The Tennessee Eastman
HIKING & CANOEING NEWS

November 1993

Contents

• Hiking
• Canoeing
• For The Record

HIKING

FALL DINNER MEETING
(Scheduled for Saturday, 6 Nov 93)
Leader: Steve Perri (615.349.5091)
The 1993 Fall Dinner Meeting will be held at the Eastman Recreation Area Cabin on November 6, 1993.  Dinner will be served at 6:30 catered by Firehouse with a BBQ dinner.  Adults meals are $8.00/person and child's plates are $4.00/person.  Please use the Reservation form in the October Newsletter or contact Steve Perri at 615.349.5091.  Reservations are required by November 1.

The program presented will be a Panel Discussion of TEHCC A.T. Thru-Hikers with a short discussion of their experiences/incidents encountered while hiking the trail.  Following dinner will feature awarding the maintainer hour patches and Thru-Hiker awards.  For more information, please call 615.349.5091.

CAVE HIKE TO GILLEYS CAVE
(Scheduled for Saturday, 13 November 93)
Leader: Greg Kramer (615.349.6125)
Meet B-215 at 9:30 or the Parkway Plaza on Lynn Garden Drive at 10:00.  Join us for a trip to one of Southwest Virginia's longer caves.  This trip will be easy to moderate difficulty.  Caves in this area are a constant 55 degrees, so this will be a way to do something outside but inside.  You will need to bring a complete change of clothes (you may get wet), high top boots preferred, lunch, water, flashlight, 4 D cells and a trash bag for you clothes.  I will provide helmet and helmet mounted light.  I will need to know if you are coming to get enough helmets and lights.  If you want to go or have a question call Greg Kramer 349.6125.

A.T. HIKE - GROSECLOSE, VIRGINIA TO HIGHWAY 42
(Scheduled for Saturday, 13 November 93)
Leader: G. S. Luttrell (615.239.9854)
Rating: Moderate
I had originally scheduled a hike to the Plott Balsams on November 13 in the Hiking Schedule, but decided instead to do this section of the A.T. just north of Marion, Va. and north of Interstate 81.  We will meet at 7:30 AM at the parking area next to the Burger King in Colonial Heights.  This 12.5 mile section of the A.T. passes over Big Walker Mountain and Little Brushy Mountain, and passes by Tilson's Mill, which was featured as the August photograph in the 1993 A.T. calendar. Preregister by contacting the hike leader. The Plott Balsam hike will be scheduled sometime in '94.

SMOKIES DAY HIKE
(Scheduled for 13 November 93)
Leader: Kevin Edgar (615.246.9464)
Rating: Moderate
Contact trip leader for details.

PRESENTATION BY CHEROKEE NATIONAL FOREST ARCHAEOLOGIST
(Scheduled for Tuesday, 23 November 93)
(Joe DeLoach reporting)
On 23 Nov, Mr. Quentin Bass, Archaeologist for the Cherokee National Forest, will be presenting a program entitled "A Brief History of Time: The Changing Land Use of Our Southern Appalachians from 12,000 B. C. to 1993".  The talk will explore the relations of the Native Americans of East Tennessee and Western North Carolina to the mountain lands.  The program will be presented at the Holston Valley Unitarian Church on Tuesday, November 23 at 7:30 PM.  The church is near the Eastern Star Exit of I-181 and can be found by following the "Sierra" signs.  This program is being co-hosted by the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, the Roan Mountain Society, the National Audubon Society, and the Sierra Club.

HIKE AND CANOE TRIP LEADERS NEEDED
(Steve Banks reporting)
It's time to prepare the TEHC schedule of hikes and canoe trips for the first half of 1994.  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.

1994 STEERING COMMITTEE ELECTIONS
November is when the voting for the 1994 Hiking and Canoeing Club Steering Committee begins.  Three people will be elected to serve on the Steering Committee in 1994 and 1995; one of the three will be Steering Committee Chair in 1995.  Please vote for no more than three of the six nominees listed below and return the ballot to BECKY BELLAMY, Eastman Chemical Company, P.O. Box 511, B-89, Kingsport, Tennessee 37662 by 15 December 1993.

STORIES, TALES, HISTORY CONCERNING OUR A.T. SECTION FOR THE GUIDEBOOK
(G. S. Luttrell reporting)
During my short tenure as the Field Editor for the N.C./Tenn. A.T. Guidebook, one of the things I wanted to do for the next revision of our guidebook (which will probably be early 1995) was to include some interesting stories, history, (maybe some ghost tales), etc. that involve our section as well as those maintained by CMC and SMHC south on the A.T.

For example, the people who buried Nick Grindstaff had to kill Nick's dog to get near the body, because the dog was protecting it. The dog was buried with Nick. There's a story about an hermit who lived with his pigs in a cave near the A.T. There's a tale about a haunted cove near Camp Creek Bald on the North Carolina side - something about a person riding her horse holding her head in her arms. My younger son is dating a girl with the last name Peake, and I found out that her distant great uncle is Cornelius Rex Peake - the man who has a plaque on Grassy Ridge. I plan to go to the Burnsville library to see what additional information I can find on Cornelius.

Did you ever wonder how some of the spots on the trail got their name - such as what's the story behind Jane of Jane Bald? And, there's got to be some interesting Civil War stories along the A.T. Ray Hunt, Joe DeLoach, Kevin Edgar, and I have formed a committee to search out some of these stories, tales, history. If you would be interested in helping out in this effort, or if you have some interesting stuff to pass on, contact one of the four committee members. Credit will given in the Guidebook for sources of information. We plan on asking the CMC and SMHC for help in gathering information on their A.T. sections.

DEVIL'S FORK TRAIL AND PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST
(Joe DeLoach reporting)
The Devil's Fork Branch of Stoney Creek in Virginia's Jefferson National Forest is a very scenic area known for an interesting geologic feature - the Devil's Bathtub. A new trail has recently been blazed by the Clinch Ranger District in conjunction with the Devil's Fork Trail Club. To help introduce this trail, the Devil's Fork Trail Club and the Appalachian Highlands Group of the Sierra Club are sponsoring a photography, art, and essay contest. A total of $1000 in prizes will be awarded, and most winning entries will be published in a trail guide during 1995. The contest is open from now until 31 Oct 94. For a copy of the contest guidelines and more info write to Devil's Fork Contest, c/o Creekside Press, P. O. Box 331, Abingdon, Virginia 24210 or call 703.628.6416 and ask for Devil's Fork Contest packet.

CANOEING

CATAWBA RIVER TRIP
(Scheduled for Sat-Sun, 13-14 Nov 93)
Leader: D. Ingram
Rating: II-III
Contact trip leader for details.

FOR THE RECORD

GREAT SMOKIES BACKPACK
27-29 August 1993
(Collins Chew reporting)
The date and location were changed from that announced and the potential participants changed up to the last minute, but we did have a fine three day backpack from Newfound Gap to Cades Cove in the Smokies. The weather was quite warm but otherwise pleasant. We saw a bear on Thunderhead Mountain and were joined by several deer at and around Russell Field Shelter. At that shelter, we witnessed "comfort" backpacking with folks bringing up lawn chairs, fresh eggs bacon, etc. It was a pleasant weekend and good training for Wyoming the next weekend. Many thanks to the wives for arranging the car positions for us. (Gary's entire family and daughter's boyfriend were necessary for last minute vehicle arranging.) Hikers were Dr. Gary Bush and Collins Chew.

WIND RIVER RANGE WYOMING
4-13 September 1993
(Collins Chew reporting)
Glorious weather attended our trek through the beautiful, stark, and magnificent middle section of the Jim Bridger Wilderness in the Wind River Range of Wyoming. We hiked a 36 mile loop out of Elkhart Park with nights at Seneca Lake, Island Lake, Shannon Pass, Gottfried Lake, and Long Lake. Two night stays in the middle allowed us to visit Titcomb Basin, the Continental Divide and its glaciers at Indian Pass, and Stroud Peak or Peak Lake. Most camps were above 10,000 feet elevation with Shannon Pass not only above timberline but out of sight of timberline, although Andy did find a log with which to build a fire. A couple of high points were above 12,000 feet.

The long trek and worries of weather forced our pack weights to 55-60 pounds; however, everyone handled the weight and the altitude OK. Wildflowers were in profusion throughout the trip from the wealth of beautiful, blue Sky Pilot flowers at 12,198 ft. Stroud Peak (They grew so thick that there were a few complaints about that flower's attribute which justifies the alternate name of Skunkweed.) to the blooming sagebrush and striking Scarlet Gilia at 7,500 feet in Pine Creek Canyon. In such a remote location, it was comforting to have a camp doctor, Dr. Bush, who willingly dispensed minor pain remedies, taped an ankle, and bandaged the leg of a U. S. Forest Service worker whose leg was cut by glass while picking up litter. G. Luttrell did a great job in his first time planning meals for a large group for a lengthy stay. Due to miscommunication early on, I did most of the cooking. I made them promise not to tell my wife I knew how to cook chicken and dumplings and apple cobbler. G. Bush did a great job cooking the trout which G. Luttrell caught. There were limited views of wildlife with the best being the moose which mingled with the children swinging in the Pinedale Town Park and the bald eagle in a tree beside the road on the way to the airport in Jackson. We saw many droppings and tracks and did see a few deer, moose, picas, marmots, squirrels, chipmunks, and many birds along the trail. Hikers were Dr. Gary Bush, Ted Cross, Collins Chew, Andy Kwas, Garry Luttrell, and Gordon Newland.

OVERMOUNTAIN BARN REPAIR
18 September 1993
(Ed Oliver reporting)
On Saturday, September 18, 1993 seven club members drove to the Overmountain Barn to continue the repair work that Frank Williams and Darrol Nickels had started two days before. We installed bracing at several places in the barn loft, completed digging the ditch on the upper side of the barn, put plastic sheeting and drain line in the trench, put all the gravel (several tons) in the trench, cut a door from the main aisle of the barn into the lower section so that hikers could get to the lower area without going out of the barn, installed railing and a hand rail around the steps to the loft, installed a railing at the outside opening in the loft, and used a few left over planks to make a six foot bench on one side of the loft for hikers to set on. We completed all the repair work on the barn except for a new roof. The metal roofing for the barn has been purchased and will be painted before it is installed on the roof. We had a good day considering the prediction was for rain. We were in the fog most of the day. The rain held off until about five minutes before we left. We got a great deal of work accomplished and the barn is in much better condition as a result of our efforts. Those helping on this third Saturday work trip included Ted Malone, Steve Banks, Steve Perri, Jim Mann, Darrol Nickels, Frank Williams, and Ed Oliver. This work was part of a cost sharing grant from the Forest Service. They provided the materials and we provided the labor.

GRASSY RIDGE MOONLIGHT HIKE
25 September 1993
(Gether Irick reporting)
Well, the moon only showed it's face for about 5 minutes, but 11 intrepid hikers braved clouds and fog to enjoy a sumptuous feast of assorted junk food on the "rocky top" of grassy ridge. We left Colonial Heights at 6:30, drove to Carvers Gap, and then hiked over Round Bald, engine gap, and Jane Bald to the >6000-foot peak. Lights from towns in the valley were crystal clear for part of the way, but disappeared as we entered the clouds near the top. A couple carrying a lot of gear and a Coleman lantern was hiking up the mountain as we descended. Arrival back in Kingsport was nearly 1:00 AM. Enjoying the flashlight hike were Hartmut Karnick (came all the way from Europe to hike with us), Greg, Betty, Charlotte and Graham Kramer, Jan Mayo, Tom Abrahamsen, Cathy and Dewey Fuller, Don Baker and Gether Irick.

PUBLIC LANDS DAY
9 October 1993
(Frank Williams reporting)
Steve Perri, John Thompson, Glenn Marshall and Frank Williams spent the hours between 10 AM and 3 PM at Warrior's Path State Park celebrating Public Lands day. The turn out was not as great as we had hoped, but it was a beautiful day, the entertainment and food were good and we led three short hikes. Our two hikes were marked up to three when several children missed the departure of the first hike. We had the same display used at the A.T. Deep South Conference. There were a number of exhibitors present, including the Cherokee National Forest, TVA, Tennessee State Forest, Sierra Club, Watauga Audubon Society, Greeneville Hiking Club, and several municipal and county organizations. Even though the attendance was low it was a worth-while undertaking.