across the state.
To learn more about the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, visit the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail at http://www.ncmst.org. For more information about the program or helping the local Mountains-to-Sea Trail effort, contact John Lanman at (jelanman@charter.net) or Randy Johnson at (ranjohns32@gmail.com)
