A heap o’ stuff: The Garhwalis need your help. Granted, this may be the first time you’ve heard this, on account of they’re so far away and all, but it’s no less true. Through May 19, Mast General Store, along with partners at Appalachian State University and Georgia Southern University, is collecting donated gear to help these formerly nomadic people who live along India’s border with Tibet. Through programs like Mountain Shepherds, they’re hoping for a brighter future as Himalayan trekking guides. Trouble is, they need gear. Mast asks that you bring your used (but not used-up) hiking equipment—boots, trekking poles, tents, multifuel stoves, sleeping bags, packs, fleeces, shells—to its locations in Boone, Valle Crucis, Asheville and Waynesville through this Saturday. What you bring will be delivered to India at the end of this month. For more information, contact Lynn Willis at the Mast home office in Valle Crucis at 963-6511.
Strain your knees, spare the trees: The A.C. Reynolds High School Global Awareness Club is sponsoring a benefit 5K walk/run and a three-person relay this Saturday, May 19. Cost to register is $12 for students, $15 for adults. All proceeds from the event will go to the nonprofit Rainforest Alliance and its work to help safeguard the world’s rainforests. The school is located at 1 Rocket Drive, along Route 74 between Asheville and Fairview. Registration forms are available at www.globalawarenessclub.org Visit www.rainforest-alliance.org for more information about that group’s programs.
