metaboone: Boone NC news, blogs, and media

ASHEVILLE — Heavy rainfall forced Blue Ridge Parkway officials Wednesday to close a nearly 12-mile stretch near Mount Pisgah.

Crews today hope to erect temporary barriers that would allow reopening all but a mile of the parkway near Ferrin Knob Tunnel No. 1 by Friday.

The work would restore indirect access to the heavily used Mount Pisgah area from Asheville as peak leaf season approaches.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The Blue Ridge Parkway has been closed south of Asheville, approaching Mount Pisgah, because officials fear the possibility that a nearby slope will crumble.

Engineers with the Federal Highway Administration determined Wednesday that the amount of rain that's already fallen, combined with the possibility and more rain and the tenuous condition of the slope create a highrisk of failure.

Fall is here, and that means it’s North Carolina’s time to shine! With more than 120 species of trees, NC turns into a brilliant palette of color each year as the autumn leisurely makes its way from the mountain peaks down to the coastal plains.

Here, you’ll find our Fall Color Forecaster and weekly foliage reports from our leaf experts. Bookmark this page and return every Tuesday for updates as the season progresses. Or, call the Fall Leaf Hotline 1-866-6LEAVES (866-653-2837). Looking for Fall Fishing reports? You'll find them here.

Insider Tip: Enjoy your NC leaf watching during the weekdays! The colors are just as spectacular, but hotel rooms and restaurant tables are more available, roads more wide open, and hiking trials more natural.

Fall color has literally exploded in the northern section of the mountains. A drive along the east flank of Grandfather Mountain (near Boone) on the Blue Ridge Parkway reveals breathtaking color diversity. In fact, color there is the best in this section of the state, with intense reds mixed with bright yellows, oranges and even brown. It should last through this week and maybe into next weekend, although as I’ve said in my reports this year, colors are somewhat early this year.

Interestingly, colors are strikingly different in Watauga and Ashe counties to the north. Here, yellow, orange and browns dominate, with fewer reds. Perhaps this is because there are more oaks, hickories and fewer maples there. Nevertheless, the colors are still striking and worth seeing. They’re peaking between 4,000 and 3,000 feet now, and moving downhill fast. I expect by next weekend that colors in the 2,000 to 3,000 feet range will be showing up nicely, even as far south as Highlands, especially if it doesn’t rain too hard, which could knock leaves off the trees. Despite early predictions of a bad color year, the color is in fact, excellent. People I polled on the Parkway were rating the colors 8.5 to 9 (one girl told me it was an 11 out of 10!) so they are definitely worth a trip out to see this year!

Blue Ridge Parkway officials announced an emergency closure of the road today south of Asheville approaching Mount Pisgah.

Federal Highway Administration geotechnical engineers today determined that an inordinate amount of rainfall, the likelihood of additional precipitation and the tenuous condition of the slope create a high risk of failure. The slope failed in 2002 and has been closely monitored since being repaired.

Parkway personnel will move quickly to erect barriers in the potential slide area that will maximize visitor use.

The following temporary closure will be in place until further notice: from Milepost 393.6 at the French Broad river junction to Milepost 405.5 near the Pisgah Campground Country Store.

The Pisgah Inn will remain open and will be accessible from U.S. 276 at Wagon Road Gap.

Prior to today’s announcement Blue Ridge Parkway and FHWA personnel were nearing completion on designs to stabilize the slope using anchor rods drilled into the mountain. The changed conditions will require design revision before the solicitation of bids in the near future.

ASHEVILLE A record bear population in the North Carolina mountains has led more of the beasts to look for food near areas where humans work and live.

An abundance of acorns, grapes and other forest food sources has allowed bear populations to build to a record 10,000 this year, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission wildlife biologist Mike Carraway said.

While most bears feed on the readily available nuts, they are opportunistic and will eat garbage, seeds from household bird feeders, and even sometimes kill and eat livestock, Carraway said. Bears attack livestock an average of about once a year in western North Carolina.

This week, the colors have started becoming more pronounced, with a definite increase in scarlet, brick red, and orange, although there are still lots of green trees at our elevation (2,300 feet). The view from the Lake View room is quite colorful this time of year. Here's a photo taken yesterday (note in the foreground across the water -- our two curvy "Dr. Seuss" trees, as one of our guests calls them, are still green):

What: The 62nd Annual Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands: Over 200 craftspeople fill two floors with fine handcrafted items, while local musicians play live on the arena stage, and craft educators share their knowledge.
Where: Asheville Civic Center, 87 Haywood St. in downtown Asheville, NC
When: October 15-18, 2009, 10am-6pm Thursday – Saturday, and 10am-5pm Sunday
Admission: Adults $7, children under 12 free. Group discounts available

For four days each July and October, the Civic Center in Asheville comes alive with fine traditional and contemporary crafts. The Fairs, a local tradition since 1948, showcase the work of members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild and feature craft demonstrations, regional music and entertainment.

Over 200 craftspeople fill the two levels of the Civic Center selling their works of clay, fiber, glass, leather, metal, mixed media, natural materials, paper, wood and jewelry. As members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, the exhibiting artists have passed a rigorous jury process to become a part of the organization. Membership is open to artists who live in the mountain counties of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and the Virginias.

The leaves, they are a’ changing

It seems like colors popped on the mountains almost overnight last Thursday or Friday. It went from a spot of color here and there to a mix of yellows, reds and oranges splashing down the mountainsides. I think those few nights with temperatures in the low 40s helped. Cold temperatures help trap anthocyanin — the pigment responsible for the red in much of our fall foliage — in the leaves.

And now, just as the color parade is getting underway, comes two of leaf season’s biggest enemies — rain and wind. But, as I have preached in this column before, this October is going to be the best leaf season we’re going to have this year. And don’t be afraid to get out on those drizzly, overcast days.

I’ve lived in North Carolina for 10 years and I have yet to make a trip to the mountains in the fall. Visions of picturesque mountains vibrant with color and crystal blue skies danced in my mind as to what I would see.

Getting there, at least for me is hard. Its hockey season, which means my disposable income is trips for our boys hockey habits. Four hour trips with overnight stays and meals get expensive and finding a free weekend to go the other way for photography has historically not been practical. This year, I got an opportunity to go to the Mountains.