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Wicked Weed — Brewing Appalachia

Wicked Weed Brewing has crafted a special brew to support conservation of mountains, forests, farms, streams, and rivers across Western North Carolina and East Tennessee.

“We are thrilled and proud to be represented as the nonprofit for Appalachia!” says Membership Director Cheryl Fowler. “We are very grateful to Wicked Weed Brewing for donating a portion of proceeds from all sales of Appalachia Session IPA, to help support conservation of the mountains we call home.”

Named for the mountains that surround Asheville, Appalachia Session IPA is on tap for a limited time. A percentage of all sales of Appalachia Session IPA will be donated to SAHC to support protection of headwater streams that flow into three major river basins, including the French Broad River, Catawba River, and Broad River. Read more

“For Love of Beer & Mountains” Southern Sixer Challenge Kickoff!

Last Saturday, we led our first guided Southern Sixer hike to the summit of a peak above 6,000 feet. For this “For Love of Beer and Mountains” Southern Sixer Challenge Kickoff, we traveled to Great Smoky Mountains National Park to climb Mount Kephart, named after Horace Kephart, who played a major role during the early years of the park. We were fortunate to be greeted by a majestic herd of elk both on the way into the park and at the end of the day!

While the summit of Mount Kephart doesn’t afford spectacular views, you can continue just a quarter mile further to “The Jumpoff,” the top of a 1,000 foot sheer cliff on the side of the mountain that provides views for miles to the east. From this vantage point we could see back towards SAHC’s Smoky Mountains focus areas, where we work to conserve land adjoining the national park, creating a buffer for wildlife and helping preserve viewsheds in this unique landscape.

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“For Love of Beer & Mountains” Lost Cove Excursion

IMG_2628Late this summer, the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy and Highland Brewing Company were joined by The Aloft Hotel, Altamont Environmental, Traveling Chic Boutique and USA Raft to explore Lost Cove, where SAHC protected a 95-acre tract in 2012. We hiked into the gorge and rafted the Nolichucky River while learning about the historical significance of the area. Read more

Thunder on the Mountain

2014_thunderstruck_hike_view_from_waterrock_knobDrew Stevenson from Highland Brewing Company  and Kana Miller (SAHC AmeriCorps PR and Outreach Associate) fearlessly led our group of hikers into the clouds for a strenuous but fun October hike — the Thunderstruck “For Love of Beer and Mountains” Partnership hike to  Blackrock Mountain. Drew recounts this trek through the Plott Balsams in Jackson County, our 2nd Partnership  hike of the fall season:

“The hike group met at the Waterrock Knob overlook (elevation 6,292 feet), which gets its name from a cool stream where hunters and farmers came to quench their thirst. About 1/4 mile down from the Waterrock Knob Visitor Center we started the trail, which covers approximately 2.2 miles of up-and-down terrain, becoming very skinny at times to hug the steep mountainside.

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A Rattling Good Time

bridge.jpgOur newest AmeriCorps Project Conserve PR and Outreach Associate, Kana Miller, jumped full into the outings program last month with her first “For Love of Beer & Mountains” guided hike — and a bit of a surprise along the trail!

“On September 20th, a beautiful and sunny Saturday, my initiation into the SAHC family truly commenced as I led my first event and “For Love of Beer and Mountains” partnership hike up Clawhammer Mountain. As the newest AmeriCorps Project Conserve PR and Outreach Associate, part of my responsibilities include teaming up with Highland Brewing Company  to lead these partnership hikes to namesakes of Highland’s seasonal brews, raising awareness and support for our conservation efforts to protect clean water, unique plant and animal habitat and scenic beauty. While I was nervous about leading my first hike, I was quickly put at ease by the cheerful demeanor of our hiking group. Read more

Devil’s Britches “For Love of Beer and Mountains” Partnership Hike

hikingtime.jpgSAHC’s AmeriCorps PR & Outreach Member Anna Zanetti recaps a snowy “For Love of Beer & Mountains” partnership hike:

“Highland Brewing Company’s seasonal release of Devil’s Britches Red IPA kicked off the first “For Love of Beer & Mountains” partnership hike of 2014 at Cataloochee Ranch. Hikers trekked through deep snow to the top of Hemphill Bald (5,540 ft. elevation), where they leaned about SAHC’s first conservation easement as well as feral hog damage and the natural history of the area.

In late February the Southeast experienced a large snowstorm, accumulating 6 inches of snow in the Asheville area and more in higher elevations, but the Devil’s Britches hikers were undeterred. On the Sunday after the storm 17 hikers made their way out to tackle the mountain with SAHC and Highland Brewing. Read more

An Adventure to Twin Falls and Clawhammer

starting-off1.jpgSAHC and Highland Brewing Company would like to send a major “shout out” to all of the folks that made it to Twin Falls and Clawhammer Mountain the first weekend of October. This intrepid group showed copious amounts of fortitude and demonstrated the will power to make it to the promised land that weekend in Pisgah National Forest.

The hike started off typical. Everyone parked their cars, listened to SAHC’s typical spiel about why land conservation is important, and perhaps most importantly, signed off on the waiver so that there would be no legal drama if any accidents occurred during the hike. As we approached the Avery Creek Trail head, no one knew what lay lurking in the depths of the not-so-ominous and beautiful trail. Read more

For Love of Beer and Mountains: Hike to Little Hump Mountain

group-hike-up-little-hump_smallerWhen you hike to the top of Little Hump Mountain in the Highlands of Roan, you see a completely unobstructed view of the surrounding mountains from its high elevation grassy bald. The Ridge and Valley Province lies to your west in Tennessee and the renowned peaks of Grandfather Mountain, Table Rock, and Linville Gorge rise to the east in North Carolina. Depending on the season, you could have  bluets at your feet and flame azaleas in your line of vision as you look out across the mountains.  When you visit this special place, you understand why conservationists have made this area a priority for protection. Read more

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