Our legal eagle wanted us to start a new blog where we can discuss how good/BAD the new reservation system is. The one time I used it I found it to be rather hard to figure out. I tried to go back and change the number of people in my party and could never make that happen. It kept telling me that if I went back it would delete my work. That would be fine, but when I tried to make a new reservation it said I already had one on that date. As I said, I finally gave up and went with my original…

Had a great conversation with Donna a little while ago on a FB page and just wanted to say thank you Donna for bringing the Park Fees to everyone's attention. It was a hot topic for a while on WB but the topic's there get pretty heated sometimes and folks go off the deep end sometimes, so I don't pay a lot of attention to that. Praying this all gets turned around and we win for the people :)

thanks again,

jim

Was wondering if anyone frequenting this site might recall exactly what year it was that the Park Service previously floated the idea of backcountry fees to pay for a computer reservation system. They held public meetings, which I attended, but I can't recall what year it was and haven't been able to turn up mention of those meetings with online searches. I'm thinking it was somewhere around '02 - '04. What I do recall is that the plan they put forward was to construct their own in-house…

I want to say thanks to Greg and John for welcoming me to the site.

I've been backpacking the Smokies for more than 30 years now,  and I'm not real happy with the way things are going on in the park.

I have come to this site as "other sites" are fully supportive of this egregious backpacker fee and our equally offensive Park Superintendant.

Of course I'm thoroughly disgusted with the new "backpacker fee" that will be upcoming.  It's not just the money--though that is…

I've been doing a fair amount of spring/summer/fall backpacking the last few years but nothing in the winter.  I'm planning an MLK wkd trip (Deep Creek) and want to make sure I'm prepared gear-wise.   I've browsed some other boards but the recs are all over the place depending on the locale.  Am curious to hear from those that do a lot of winter backpacking in the Smokies.

My primary concerns are around my tent and keeping my hands/feet warm.

Tent - for camping at spots in the…

Any of you been to Turtle Island Preserve near Boone?  I had never heard of it but it looks and sounds amazing.  Unfortunately they have been shut down, at least temporarily, by the local government.

http://www.hcpress.com/news/turtle-island-story.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=turtle-island-story

Thank John, I have enjoyed your site as bystander for some time ...wonderful place to browse and enjoy.

Tusquittee Community in Clay County NC reaches out to save the Chunky Gal Trail, connecting trail to AT. Please see: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/nfsnc/news-events/?cid=STELPRDB5387685 Instruction for leaving comments to USFS on link ... No need for this shooting range because two others on…

Okay, we are taking a vote.  There is some division about the preferred new SFW logo designs created so artfully by Mr. Michael Shannon.  So I decided to have a vote.  If you prefer the Full Owl or the Owl Eye, please indicate so in the comments below.  I will say that we give it one week before the consensus is made. Remember, this will be our trademark, non profit logo forever!…

(The enclosed document is a summary of the meeting between Southern Forest Watch and Smokies Leadership. Notes were taken by Melissa Cobern, NPS backcountry specialist and a copy was requested by the Southern Forest Watch.)…

It seems that the problematic behavior coming out of the top ranks at Sugarlands is unending.  I have recently learned, and it has been confirmed by multiple sources, that someone (read Ditmanson almost of a certainty) is denying researchers access to old maps of pre-Park locations (houses, mills, farms, and the like).  These documents are public property and are not under any State Department 30- or 50-year rule or anything like that.  In other words, they are in public domain and denial of…

In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.                                   John Muir

I was proud to be in the company of fellow Southern Forest Watch coalition members who donated their saturday to spread the message.  Despite the looming threat of rain, the weather held off until our mission for the day was completed.  We were very well received.  Myers and his daughters provided musical entertainment, many questions were answered and hundreds of folks are now properly informed about this tax on backpackers.  Adam had his fly fishing gear, Gregg and I laid out backpacking…

I figured I should start a new post on this topic to keep from derailing the Fee thread since I'm going to rant a bit....

I keep seeing this quote in the news re: the hiker missing from the Bullhead View Quiet Walkway:

"Rangers became suspicious Tuesday afternoon when they noticed that a vehicle had been parked since Sunday at a quiet walkway along Newfound Gap Road about a mile south of the Sugarlands Visitor Center.  

Park officials say that walkway does not connect to…

The following letter was crafted by myself, Jim Casada and Adam Beal on behalf of the Southern Forest Watch and will be forwarded to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in one month.  Should you wish to have your name attached, please indicate below. For folks not members of this forum you may indicate your desire to sign off by contacting us through our website, http://southernforestwatch.org and signing the guest…

I want you to skip down to the 2nd pp and find interesting link to the Park Service in the Pacific. No, they wouldn' lie:

http://michellemalkin.com/2012/02/22/the-high-priests-of-eco-destruction/

(the following bushwhack was completed Thanksgiving, 2010. I only recently finished the story.)

Ekaneetlee Trace

By John Quillen

The first crossing out of campsite 90 was wet so we booted off and waded up to our knees. Frigid post Thanksgiving air was offset by a bright late morning sun. It was still in the thirties, though and I was walking on a bed of…

I remember the fiasco when they implemented an ill-devised plan for thru-hikers to make advanced reservations for shelter space during the Knoxville World Fair because someone thought the backcountry would be overrun with World Fair visitors. It didn't happen of course. The only result was a bunch of needlessly frustrated thru-hikers.

Such ill-conceived policies didn't work then and certainly won't work today. And to think we are paying these 'outdoor recreation specialists' a salary…