Southern Herbalist to Speak at May Meeting
Come join us Thursday, May 21 for a fascinating talk on medicinal uses for local plants. Darryl Patton, the Southern Herbalist, has been hunting, gathering and working with medicinal plants for the past twenty-five years on Lookout Mountain. He will be discussing a variety of plants such as Yellow Root, Rabbit Tobacco, Mullein and Sumac. He will also talk about home remedies that many of the participants may remember their parents and grandparents using. There will be a large sampling of plants to show everyone.
Darryl Patton has been called a walking encyclopedia of herbal folklore and spent 12 years studying under the late A. L. "Tommie" Bass, one of the last of the old mountain herb doctors. During his apprenticeship with Tommie, Darryl was taught the identification and medicinal uses for literally thousands of plants found in the hills and hollows of the South. His passion in life is to pass the "old way" of using medicinal plants to his students and others wanting to continue the tradition of gathering wild plants as food and healing. Darryl is the author of, "Mountain Medicine, The Herbal Remedies of Tommie Bass," published by Natural Reader Press.
The meeting starts at 6:00pm and will be in the training room of the National Children’s Advocacy Center at 210 Pratt Avenue. This is at the corner of Pratt and Meridian streets. Meetings are open to everyone. Come join us!
Come to the Next Executive Committee Meeting
It takes a dedicated group of people to run the local Sierra Club. Think you might have something to contribute? If you are interested in being part of the administration of the North Alabama Sierra Club please join us at our next Executive Committee (Excom) Meeting on Thursday, May 14, 6:00 p.m., in Room C (2nd floor) of the Public Library.
Sierra Club Meetings for 2015
Mark your calendars for meetings of the North Alabama Sierra Club. Meetings start at 6:00pm and will be in the training room of the National Children’s Advocacy Center at 210 Pratt Avenue. This is at the corner of Pratt and Meridian streets. Meetings are open to everyone. Come join us!
-May 21 – Darryl Patton, Wilderness Survival and Medicinal/Edible plants in the woods.
-August 20 - Adam Johnston, Alabama Rivers Alliance
-November 19 - Program to be determined
-December - Holiday Party. This will be held in the auditorium of the public library downtown.
New Web Address!
The web page for the North Alabama Sierra Club is now hosted at the national site. Please make a note of the new address:
http://www.sierraclub.org/alabama/north-alabama
We also have a new email address:
And you can always follow us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/254833822112/
Outings
Hike Ratings
Easy - Less than 5 miles, no serious elevation changes, no trail obstacles.
Moderate - 5 to 10 miles, some elevation changes or rough trail (rock hopping), or trail obstacles such as creek crossings.
Strenuous - Over 10 miles, substantial elevation change, rocky, obstructed or nonexistent trail.
Exploratory - any event where the leader has not experienced the event; may fit any class above.
Note. Participants of Sierra Club outings are required to sign a waiver.
Tuesday, April 21 - Monte Sano Evening Hike. Easy.
Depart at 6:00pm sharp from the Monte Sano State Park hikers’ parking lot on Nolen Avenue. There is a small fee to enter the park and all dogs must be on a leash while in the parking lot and during the hike. Though not strenuous, hikes may be vigorous and range from 3 to 5 miles. For directions or questions contact Judy Burley at jcburley@bellsouth.net
Cancelled - Wednesday, April 22 - Monte Sano Evening Hike. Easy.
The hike scheduled for Wednesday evening April 22 has been cancelled.
Sunday, April 26 - Stephen's Gap Callahan Cave Preserve hike. Moderate.
Featured in National Geographic magazine, Stephen's Gap Cave in Jackson County is an explorer's dream. Recently purchased by the Southeastern Cave Conservancy (SSCi), with a contribution by the Sierra Club Alabama Chapter, the property will be preserved it in its wild state for future generations to enjoy. Joining us will be SSCi Board Chair, Ron Miller, and our Chair, Bob Hastings. We will take a fairly short hike (.8 mile), surrounded by wildflowers, to the cave. Dependent on rainfall we might view a waterfall flowing into the "pit." We will use the 'walk-in' entrance to the cave , which is sloped, rocky and can be muddy. Inside, the floor continues a downward slope which must be approached with caution. Once inside, again dependent on water flow, we'll be rewarded with spectacular waterfalls, a rushing stream, and for the keen eye, embedded fossils. Outside the cave, we'll continue uphill to see more of the property and possibly another waterfall. This outing is limited in participant number and requires a permit. Special arrangements have been made. If you do sign up, please commit to showing as you are taking a spot. For more information and to reserve a spot, contact Sandy Kiplinger at sandykip@otelco.net
Tuesday, April 28 - Monte Sano Evening Hike. Easy.
Depart at 6:00pm sharp from the Monte Sano State Park hikers’ parking lot on Nolen Avenue. There is a small fee to enter the park and all dogs must be on a leash while in the parking lot and during the hike. Though not strenuous, hikes may be vigorous and range from 3 to 5 miles. For directions or questions contact Suzanne Cawthon at atirawolf@yahoo.com
Tuesday, May 5 - Monte Sano Evening Hike. Easy.
Depart at 6:00 pm sharp from the Monte Sano State Park hikers’ parking lot on Nolen Avenue. There is a small fee to enter the park and all dogs must be on a leash while in the parking lot and during the hike. Though not strenuous, hikes may be vigorous and range from 3 to 5 miles. For directions or questions contact Steve Jackson at covecrawler@gmail.com
Tuesday, May 12 - Monte Sano Evening Hike. Easy.
Depart at 6:00 pm sharp from the Monte Sano State Park hikers’ parking lot on Nolen Avenue. There is a small fee to enter the park and all dogs must be on a leash while in the parking lot and during the hike. Though not strenuous, hikes may be vigorous and range from 3 to 5 miles. For directions or questions contact Patricia Wales pwales77@gmail.com
Sunday, May 17 - Elkmont Rails-to-Trails. Moderate.
6-mile hike. Meet at 1:00 pm in the parking lot on the Northwest corner where Highway 72 West and Wall Triana intersect (parking lot by Planet Fitness). From there we will drive to downtown Elkmont where we will begin our hike on this historic railroad walking trail. For more information or directions contact Liz at hiker@knology.net
Tuesday, May 19 - Monte Sano Evening Hike. Easy.
Depart at 6:00 pm sharp from the Monte Sano State Park hikers’ parking lot on Nolen Avenue. There is a small fee to enter the park and all dogs must be on a leash while in the parking lot and during the hike. Though not strenuous, hikes may be vigorous and range from 3 to 5 miles. For directions or questions contact Alan Greene at agreene256@comcast.net
Tuesday, May 26 - Monte Sano Evening Hike. Easy.
Depart at 6:00 pm sharp from the Monte Sano State Park hikers’ parking lot on Nolen Avenue. There is a small fee to enter the park and all dogs must be on a leash while in the parking lot and during the hike. Though not strenuous, hikes may be vigorous and range from 3 to 5 miles. For directions or questions contact Michael Stewart at 256-656-5836.
Sunday, May 31 - Wade Mountain hike. Moderate.
Western End (Pulaski Pike Trailhead). Moderate 5-mile hike. Meet at 1:00 pm in the parking lot at the Wade Mountain Greenway trailhead on Pulaski Pike (1/2 mile south of the Toyota Plant). We will do a 5 mile loop with some elevation gain during the first half of the hike. Parts of the trail will be rocky but the first and last mile will be on the paved portion of the greenway. For more information or directions contact Liz at hiker@knology.net
2015 Excom Members
Chair /Membership Liz Poleretzky hiker@knology.net
Vice Chair/Programs Steve Jackson covecrawler@gmail.com 337-9702
Secretary/Chapter Delegate Jennifer Gresham jgresham98@gmail.com
Treasurer Charlie Cohen charlie.cohen@att.net
Environmental Education Charlotte Buening charlotte.r.buening@gmail.com
Outings Tom Burley tdburleyhiker@bellsouth.net
Energy Consultant Gretel Johnston gretel@best-matrr.org
Political/Conservation chair Joe Imhof enviroman88@earthlink.net
Programs Steve Jackson covecrawler@gmail.com
Publicity Jayanthi Srikishen signalmtn@hotmail.com
Social Media Michael Stewart/Sandy Kiplinger sandykip@otelco.net
Newsletter Jack Drost drostj@bellsouth.net
Web Page Steven Baty na.sierraclub@gmail.com