HIKING & PADDLING NEWS

Contents

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

HIKING

LEADER'S CHOICE
(Scheduled for Sat, 2 Apr 94)
Leader: K. McDavid (615.349.4901)
Difficulty: Easy
Contact leader for trip details.

GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN/DANIEL BOONE TRAIL
(Scheduled for Sat, 9 Apr 94)
Leader: R. Lott (615.282.5404)
Rating: Moderate
Distance is approximately 7 miles.  The hike that is planned will start on Highway 105.   We will hike up Grandfather Mountain on the Profile Trail, go across the top ridge on the Grandfather Mountain Trail and then descend down to the Blue Ridge Parkway on the Daniel Boone Trail.  There is a hike permit fee of $4/person that we will need to purchase at the store near the trail head.  Bring lunch, water, rain gear and an extra layer of clothing.  Low temperatures and strong winds are possible at the summit in April.  We will meet at 8 o'clock beside the Burger King in Colonial Heights and/or beside the Pizza Hut on South Roan Street in Johnson City at 8:30 am.   Please call the hike leader if you are interested in going - 282-5404 (Johnson City).

BACKPACK ON THE A.T. - PEARISBURG, VIRGINIA
(Scheduled for Fri-Sun, 15-17 Apr 94)
Leader: G. S. Luttrell (Phone 615.239.9854)
Rating: Moderate-Difficult
This three day, 40 mi. backpack trip will pass through scenic areas such as Kelly Knob, Potts Mountain, White Rocks, Wind Rock, and Peter's Mountain.  We'll drive up to Pearisburg, Virginia on Thursday night, spend the night in a motel, and get an early start Friday morning where the A.T. crosses Highway 42 at Sinking Creek.  Contact the hike leader for details.

BRADLEY GAP TO DOLL FLATS
(Scheduled for Sat, 16 Apr 94)
Leader: G. Newland (615.246.8845)
Rating: Moderate
This will be a circular hike starting at Shell Creek.  We'll go up to Bradley Gap, hit the A.T. and head north to Doll Flats.  Meet at B-215 parking lot for an 8 AM departure.  Bring lunch and raingear (just in case).  Contact trip leader for details.

A.T. MAINTENANCE - U.S. 421 TO TENN. 91
(Scheduled for Sat, 16 April 94)
Leader: Kevin Edgar (615.239.5742)
We will be maintaining a moderate 6.9 mile section northeast of Elizabethton.   The section has some open fields and views, and includes the intersection with the Holston Mountain Trail.  We will be blazing, clipping, removing a few blowdowns, cleaning up the shelter area, and other assorted chores.  The wildflowers should be beautiful, the work worthwhile, and the company is always a joy as well.  Come join us if you can.  Old clothes, work gloves, lunch, water, and rain gear are highly recommended.  Call Kevin at if you plan to come so that we can arrange to have enough tools for everyone.

TEHCC THIRD SATURDAY MAINTENANCE
(Scheduled 3rd Saturday in each month)
Leader: Ted Malone (615.477.2222)
Rating: Safe and at a comfortable pace
All the maintenance teams try to have their first trip completed on their sections by the end of April.  Some thru hikers reach our section in March but the majority hit around April and May so we try to be ready for them and have the Trail open and in good shape.  We will not have an official Third Saturday this month but instead will spread it out over all five Saturdays in April and concentrate on helping the Maintenance Teams.  Pick out a Team Leader below, give him a call and offer to help.  We will probably have a special project to work on sometime during the month so if you are interested in that give me a call.  Team Leaders are: Rick Zimmerman 288-2921, Garry Luttrell 239-9854, Jeff Siirola 288-4147, Kevin Edgar 246-9464, Greg Kramer 349-6125, Darrol Nickels 239-5442, Ted Malone 477-2222, Don Baker 245-9812, Steve Falling 239-5502, Mike Watts 229-5918, Steve Perri 349-5091, Ed Oliver 349-6668, David Allen 229-5182, P.R. Jones 288-5858, Waylon Jenkins 245-1932, Collins Chew 239-6237, Cris Moorehouse 246-7283, Dewey Fuller 229-4899, Joe DeLoach 753-7903.

VIRGIN FALLS NEAR CROSSVILLE, TENNESSEE
(Rescheduled for 30 Apr - 1 May 94)
Leader: T. Malone (615.477.2222)
Rating: Moderate (6 miles one way)
The long drive will dictate that we leave Friday after work and spend the night in Crossville.  An early start on Saturday will give us plenty of time to hike in, look at the falls (3) and maybe explore some caves (3).  Call for more info.

LAUREL FALLS
(Scheduled for Sat, 23 Apr 94)
Leader: Steve Perri (615.349.5091)
Difficulty: Easy
We'll meet in the parking lot between McDonald's and Burger King in Colonial Heights for a departure of 8:30 and carpool to the trailhead in Hampton.  This access point is fairly convenient and gets us to the A.T. in about a mile.  The falls can be accessed by a lower trail near the water and an upper trail could be used on the return trip for views of the gorge.  This is one of our section's most popular hikes and will be a great time of year to go.  Round trip is about 5 miles.

We'll eat lunch at the falls or at one of the neighboring recreation areas along Watauga Lake so bring your lunch, water or whatever you would like to drink.  Other meeting locations can be arranged in Johnson City to pick up others.  For more information or questionable weather, call the trip leader.

DOLL FLATS WORK TRIP (WITH ASU)
(Scheduled for Sat, 23 Apr 94)
Leader: Ed Oliver (615.349.6668)
A class of students for Appalachian State University plans to help us with the relocation trail north of Doll Flats in the Roan Mountain area.  The instructor estimates that up to twenty students should participate.  We need club members and other interested people to help with this work.  No prior experience is required.   Tools and refreshments will be provided.  Work gloves, lunch, and a willingness to help with an important trail relocation are the only prerequisites.   This work will involve several different jobs, including but not confined to side hill digging.  If you don't enjoy side hill digging, there are other important opportunities for you with this relocation.  Meet at the parking area between Burger King and McDonalds in Colonial Heights at 8:00 a.m.  If you plan to help with this work or want additional information, please call Ed Oliver at 349-6668.  I need to know how many people plan to help so that I can have enough tools for everyone.  In case of bad weather, the trip will be rescheduled for the following Saturday (April 30, 1994).

WILDFLOWER HIKE - ROCK CREEK FALLS
(Scheduled for Sat, 30 Apr 94)
Leader: Joe DeLoach (615.753.7903)
Rating: Moderate
Late April is one of the best times to hike in East Tennessee, with lots of water in our waterfalls and early spring wildflowers brightening the landscape.  This year we will have a Spring Wildflower Hike to one of our nearby waterfalls, Rock Creek Falls near Erwin.  Most of this hike is easy, but there are several creek crossings where you may get your feet wet.  The hike is around 3 miles up an old roadbed where flowers should be abundant.  There are several cascades and two major waterfalls, one about 40 feet high and one about 50 feet high.  The creek crossings and the areas around the falls are not dangerous and the hike is suitable for supervised children.  Most of the way we will be in the Unaka Mountain Wilderness Area, where group size should be limited to 14 people.  Therefore, please register with the hike leader as soon as possible if you would like to participate.  We will meet at 9:00 AM at the parking lot between Burger King and McDonald's in Colonial Heights.  A meeting can be arranged in Johnson City also.  We'll plan to have lunch at the upper falls.   Bring a jacket in case of rain (the hike will be postponed in case of heavy rain); also, an extra pair of shoes and socks in the car is advised.

HIKE AND CANOE TRIP LEADERS NEEDED
(Steve Banks reporting)
It's time to prepare the EHC schedule of hikes and canoe trips for the second 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 paddling 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.

PADDLING

NOLICHUCKY GORGE
(Scheduled for Sat, 9 Apr 94)
Leader: Michael Bullard (615.246.6798)
Rating: III-IV
Nolichucky Gorge (if the water is low enough <3000 cfs), if not then possibly the Big Laurel, Toe Gorge, Tellico, Ocoee, etc.  Please contact me at 246.6798 to get your name on the list for possible last minute changes and details.

SOUTH TOE RIVER
(Scheduled for Sat, 23 Apr 94)
Leader: Ed Montgomery (615.357.8721)
Rating: II-III
The South Toe River is located in North Carolina and it's headwaters are on Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Rockies (elevation 6,684 ft.).  We will paddle Section 2 and it is a very fine stretch of scenic water.  It has class A scenery, excellent water quality, a rating of 2-3, and runs for about 7 miles.

We will meet at the Burger King in Colonial Heights at 8:00am and combine boats.   This is not a dam controlled river and we may have to alter our choice of rivers based on water flows.  Please preregister - 357.8721.  Plan to bring standard safety equipment, cold weather gear and lunch.

FOR THE RECORD

KEEPING THE TRAIL OPEN
(Ted Malone reporting)
1993 total hours: 7400 (Best Year Ever!!)
1994 hours to 12 March: 1267
Well, we're off to a great start this year for trail maintenance.  The 1,267 hours were accumulated by 79 Club members participating in 44 events.  We got off to a slow start because of the weather but it's picking up.  We have had a concentration of blowdown removals and not just during the Third Saturday Maintenance trips. Teams as well as Adopters have been out trying to get the Trail in shape for this season's thru hikers.   Some have already been by on their way north.  Dave Patrick at the Mt Rogers Outfitters in Damascus gathers Trail data for us and sends it to me.  Five members have officially been chainsaw certified by the U.S. Forest Service.  Our excellent instructors were Doyle Tipton and Bob Eaton.  Daniel Sprinkle and Scout Troop 4 from Piney Flats along with some TEHCC members finished installing the middle bridge on Jones Branch.  We have three new bridges trail north of Nolichucky Expeditions.  They are works of art; check them out.  One last comment: if you go out, take someone with you, work safe, enjoy the trip and send me a report....and thanks.

WHITETOP MOUNTAIN TO VIRGINIA CREEPER TRAIL
19 Feb. 94
(G. S. Luttrell reporting)
We were able to take advantage of the window of spring-like weather sandwiched in between periods of rainy, winter type weather for this hike.  After spotting a car at Va 728 on the Virginia Creeper Trail we drove to Elk Garden to begin a 10 mile hike across Whitetop Mountain.  The recent ice storm left many blowdowns on the north slope of Whitetop Mountain, and we met some members of the Mount Rogers Club clearing blowdowns on Lost Mountain.  Fortunately, the damage was concentrated in two small areas, so it did not slow us down that much.  The views were very good from Whitetop, and we had a breezy lunch at Buzzard Rock.  Participants in the hike included Lowell Toof, Susan Greenwood, Don Kreh, Peter Hunter, Wayne Sparks, Charlotte Floyd, Billy Luttrell, and Garry Luttrell.

SECTION USFS 230 TO IRON MOUNTAIN GAP - UNAKA MOUNTAIN AND CHERRY GAP
12 March 94
(Collins Chew reporting)
The day started cold and with a beautiful blue sky and became warmer with high overcast, really ideal.  Rime ice up to two inches long coated the trees in rather patchy areas.  We painted blazes South to North, clipped rhododendron and blackberries, cleared all but one of blowdowns that can't be stepped over easily, and picked up litter.  Cherry Gap Shelter was occupied by college boys on an outing of a few days.  USFS 230 was relatively easy with our four-wheel drive vehicles.   Workers were Raymond Brown (less than half the age of the others and very energetic with a bow saw), Earl Brown, Chet Bruner, John Kiefer, and Collins Chew.  The "Gang of 8" Trail Adopters promise to get that blowdown on the next decent Wednesday.

BAYS MOUNTAIN FIRETOWER
5 March 94
(Collins Chew reporting)
Seven hikers were treated to a beautiful blue sky and pleasant temperatures for the hike to the Bays Mountain Firetower.  It was too early for wildflowers but the bare trees allowed us to have many distant views unavailable in Summer.  We did see many seashell fossils in the shale of the Cherry Knobs.  Hikers were Jan Mayo, Bob and Suzie Cassell, Richard and James Kilby, and Charlotte and Collins Chew.

MORRILLS CAVE HIKE
(G. Kramer reporting)
We had an inauspicious start to a good hike.  We had 4 car loads of people for car pooling and I had lost sight of the last car between the Colonial Heights entrance to I-81 and the Airport.  We stopped at Memorial to wait and no fourth car, well I turned around and went back.  Found our lost souls at the Airport Exit, out of gas.  They were already returning with gas about the time I showed up.  We gassed up and continued to our destination with no more problems.  We geared up and went into the cave on an overcast but not rainy day.  Now it had been raining a lot the previous week so I expected high water in the cave.  This cave is an outflow cave so my concern was water level in the cave trying to get out and not being able to get in.   Water levels were high, places where we had last year stepped on stones to keep our boots dry were now shin deep.  There were some high school kids in the cave also.   Apparently they didn't know much about the cave so they shadowed us to find where some of the passages went.  We were going to go straight to the back of the cave and it was a good thing.  We got to where the stream passage peels off the Signature Room and what was shin deep water was now over my head.  By staying high we avoided water and climbed toward the Fairy Ballroom.  This passage was last time a flat mud floor, well this time it was ankle deep water.  We continued on into the main trunk and finally turned around when the passage became tight.  We probably were half way down the main truck to the split of the Onward Crawl and Foster Crawl.  After turning around we went toward the White Room section and found this passage full of water also.