The Tennessee Eastman
Hiking & Canoeing
News

January 1993

Contents

• Hiking
• Canoeing
• For The Record

HIKING

WHITE ROCKS - BUFFALO MOUNTAIN PARK
(Scheduled for Saturday, January 16, 1993)
Leader: Collins Chew (615-239-6237)
Rating: Easy
We will hike the trails of Johnson City's Buffalo Mountain Park to White Rocks, overlooking the valley and Johnson City and in view of the ridges of the Unaka Mountains. I remember great views from my last trip there about 30 years ago. Hike distance: about 5 miles, easy to moderate (There may be other trails if some wish to explore further.) Driving distance: 25 miles each way. Bring lunch, water, and appropriate clothing for the weather which could be severe. Trip will be postponed if valley roads are icy.

Meeting Time: 8:00 am, January 16, 1993
Meeting Place: Parking Lot at Colonial Heights Walmart, on the side toward the red light.

THIRD SATURDAY MAINTENANCE (Scheduled for Saturday, January 16,1993)
Leader: Ted Malone (Phone: 615-477-2222)
Rating: Difficult
During the cold weather months we will be using our Third Saturday's to clear blowdowns from the A.T.  Murphy's Law for A.T. blowdowns is that trees on the right side will fall to the left, across the Trail, and the trees on the left will fall to the right. Compound this with a few heavy snows and some high winds and you have our typical mess at the beginning of the hiking season. The Club has three chain saws but if you have one and can bring it we will reimburse you for gas and oil. We will also be using some hand powered saws so there will be lots to do for everyone. We will proceed at a safe, comfortable pace. Bring extra water and a cup for hot chocolate. Call me for details and the meeting place at 477-2222 or Ed Oliver at 349-6668 or Joe DeLoach at 753-7903. The fourth Saturday will be our rain date.

TRAIL MAINTAINER'S DINNER MEETING - EVERYONE IS INVITED (Scheduled for Friday, February 5, 1993)
Leader: Ted Malone (Phone: 615-477-2222)
Rating: Excellent food!
The annual Maintenance Dinner Meeting will be held on February 5, 1993 at the Eastman Cabin. The happy half hour (refreshments will be on me) will start at 6:00 with dinner at 6:30. Mike, from the Original Hot Dog Hut, will cater all you can eat barbeque, ET dogs, slaw, etc. The price will depend on how many participants we have, expect to pay about $6.00 at the door. I will need to know by Feb. 2nd if you plan to eat so I can get a number back to Mike. At the meeting we will talk about some maintenance techniques, discuss team assignments for the coming year and go over the A.T. Committee's priorities list for '93. We will also introduce our agency partners from the Forest Service, our Trail Maintenance Team leaders and our members that have adopted parts of the A.T.  Morgan Sommerville, our ATC representative, will also want to catch us up on the latest from Harpers Ferry on new trail standards. We usually take our trail maintenance seriously but this will be an evening of socializing and good fun. All frowns and serious looks must be checked at the door. Bring a friend and come on out. For the Johnson City area call me at 477-2222 and for Kingsport area call Ed Oliver at 349-6668.

LECONTE CREEK TRIP (Scheduled for Sat-Sun, July 10-11, 1993)
Leader: Dewey Fuller (Phone: 615-764-7340)
Rating: Very Difficult
This is an off-trail hike, or bushwhack, up one of the creeks flowing off of Mount LeConte. The trip is very difficult and involves a long steep climb with very little time for resting. If you would like to go, send your confirmation check ($61.30) to Dewey Fuller, 608 Vance Drive, Bristol, Tennessee 37620. This price covers overnight accommodations at LeConte Lodge including dinner and breakfast. In the event that not enough creek climbers sign up to fill all 12 reservation slots, the trip will be open to those who prefer to make the ascent via one of LeConte's trails. Let me know, no check is necessary, if you would like to be placed on the standby list to go up a trail.

HIKE AND CANOE TRIP LEADERS NEEDED - It's time to prepare the TEHCC schedule of hikes and canoe trips for the first half of 1993. To continue our long tradition of offering a wide variety of outings, we need volunteer leaders. Send your list of hikes to Steve Banks, B-284, and your list of canoe trips to Dewey Fuller, B-150B. Include the name of the trip, date, rating (easy, moderate, or difficult), and your name and phone number. It's not difficult to lead an outing - contact Steve or any member of the Steering Committee if you have any questions.

ADOPT PART OF THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL PROGRAM (Ted Malone reporting) - Do you have a favorite part of the Appalachian Trail on our section that you hike quite often? As you walk through it do you pull trees out of the Trail that have fallen across it? After having lunch at the shelter, do you pick up the trash from around it and carry it out? How many times have you reached up and cut a branch out of the way? Are you doing this? If so we would like to know who you are, give you an opportunity to adopt that part of the Trail and to thank you for what you are doing. The Adopt-A-Trail is not a new idea to clubs that maintain the Appalachian Trail but it is to us. This idea will not replace our Annual Maintenance Teams but will supplement their work. We have some of the most unique scenery of all the 2200 miles of the A.T.  From the overlooks above the Nolichucky River up to Roan High Knob, across the balds to Hump Mountain, down through the gorge in Dennis Cove with its water falls and on around and above Watauga Lake, it is unsurpassed for its diversity and beauty. We would like to improve this. How? By moving the Trail a little here and there to take advantage of better views, make it longer in some areas to take away some of the steepness, double our number of shelters and the list goes on. All of this takes time and Club members that are willing to help. At present, most of our time is spent in just keeping the Trail open and passable. Two miles is about all one person can take care of if he goes out four times a year. A group such as a Scout Troop could adopt a longer section but some sections will be easy and some will not. If interested in our "Adoption Program" call Ted Malone at 477-2222 or Ed Oliver at 349-6668 for more details and to reserve your favorite part of the A.T.  In order to adhere to TEHCC, Appalachian Trail Conference and U.S. Forest Service standards, some instruction and training must be given.

CANOEING

No events scheduled.

FOR THE RECORD

ADOPT-A-TRAIL PROGRAM (Ted Malone reporting) - Luann Mack-Drinkard & Dee Drinkard, Erwin, have adopted from the Nolichucky River north to the Curley Maple Gap shelter. Luann has also designed a Hiking and Canoeing Club and a Maintainer's patch for us.
     Bill Berry, Erwin, has adopted the part of the Appalachian Trail from Spivey Gap north for 2 plus miles. The TEHCC section starts at Spivey Gap.
     Boy Scout Troop 36 of Johnson City has adopted their favorite section. It will be the first two miles south of Indian Grave Gap. Scout leaders over there are Don Dennis and Jim Brandt.
     Kathy McDavid's all girl and only girl Explorer Post in this area has adopted the Trail from Dennis Cove Rd north past the Laurel Fork Falls and up the blue blaze trail to the Laurel Fork shelter and loop back to the A.T.

LECONTE CREEK TRIP - July 11-12, 1992 (Dewey Fuller reporting) - This year's creek trip started out just like any other - breakfast at Green Valley restaurant joking and laughing about past trips, the drive to Porters Creek trail head, taking pictures of the group before starting the climb.  As it turned out, the trip was quite different from any I have ever been on, although it is not the first to turn out this way.  Stan Murray often mentioned one other creek trip where... well, to put it mildly, you might say specific goals for the trip were not realized.  I might add that Stan talked fondly of this similar trip of 10 or more years ago.  It seemed to be one of his favorites.  And this year's LeConte creek trip will, I'm sure, stick in the memory of all participants.  Like other creek trips, we had put in several hours making our way up a mountain creek with the flow steadily diminishing as we ascended.  On reaching the top of the ridge we expected to be on the trail and "out of the woods" so to speak.  This time however, the trail was not there.  We had come out on a spur ridge, Horseshoe Mountain, which connects into the main LeConte massif.  The main ridge and the trail were still an unknown distance away.  There was nothing to do but forge on ahead following the ridge line.  After hours of slugging through extremely dense rhododendron thickets, sometimes taking off our packs and pushing them in front as we belly crawled through, the daylight faded away and left us standing in the dark in front of yet another seemingly impenetrable thicket.  We sat down to rest while debating whether to go on or stop for the night.  As we reclined on the ground resting against our day packs and thinking halfheartedly about maybe going on, the twelve hours of creek-climbing and bushwhacking caught up with us.  In just a short while there was no more talk about going on that night.  That forest floor sure did feel comfy - even with all the sticks and rocks sticking up.  Things quieted down real fast.  After everyone settled in, the only sound in the clear, cool night was the occasional chattering of someone's teeth when a breeze would sweep over the knife-edge ridge we were bedded down on and take away the little bit of heat they had managed to save up under a thin plastic poncho.  I think everyone got at least a little sleep.  By the time there was enough morning light to burrow through the underbrush again, we had enough lying on the ground shivering; we were ready to move on and get back to civilization.  After a couple of hours we made one final very steep climb and found ourselves standing at the terminal end of the side trail leading to The Jumpoff.  It was a huge luxury to walk on a trail - no more belly crawling and being scratched and jabbed by briars and limbs!  The miles of trail we had to hike to get back to things like cars, towns, paved roads, etc. went fast and seemed almost effortless after what we had been through the day before.  LeConte Creek Trip participants this year were Barry Akin, Judy Dobles, Allen Crain, Jon Mather, Chris Morelock, Alan Gamble, John Thallemer, Linda Jewell, Mike Everett, and Kathy and Dewey Fuller.

CONTINUATION OF GETHER IRICK'S MASSACHUSETTS/CONNECTICUT HIKE TO EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA - November 5, 1992
(G. S. Luttrell reporting)
At the end of Gether's Mass/Ct hike on Thursday, Nov. 5, Don Baker and Garry Luttrell drove to Delaware Water Gap and hiked the 52 miles of eastern Pa. A.T. to Highway 309.  Congratulations to Gether for being one of the elite members of "A.T. Finishers".  Gether set a goal to finish the A.T. and accomplished it with an aggressive style of hiking.  Maybe there's a lesson there for all of us in accomplishing goals.  In Pennsylvania, Don and I were forced to wear bright colors so that the many grouse hunters could distinguish us from their prey.  As I hiked this section of the A.T., I became more aware of what the RESPONSIBLE CARE intitiative is all about: the A.T. follows Blue Mountain, and crosses the Lehigh River near Palmerton.  At Palmerton, there is an old zinc smelting plant that polluted the area and destroyed the vegetation for a ten mile radius much like what occurred at Ducktown, Tenn.  You can smell the stench of chemical landfill as you pass through the desolation that looks like a war zone.  There are signs posted that warn you that this area is a Superfund Site; not to take small children due to the danger of zinc, lead, and cadmium; and, do not drink the water due to metal poisoning.  One spring in this area was safe - it had a sign that said the water was last tested for metals in July, '92, but, treat any water that you drink and drink at your own risk.  After this experience in Pennsylvania, I am more appreciative of the effort TED is putting into RESPONSIBLE CARE and why it is important.

SOUTH BEYOND 6000 HIKE - CRAGGY DOME - November 5, 1992
(G. S. Luttrell reporting)
Saturday, November 14, proved to be a chilly but beautiful day to be hiking in the Craggy Dome area.  The trail starting at Carter Falls above Dillingham, N.C., is highly recommended as a very nice trail offering a variety of scenery passing waterfalls and virgin hemlock groves and ending with magnificent views from the Mountain to Seas Trail and Craggy Dome.  All or part of this route can be used for short hikes or longer hikes.  The cold temperatures from the previous night left ice and icicles on the falls and cascades.  Since the view from Craggy Dome was so good, we also climbed Craggy Pinnacle before returning to the car at Carter Falls.  Participants enjoying the nice day were Emmett Dougherty and Garry Luttrell.

APPALACHIAN TRAIL WORK TRIP: RELOCATION OF TRAIL BETWEEN DOLL FLATS AND U.S. 19E - November 14, 1992
Ed Oliver reporting
We flagged routes from a location about one mile trail north of Doll Flats heading towards Doll Flats and from Doll Flats heading towards U.S. 19E.  We were not able to connect the two flagged routes.  We ran into a combination of cliffs, poor soil, and rocks.  The route that Morgan had sketched out on the contour map would be very very difficult to build because of the rocks and poor soil.  We then searched for a route through the rocks and cliffs using stacked switchbacks.  We were not able to find a satisfactory route.  We then looked at the present trail location to see if we could improve the trail without moving it to another location.  We did not reach a definite conclusion.  Improvements to the trail at the present location would probably not be permanent.  They would probably involve steps which would have to be replaced.  This was evident from the conditions of the steps that the Konnarock Crew installed several years ago.  Some of the steps are still in place. However, many of them are missing.  In the words of Ray Hunt, we decided not to decide.  We did decide to try again at this location.  Morgan said that he might have trouble getting free for another weekend before the end of the year.  So we decided to use the scheduled trip of Saturday, December 5 to go back to the Doll Flats area to see if we could find an acceptable route through the rocks and cliffs.  Ray, Darrol Nickels and Morgan and perhaps other retirees will plan to flag the remainder of the Pond Mountain relocation on either December 8 or 9 (probably Wednesday, December 9).  We were disappointed that we were not able to find a good route on Saturday but we thought that we had made considerable progress.

CATAWBA / SOUTH TOE OVERNIGHTER - November 14-15, 1992
Dave Ingram reporting
During the week we were apprehensive about this trip materializing due to the low water conditions.  However, the rains came at the appropriate time and provided adequate water level for both rivers.  The Catawba, once again, proved to be a technical, but very enjoyable run.  It is a river we definitely plan to paddle more often.
The weather on Saturday was beautiful low 50's and sunshine.  Saturday night camping at the base of Mt. Mitchell was considerably colder: low 20's with snow flurries.
Sunday morning we put in on the South Toe with the temperature in the 30's.  The South Toe is a clear, cold, and very scenic stretch of river in the Mt. Mitchell drainage area.  We spotted a large school of trout in a pool below one of the rapids.
Participants included Ben Becker, Jamie Gaither, Cindy Wright-Pierce, Burchell Pierce, Brad Dayvolt, and Dave Ingram.

ABINGDON GAP SHELTER ROOF REPLACEMENT - November 18, 1992
Ed Oliver reporting
I don't know who deserves credit for leading this trip - probably Darrol Nickels with help from Bruce Cunningham and others.  The Abingdon Gap Shelter, located about one mile trail north of McQueens Gap, now has a new roof.  Darrol Nickels, Mary and Bruce Cunningham, Frank Williams, Jack Young, John Kiefer, and Ed Oliver joined forces to carry in the materials and replace the roof with a new metal roof.  This makes four shelter roofs that the club has replaced in the past few years.  Mary, Bruce, and Jack painted the walls of the shelter several days earlier.  A picnic table that was donated by Tim McClain was carried in to the shelter.  All those who participated enjoyed a beautiful fall day spent in the mountains.  The materials for the roof were furnished by the Forest Service as part of a challenge grant.  They furnished the materials and the club supplied the labor.

NEWSLETTER EDITOR SOUGHT
Eric Middlemas reporting
This is my last issue of the Hiking & Canoeing News as editor, and I await eagerly to pass the baton (or better yet, diskette!) to some lucky, enthusiastic volunteer willing to take over the job.  If you are interested in helping out TEHCC in this manner, please contact me at 615-282-6987.