The magnesium-calcium buildup in your kettle is not harmful, but it can affect the taste of the water, so cleaning it is recommended. The simplest effective method to remove the buildup is to use a mixture of baking soda and water. This dissolves the buildup, and the soda also has abrasive properties.

All that is required is to put two cups of water with two teaspoons of baking soda and set the kettle to boil. Once this is done, the mixture should sit a few hours before rinsing. Leftover spots can be removed using a soft cloth.

Lemon juice is a very effective cleaning agent as it is naturally acidic and smells nice. A mixture of water and lemon juice would easily dissolve hard water scales. What is needed is a quarter of a cup of fresh lemon juice with two cups of water that have to be boiled inside the kettle. Then, the mixture has to stay for a few hours before rinsing.

Those who don’t have lemon juice at hand can use vinegar and water to the same effect or replace the lemon with citric acid. After all, it’s the acidity of the mixture that gets the job done. So, to apply a solution of white vinegar and water, just fill the kettle to cover the film buildup with a mixture of one part vinegar and three parts water. Let it boil, let it sit for a few hours, and rinse.

Some people also claim that using Coca-Cola to clean a kettle is another effective method. So, does it work? Yes! All it takes is to fill the kettle with Coke to the fill line and let it boil. After this is done, the soda has to be left to cool and be removed.

Then, the inside of the kettle has to be scrubbed gently with a soft pad or brush to clean the build-up. Rinsing is also necessary to remove the Coca-Cola flavor and any leftover sugar that may stick to the walls.

Officials have closed part of the Appalachian Trail to camping due to reports of aggressive bears approaching hikers, following several similar closures over the past few years. The closure of approximately seven miles of the trail was announced by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in collaboration with the Forest Service.

The closure is along the North Carolina/Tennessee border, extending from Tanyard Gap to Deep Gap, and has been implemented to restrict camping activities in response to numerous hikers’ reports of encounters with bears. This closure encompasses the Rich Mountain campsite and the Spring Mountain Shelter.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy wrote in a statement that all area visitors should use caution, never leave food unattended, and pack out all trash and food scraps. It also pointed out that overnight hikers should plan their itineraries to avoid camping in the closed-out section or find a different route.

For the past several years, hikers in North Carolina and Tennessee have been facing a recurring issue with audacious bears. These bears, which have become habituated to human food sources, have prompted temporary closures of various shelters and campsites as they actively seek sustenance from hikers. In 2021, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) responded to bear activity by closing off a section of the Appalachian Trail (AT) in Tennessee, specifically miles 451 to 464, prohibiting camping in that area. This was followed by additional closures in 2022. In October of that year, officials extended the camping prohibition on the trail from the Tennessee-Virginia border to its intersection with Highway 421. Earlier in the same year, a campsite in New Jersey was closed after a bear attempted to enter a hiker’s tent.

In the announcement made by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), it was mentioned that the Forest Service recently implemented a food storage order. This order, issued last month, mandates hikers along the trail in the Southern Region of the U.S. Forest Service (which encompasses areas south of Shenandoah) to store their items with strong odors in a bear canister, a vehicle, land manager-provided containers such as bear lockers, or properly hung from a bear hang. The ATC emphasized the importance of complying with these measures, implying that it should have already been common practice for hikers.