TOE RIVER CANOE TRIP rescheduled for OCTOBER 18
Originally scheduled for October 26

The Toe River Canoe Trip scheduled for October 26 has been rescheduled for Saturday, October 18.  The Toe is the main tributary of the Nolichucky and is located in Mitchell County, N.C.  This trip will be about 10 miles of mostly class II water.  There are a couple of class III rapids and also a flat stretch of about two miles.  Paddlers that attended the canoe school should be able to handle this section of river without any difficulty.

Meet at 8:00 A.M. in B-215 parking lot.  Bring lunch, rain gear and necessary canoe equipment.  We should arrive back in Kingsport about 6:00 P.M.

For more information call Dave Ingram, home 282-5856 or work 246-7171, ext. 20.  If you plan to go please complete the form below and return it to Gordon Porter Bldg. 54D, TEC.  If there is a cancellation you will be notified.

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To: Gordon Porter, Bldg. 54D

_______________I plan to paddle the Toe River October 18.

Name(s)______________________________________________________

Home phone_________________________

There is a new hostel along the Trail, in Elk Park, N.C.  It is operated by the Elk Park Christian Church.  The minister, George Wiman, started it in May of this year after talking with some long-distance hikers who had come off the Trail to spend the night in a motel in Elk Park.

The hostel is 1.6 miles east on U.S. Highway 19E from where the A.T. crosses that highway.  The hostel is a previously unused storage shed behind the church.  It will house eight people.  There are plans to add electricity for lighting, a hot plate and a small refrigerator.  There is no charge for staying overnight, but donations are accepted.

This hostel is in a valuable location.  The nearest shelters are 14 miles to the north on the Trail, and 8 miles to the south.  The nearest hostels are in Damascus, Va. which is 72 miles to the north on the Trail, and in Hot Springs, N.C., which is 106 miles to the south.  This new hostel is already well known to long-distance hikers through notes written by them in registers in nearby shelters.  The Tennessee Eastman Hiking Club, which has responsibility for this part of the A.T., plans to place permanent signs in the nearest shelters telling about this hostel.

Forest Service Gets Option on Tract on Jane Bald

The Pisgah National Forest has acquired an option to purchase a 121-acre tract at Jane Bald in Roan Highlands area on the Tennessee-North Carolina state line.  Known as the Hughes, Roan, Inc. tract, it includes most of the North Carolina side of Jane Bald, the second summit east of Carvers Gap.  This key tract has been patiently sought by the Forest Service for many years, and only recently became available for sale.  Although only 0.3 miles of the Trail is on this property, its acquisition will also protect the land near the Trail and the views from it.  This is especially important at Jane Bald, as it is in the center of the series of balds between Carvers Gap and Grassy Ridge.  This section of the Trail is often called the most beautiful of the Southern Appalachians because of its unlimited vistas and foreground of grass dotted with rhododendron and azaleas.

Unfortunately, an option is not a purchase.  Because of delays and possible cancellations of congressional appropriations for the A.T., funds may not be available for this purchase.  This is a good example of the jeopardy in which land acquisitions are placed when essential funds are not available at critical times.  At the time of this writing (September, 1980) the issue is not yet lost, but it is much endangered.  It is greatly to be hoped that this purchase can be completed.

Roan High Knob Shelter

A new shelter is now available to A.T. hikers on Roan High Knob, 1.7 miles south of Carvers Gap in the Roan Highlands area.  It is located on the Tennessee-North Carolina state line, at an elevation of 6,300 feet in a dense stand of balsam.  There is a small spring about 50 feet away.

The shelter is a log cabin, built in 1934 for the U.S. Forest Service as a project of the Civilian Conservation Corps.  It originally served as the residence of the fire warden for the fire tower, removed many years ago.  Abandoned for more than 20 years, the cabin was completely renovated by the Cherokee National Forest in July, 1980, on the recommendation of the Tennessee Eastman Hiking Club.

The cabin has one room, a loft and a front porch, with a total interior floor space of 450 square feet.  It should comfortably sleep 15 people.  In the renovation, the Forest Service put in a new stone foundation, new plywood floors on both levels, and shutters on the two windows.  They also replaced the worn wood shingle roof with sheet metal and rechinked between the logs.

There were several reasons why this cabin was selected to be renovated to serve as an A.T. shelter.  First, the renovation was inexpensive, compared to building an entirely new shelter.  Second, the design is unique and picturesque, although at the same time more than adequate for a shelter.  Third, the cabin is well located, considering most factors.  On the Trail, this shelter is 4.6 miles from the Roan Highlands Shelter to the north, and 5.0 miles from the Clyde Smith Shelter to the south.  It thus provides another convenient place to hikers to stay overnight in the Roan Highlands area, which is perhaps the most popular section of the whole southern Appalachians.

The location does have the disadvantage of being relatively close to a road.  On the A.T., the shelter is only 0.4 miles from the nearest road.  This is not as bad as it sounds, because the cabin and surroundings now show few signs of abuse, it is not visible from the road, and the A.T. access has been blocked to vehicles.  However, this closeness to the road is still a calculated risk.  If experience shows that the cabin is being abused by non-hikers, it will be dismantled.

FOR THE RECORD

Maine Backpacking Trip - September 1980 - G. Newland
Two years ago I missed the Hiking Club's 88 mile trip on the Maine A.T. from Crawford Pond to the Kennebec River.  After this year's trip from Andover to Carabassett, I stayed over to "catch up".  Falsom's Flying Service picked me up at Pleasant Pond on Friday, Sept. 12 and deposited me on the beach at Crawford Pond about 6:00 P.M.; it was a good camp site.  The weather cooperated the next day and good views of Katahdin were available from Hay Mountain.  The weather for the rest of the trip alternated between heavy and light rain with brief periods of semi-sunshine.  I hiked alone but usually had company at the shelters or campsites.  Tuesday night at Shaw's Boarding House in Monson was enjoyable and Thursday afternoon, Sept. 18 found me back at the Kennebec.  The toughest part of the trip was travel to and from Maine.

Nantahala River Canoeing - September 13, 1980 - Warren McLain
We had six participants in five canoes for one of the most enjoyable canoe trips ever.  The weather was perfect.  TVA began generating about 11:00 a.m., with noon being about the earliest possible put-in time.  We had plenty of time on Saturday morning for good food, good fellowship, and a leisurely drive up the river stopping to scout the rapids without water in them.  Patton's Run looked downright intimidating without water to be so easy with water in it.

The run down the river was pure pleasure; no one went swimming unintentionally, and commercial rafters were only mildly annoying.  Nantahala Falls was successfully run by three canoes.  The others said they wanted to go swimming anyway.

Two of the restaurants in the immediate area were checked out and are recommended.

Participants were: Bob Seymour and Wes Wagner (C-2-0), Bruce Chamberlin, David Stalvey, Roger Green, and Warren McLain (All C-1-0).

Mt. LeConte Lodge Hike - September 27-28, 1980 - J. J. Vanderbilt
The fall Mt. LeConte Lodge hike, September 27-28, began at the Cherokee Orchard parking lot.  Temperatures were cool, and the sky was gray.  The hike followed the Rainbow Falls Trail to the summit.  Fine views were afforded along the way at Rocky Spur, as well as, at Myrtle Point and Cliff Tops at the summit.  Participants were served a hearty supper and an excellent breakfast at the Lodge.  Intentions of watching the sun rise were thwarted by rain which accompanied the hikers all the way down via Bullhead Trail to the parking lot.  The real challenge of the trip still lay ahead, driving through Gatlinburg on Sunday afternoon.  Participants on the trip were: Ben and Sunny Chaney, Earl and Raymond Brown, Linda and Rhea Robinson, Bob and Patti Hembre, Gary and Jeff Bridges, and Linda, Brooke, and Jeff Vanderbilt.

TEHC Appalachian Trail Conference Booth at Fort Henry Mall - Sept. 20-21, 1980
On September 20 and 21, members of TEHC constructed and staffed a display booth for the Appalachian Trail Conference at the annual Fort Henry Mall Merchant's Association Outdoorsman Show.  The booth consisted of maps, books, brochures, slide show and other displays emphasizing the volunteer aspects of trail management and maintenance.  Those helping out included Lewis Carson, Collins Chew, Terry Dougherty, Rick Phelps, Jeff Siirola, Jeff Vanderbilt, Frank Williams, and Vera Wortman.

TEHC MEETING - October 2, 1980 - Jeff Siirola
On October 2, ten members of TEHC met to discuss the status of Appalachian Trail special maintenance projects and to plan for the removal of most major blowdowns from recent storms before winter.  Members will hear more about this in the near future.