HIKING & PADDLING NEWS

Contents

• Next Two Months at a Glance
• Hiking
• Paddling
• For The Record

HIKING

BAYS MOUNTAIN FIRETOWER
(Scheduled for Sat, 5 Mar 94)
Leader: Collins Chew (615.239.6237)
Difficulty: Easy
This will be a good starter hike for the Spring Season.  We will wind our way past the deer pen, the wolf, otter, and duck habitats and then follow the Lakeside Trail around the lake to the Firetower Trail and up to the Firetower with its great views of mountains, Holston River and Holston Defense Corporation.  We may return by the road through Ledbetter Gap and descend by Cherry Gap Trail to finish up crossing the Dam to the Nature Center.  There are other return routes if we want a longer and/or less steep return hike.  Things of interest include the animals, views, and the earliest Spring wildflowers.  On a scouting hike the wolves stalked me all the way around their pen and I saw more deer (5) on the Trail than in the deer pen.

Driving distance 10 miles, hiking distance 5 miles.  Meet at Bldg. 215 at Eastman at 8:30 AM, March 5, or at the far parking lot, near the Raccoon Cage at Bays Mountain Park at 9:00 AM.  (Park Gates open at 8:30 AM.)  Bring water, a snack, and appropriate clothing for the weather.  If you have a Bays Mountain Park Association Card, there is no parking fee for your car.  We should be back by 1:00 PM.

WATAUGA DAM ROAD TO SHOOK BRANCH
(Scheduled for Sat, 12 Mar 94)
Leader: Jim Mann (615.357.6301)
Rating: Easy
Come join us on this easy hike on the Appalachian Trail from Watauga Dam Road to Shook Branch Recreation Area.  We will cross Watauga Dam and will be treated to several great views of the lake and the surrounding mountains.  This hike is suitable for all hikers including families.  The hike is about 4.5 miles in length.  Meet at the parking area between McDonalds and Burger King in Colonial Heights at 8:30 a.m.   Bring lunch and dress for the weather conditions.  For more information, call Jim Mann at 357.6301.

A.T. DAYHIKES - NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY
(Scheduled for 12-20 Mar 94)
Leader: Kevin Edgar (615.239.5742)
Rating: Difficult
Contact trip leader for details.

VIRGINIA CREEPER TRAIL
(Scheduled for Sat., 19 Mar 94)
Leader: R. Hunt (615.288.5182)
Rating: Easy
Contact trip leader for details.

THIRD SATURDAY MAINTENANCE
(Scheduled for Sat., 19 Mar 94)
Leader: Ted Malone (615.477.2222)
We will continue to concentrate on blowdown removals this month.  This could be our easiest form of trail maintenance as we seem to hike a lot, reach the problem area and cut a little and then hike again to the next spot.  You don't have to be able to run a chainsaw to go one of these trips, so come on out and "take a hike" with us and enjoy the outdoors.  Call for more information or if the weather is questionable.

NOLICHUCKY OVERLOOK
(Scheduled for Sat., 26 Mar 94)
Leader: David Allen (615.239.7802)
Rating: Medium
We'll meet at the parking lot between Burger King and McDonald's for an 8:15 departure, and carpool to the trailhead on N.C. 197 just on the North Carolina side of Indian Grave Gap.  The hike is a fairly level hike of approximately 3-4 miles one-way through Pisgah National Forest, along an old logging road and with a number of crossings through Shinbone Creek.

We'll eat lunch at the end of the trail, overlooking the Nolichucky River about 600 feet below (I think).  A backtrack to the cars and a return drive will get us back to Kingsport around 2-3 pm.

Because of the number of creek crossings, water-tight boots are recommended, although rock-hopping will usually suffice, depending on the flow.  We can set a second rendezvous point in Johnson City, if desired; please call the trip leader to make arrangements.  If you have any questions, please call!

SOUTH BEYOND 6000 HIKE, PLOTT BALSAMS
(Scheduled for Sat., 26 Mar 93)
Leader: G. S. Luttrell (Phone 615.239.9854)
Rating: Difficult
We will try again on this SB 6K hike that needs to be done during the winter months when briars and weeds are not as healthy.  We will meet at 6:30 AM at the parking area just north of Burger King in Colonial Heights and plan on making a stop for breakfast in Asheville, North Carolina.  We will be starting the hike at the Waterrock Knob parking area near Soco Gap on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  From here we will bushwhack to Jones Knob and Plott Balsam, then return to qualify Watterrock Knob and Yellow Face.  Heavy briar resistant clothing and gloves are required; as well as clothing suitable for extreme weather conditions; lunch; and, plenty of water.  This will be a full day trip with late return to Kingsport.  A recent newsletter from the Carolina Mountain. Club indicated that the private property owners at Jones Knob were posting more areas for no trespassing.   Therefore, there may be some last minute changes to this hike.  Preregister by contacting the hike leader.

APPALACHIAN TRAIL CONFERENCE SOUTHERN REGIONAL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING
(Scheduled for 9 April 94)
Leader: Joe DeLoach (615.753.7903)
The 1994 Appalachian Trail Conference Southern Regional Management Committee (SRMC) meeting will be held on April 9 at the Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, North Carolina.  At this meeting members of the twelve Trail-maintaining southern clubs meet with ATC staff and Board members, and with our agency partners such as the Forest Service, to discuss issues relating to management of the Appalachian Trail.  This is the best opportunity we have to influence the policies under which the Trail is managed.   It is also a very good learning experience, an opportunity to make new acquaintances and renew old ones, and a fun time.  The meeting is closer this year than last year (Greensboro) so we hope to have a much better turnout this year than last (two).  The Kanuga Conference Center is in a very pretty rustic setting which offers inexpensive overnight accommodations on Friday and Saturday nights, with different packages including meals.  Please call Joe DeLoach at 753.7903 for more information and to obtain reservation forms.  Reservations must be received by March 23, so act fast!

TWO HIKES ON THE A.T.
(Scheduled for Sometime this Spring)
Leader: G. S. Luttrell (Phone 615.239.9854)
I've got two sections of the A.T. that I plan to backpack or dayhike sometime this spring:  The 41 mile section between Harper's Ferry and the Penn. line; and, the 39 mile section between Pearisburg, Va. and Sinking Creek.  I plan to hike these around weekends in combination with 1-2 days vacation.  I'm flexible on how and when to hike.  If you are interested in hiking one or both, let me know.

PADDLING

TELLICO RIVER
(Scheduled for Sat, 19 Mar 94)
Leader: Michael Bullard (615.246.6798)
Rating: III-IV
Contact trip leader for details.

LEADER'S CHOICE
(Scheduled for 26-27 Mar 94)
Leader: Dave Ingram (615.282.5856)
Rating: II-III
Contact trip leader for details.

YMCA POOL ROLL PRACTICE
(Scheduled for Jan - Mar, 1994)
Leader: Dewey Fuller (615.764.7340)
The Appalachian Paddling Enthusiasts and the Erwin Family YMCA will sponsor roll practice sessions at the Erwin YMCA (new building) every Tuesday from 6:p to 9:00pm starting January 4, 1994 and continuing through March 29.  To cover costs to the YMCA, there is a charge of $2 for A.P.E. members and $3 for nonmembers.  The plan is to have at least one instructor present at each session.  Since this person will be able to assist only a limited number of pupils, if possible, team up with another person so you can assist each other in practice.  The buddy system also helps reduce the problem of having too many boats in the pool at one time.  There will be a water hose hooked up to the right of the main YMCA entrance which should be used to clean your boat before bringing it into the pool area.

FOR THE RECORD

KEEPING THE TRAIL OPEN
(Ted Malone reporting)
1993 Hours: 7457
1994 Hours: 408
The unusual cold and wet weather has almost kept us indoors since Jan 1, but a few (44) daring maintainers have ventured out on 15 events to total up 408 hours.  Most of this has been to gather data on damage caused by the heavy snow and ice.  The annual Maintainer's Dinner Meeting was attended by 35 members and I would call it a success; it was semi-long on socializing with a good dinner and the business part was short and to the point.  The '94 Trail section assignments were given out, maintenance techniques and blazing were the heavy parts of the discussion.  We had two openings for Trail Team Leaders and I'm happy to announce that Mike Watts has accepted the leadership of one of the teams.  Thanks to all 200 Club members who made 262 trips last year to compile an astonishing 7457 hours.  This breaks down to almost 60 hours of volunteer work per mile of Trail.  The results of all this work can be seen as you hike any part of our 125 miles or listen to hikers and our Forest Service partners.   Lots of compliments last year on our dedication to keeping the Trail open.   The Third Saturday trips are not the only times we go out to do trail maintenance.   According to the stats, last year we went out almost every day and a half or every 1.3 days.  This is impressive but just a few people are doing a lot of work.  We need members to become more active, we need new members and we need more Trail Adopters.   Give me a call and check us out, I think you'll find it out of the ordinary and very rewarding.  Joe, the Third Saturday report went in first...

APPALACHIAN TRAIL MAINTENANCE IN 1993
(Joe DeLoach reporting)
Although our maintenance of the Appalachian Trail had been improving for the last several years, 1993 will go down as a year to remember.  We finished the year with a total of 7457 hours spent on Appalachian Trail maintenance.  By comparison in our best previous year, 1992, we put in about 4000 hours in Trail maintenance.  Our improvements were due not only to the dedication of many longtime Club members, but to many new volunteers.  A big part of this were our Trail Adopters, many of whom are not employees of Eastman but who have sections of the Trail that they have volunteered to maintain.  The Adopters logged over 1200 hours in 1993, and are now taking care of close to 40 miles of our 124 mile section.  They have become a very large and important part of our maintenance effort, and their work is greatly appreciated.

Another big reason for our improved Trail maintenance effort is the dedication of our Maintenance Coordinator, Ted Malone.  Ted's organizational skills have helped not only garner new efforts but also focus those efforts to places that need the work.

Not only have our efforts improved, but so have our results!  We built over 6000 feet of new Trail this year, and opened Trail relocations on Pond Mountain and at Doll Flats.  We cleared the blowdowns over our entire section of Trail this spring and received numerous compliments from hikers, many of whom had hiked parts of our Trail that were in poor shape in previous years.  We built two new bridges over Jones Branch near the Nolichucky River, replacing old bridges that were unsafe to cross in icy weather.   Several Trail shelters were repaired and/or reroofed, and next year we will have finished our shelter repair project.  We rehabilitated over a mile on sidehill Trail that had become unsafe due to neglect.  Finally and most importantly, we accomplished all these things by working safely, with no injuries to any of our volunteers again this year.

Although we accomplished a great deal in 1993, we need to continue our efforts in 1994 as well.  We have had a rough winter so far and the blowdowns are numerous once again.  If you have never worked in Trail maintenance, please consider helping out.   To all who did in 1993, thank you very much and congratulations on our success!

YELLOW MOUNTAIN TO U.S. 19E HIKE
6 Feb 94
(Rick Culbertson reporting)
Due to the weather (rain) and possible snow at higher elevation this hike will have to be rescheduled.  We ended up going to the Linville Gorge where luckily it wasn't raining.  Hikers included Bob Sherrill, Kurt "Coach" Kauffman, Dave Ingram, Burchell Pierce, and Rick Culbertson.

DOE RIVER GORGE
29 Jan 94
(Dewey Fuller reporting)
After all the bitter cold weather we had seen over the previous two week we felt lucky just to have temperatures high enough for liquid precipitation.  As it turned out, Friday marked the start of a perfect January paddling weekend - temperatures above freezing, drenching rain off an on all day long and lasting into the night.  TVA stream flow readings (cubic feet per second) before the trip:

Over 600cfs on the Watauga is above my comfort level so the Doe dropped out as the run of choice.  The Doe gorge was running right at 0 inches when we arrived at the takeout located behind Hampton High School.  Robbie Taylor, Paul Moran and I were the only ones to show up to make the run.  Several others had given half-hearted, sleepy sounding "maybe" commitments, but failed to show - guess they felt hibernation was an activity more fitting to the weather.  The steep walls of this narrow gorge make it very easy for downed trees to end up in the river to form strainer hazards.   This was my first run of the season (creek season, that is) and remembering all the downed trees blocking the river last year, I was particularly wary when approaching blind drops and bends in the steam.  We were pleased to find that most of the normal routes were not obstructed although there were still some partial blockages especially on the lower end near the takeout - trees, but no barbed wire this time.

After putting in at the new concrete bridge just off Bear Cage road, we paddled the first mile, class I-II, catching eddies and practicing ferries getting ready for the more challenging water just ahead.  The first few class IV drops are a good warmup for Body Snatcher.  After some careful scouting on the part of everyone, Robbie ran the very narrow slot to the left of Body Snatcher rock backwards - no hotdogging intended - but a well planned and well executed move which put him neatly in the eddy behind the rock - and more importantly, avoided the very nasty looking rock choked drop just below the slot.  Paul and I opted for the route to the right of the rock.  This move involves an abrupt change in direction before driving at an angle through a slot flanked by two threatening pourovers which could easily pin the imprecise paddler.  The middle part of Body Snatcher is a jumble of cross currents and hidden rocks just waiting to knock your boat off its line.  The final drop is a 4 foot ledge with a very nasty undercut bank on the right side which has pinned and otherwise messed around with at least two boaters I know. Everyone had clean runs through the rest of this one hitting the left side of the final drop and missing the undercut.

We were treated to more class IV thrills before getting to Flagpole the other "frequently portaged" rapid.  Flagpole is not the most difficult rapid on this run, but it does take the prize for being the nastiest looking.  The river splits around an island with most of the water taking the right hand route and crashing into a rock wall on the right then bouncing off to funnel down over very jagged, ragged streambed for the last half of the rapid.  The trick is to hit the first drop with just a tad of right angle, bounce back to the left just enough to miss going up against the right wall, but not enough to hit the car-size rock on the left.  But don't under any circumstance flip and risk having your face peeled back by that jagged stream bed... stay upright!!  Fortunately, we made it through Flagpole without the need for plastic surgery - only the bottoms of our boats suffered.  Another name rapid worthy of honorable (dishonorable?) mention is The Diagonals.  I know there is a good line through this one I just haven't found it yet.  Even with a boatfull of water I was happy to have made it through upright and with no unscheduled stops.  The rest of the run is loaded with more good stuff - technical class III-IV drops.  With temperatures in the high 39s (sounds almost hot, doesn't it), no snow, no swims, no pins and plenty of water, it was the perfect way to kick off the start of creek season.