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Buck eating Ironweed by Brian Shults

Agenda for Annual Membership Weekend 

Fun for Everyone 

The Annual GSMA Membership Weekend will be taking place on September 9, 10, and 11. Reservations must be made by Friday, September 2 by calling 865-436-7318, Ext. 222 or 254.

The total registration fee for all daytime indoor and outdoor programs is $35 per adult. The Friday night BBQ and music by Lost Mill String Band is $20 per adult; the Saturday evening buffet and dulcimer music by Tim Simek and Mark Edelman is $20 per adult. The entire event is free for children 12 and under.

The following agenda gives date, time, program, and location of event:

Friday, September 9 

5:30 pm - BBQ and music by Lost Mill String Band, Greenbrier Pavilion

Saturday, September 10

Indoor Programs (all held at Pittman Center Elementary School):

10:00 am - Mayna Avent and Her Cabin at Elkmont

LUNCH ON YOUR OWN  

1:00 pm - Cherokee Heritage

3:00 pm - Bears 101 (Origin of Bears)

Hikes:

9:00 am - Old Sugarlands Trail (near Sugarlands), Easy

10:00 am - Porters Creek (Greenbrier), Easy

1:00 pm - Injun Creek (Greenbrier), Easy

1:00 pm - Old Settlers Trail (Greenbrier), Easy to Moderate

5:00 pm - Annual Membership Meeting (Mills Conference Center, downtown Gatlinburg)

6:00 pm - Buffet Dinner and Dulcimer Music by Tim Simek and Mark Edelman (Mills Conference Center, downtown Gatlinburg)

Sunday, September 11

9:00 am - Half-day hike on first part of Ramsey Cascades Trail (Greenbrier), Moderate

Program sign-up sheets will be available at the Friday night BBQ. All members and their guests are welcome to join us for a fun and educational time!

Old Time Acoustic Music Jam Session

Every 3rd Saturday of the Month   

Do you love the real old-time Smoky mountain music? 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is having an acoustic old time jam session every third Saturday of the month at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center near Cherokee, NC, from 1-3 pm.

There won't be a session on September 17 because of the Mountain Life Festival, but the third jam will be held on October 15. 

Musicians are invited to come to the porch of the new Oconaluftee Visitor Center where there is a nice roof cover for shade and protection from rain in a beautiful setting and play traditional Appalachian tunes just like in the old days.
 
The park hopes to perpetuate the customs of handing down songs and music through the generations and give visitors the chance to experience these traditions first hand.
 
Anyone who plays can join in the music gathering. The jams will follow an "around-the-circle" format, where folks may lead tunes/songs or pass the tune choice to the next person. Come on over!

And check out the new Smokies music video by Walter Wuthmann. 

Mexico is Calling 

And Monarch Butterflies are Answering the Call 

As summer wanes, the temperature starts dipping (don't we wish?), the days get shorter, food plants become desiccated, and the urge to move South sends signals through the bodies of the most beloved of America's butterflies... the monarch.

These orange and black winged wonders travel farther than any other tropical butterfly on a two-way journey for thousands of miles, to forests high in the mountains of Mexico. How do these "flying flowers" find their way to the same over-wintering sites their relatives left the previous Spring? It's undoubtedly one of the greatest mysteries in nature.

In an effort to understand this amazing migration, organizations like Monarch Watch monitor movements through a tag and release program.

You are invited to join naturalist Wanda DeWaard on a monarch tagging venture in Cades Cove on Saturday, September 24. Light-weight long pants and a broad brimmed hat are strongly recommended, as well as some insect repellent. Pack a light lunch and water. A limited number of butterfly nets will be available to share, but if you have one, bring it along... and a hand lens is always helpful, too. Butterfly field guides and reference books will be available to help identify other species that may end up in your net.

Remember... butterflies don't dance in the rain, so this program is "weather permitting". Meet Wanda at the orientation shelter at the beginning of the loop road at 9:00 am for an introduction to the program prior to car-pooling into the Cove for tagging. The program will end around 2:00 pm.

Don't wait too long to register! This is always a popular event and registration is limited to 20 and must be made by calling 865-436-7318, Ext. 222 or 254. A nominal fee of $10 will be charged per adult... children under 12 are free.

For more information on monarchs check out www.monarchwatch.org.

Fawn by Ryan Yoder from our Facebook page 

Charge for Backcountry Camping Permit?  

Details of the proposal may be found at the Park's website by clicking here. 

University of Tennessee Bookstore Partner 

Visit Us Before the Game! 

Photo by Joe Luttrell

GSMA has a new partner: the University of Tennessee!  You can now find many of our great products in the campus bookstore in Knoxville. Proceeds from sales there benefit the park and UT!

We'll also be offering new memberships to support the park at UT home football games, including free gifts. Come see us. We'll be close to the stadium at Volunteer Village.

Bobcat by Dawn Boysen Christian

Trail Update

The Gunter Fork Trail between the Camel Gap Trail and the Balsam Mountain Trail is closed until further notice due to three landslides.  The slides occurred during a heavy rain event on or about July 15.

The 4.1 mile Gunter Fork Trail lies in the east end of the National Park in Haywood County, NC.  It is one route that takes users from the Walnut Bottoms area up to Balsam Mountain and Mt. Sterling, but is not one of the Park's most heavily traveled trails.  The Swallow Fork Trail provides alternative access to the same areas.

Managers have no estimate of when the Gunter Fork Trail may reopen. All or parts of five other Park trails west of Cades Cove in Blount County, TN are still closed for repairs. The trails: Rabbit Creek, Hatcher Mountain, Cooper Road, Beard Cane, and Wet Bottom were heavily damaged by an F4 tornado on April 27.  

Little River Rapids by David Jolley

Please Be Careful

Drownings Mar the Summer Season 

In late July a 17-year-old girl from Florida drowned after falling from a rock into Little River at The Sinks.

A 34-year-old man from Texas drowned while tubing at the Townsend Wye on July 11. The water was estimated to be 12-feet deep where he drowned.

On July 31 an 11-year old boy was rescued from a near drowning at Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area. Both incidents occurred on Little River. Visitors to the park often underestimate the depth and current of park streams. Drownings are the #2 cause of death in the park; motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause.

For a video on water safety in GSMNP, click here.

3 Bucks Peeking Over the Tall Grass by Brian Shults