Your outdoor news bulletin for March 27, 2013:
Snow Delays Clingmans Dome Opening
The planned spring opening of Clingmans Dome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park has been delayed indefinitely. You may think it has to do with all the budget cut/sequestration nonsense…but you would be wrong. This latest snow storm has been a boon to ski resorts up and down the East Coast, but has caused havoc to other entities including the Clingmans Dome delay. The higher elevations of the park received upwards of 18 inches of snow of the past week, making the passage to Clingmans and the Newfound Gap Road impassible. The opening was slated for Friday, but will probably will not be opened until next week. Nature, you so crazy!
Roadless Rule Upheld
In the final battle over Bill Clinton’s Roadless Rule, the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia struck down a challenge by Alaska. The roadless rule protects tens of millions of acres of forest lands nation-wide against road building, and by extension, logging. The war of roads has been waged over the past decade, but was finally put to rest with this ruling. This is a victory for conservationists across the nation and for the future of nature lovers everywhere, including in the Appalachians where roadless areas dot the mountain chain from Georgia to Maine. Here is a map (PDF).
A Crappy Situation
It’s one of those running jokes or scenarios that you talk about at camp. How much money would it take for you to dive into one of those natural outhouse-style toilets? Well, one man at Carter’s Lake, Ga. did it for free. The man reportedly stood on the toilet, slipped and fell five feet to the gross, nasty, disgusting bottom. He remained there for a full 70 minutes before family members were able to unlock the door and find out that, yes, he had fallen in. Classic quote from ‘spokesperson’ Lisa Parker: ““We’ve had these type of toilet facilities for 10 to 15 years, and he just mis-used the toilet, unfortunately.” Unfortunately, indeed.
More, if you want it, from the Dalton Daily Citizen.
