HIKING & PADDLING NEWS

Contents

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

HIKING

GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN
(Scheduled: Saturday, 6 May 95)
Leader: Rick Lott
Rating: Moderate
Distance: 7 Miles
This hike will go from one side of Grandfather Mountain over the top and down the other side. There is about a 2000 ft. elevation gain. Calloway Peak is the highest point on the hike and offers some fantastic views if it is not up in the clouds. Please bring water, lunch, rain gear and an extra layer of clothing (gloves). Last year there was still ice around the summit. A sturdy pair of hiking boots should also be worn since much of the trail is rocky and steep. Contact the hike leader for times and meeting spots.

DAMASCUS A.T. DAYS
(Scheduled: 12-14 May 95)
Leader: Joe DeLoach
Rating: FUN!
See the April newsletter or call Joe DeLoach for details.

A.T. - 421 TO MCQUEENS GAP
(Scheduled: Saturday, 13 May 95)
Leader: Cris Moorehouse
Rating: Easy/Moderate
We will start where the A.T. crosses U.S. 421and travel north towards McQueens Gap (USFS Road 69). Total elevation gain should be less than 700 feet. We will meet at B-215 at 8:30 AM on Saturday, May 13, 1995. Bring lunch and water. We should be out of the woods by midafternoon. Call Cris Moorehouse for more details.

LAUREL FORK FALLS
(Scheduled: Saturday, 20 May 95)
Leader: Tim McClain
Rating: E-M
This hike will cover about 7 miles of trail along the Laurel Fork Creek. We will begin at the parking area at U.S. 321 in Hampton, hike on the fairly level trail which follows the creek up to Laurel Fork Falls where we'll eat lunch. We'll return on the same trail. Round trip is about 7 miles. Meet at the parking area between Burger King and McDonalds in Colonial Heights at 8:30AM. Bring lunch, water, and dress for the weather.

A.T. - CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA
(Scheduled: 27 May - 3 June 95)
Leader: Steve Banks
Rating: Difficult
This hike will cover the section of the A.T. between Rt. 501 and U.S. 11 in the Blue Mountain area of central Pennsylvania - a distance of 65.3 miles. We plan to stay in a local campground, and dayhike between 12 and 17 miles each day. If group interest permits, we will also hike an 18 mile section of the A.T. in southern Vermont and northwestern Massachusetts. Contact the trip leader for additional details.

1995 KONNAROCK CREW PROJECT - CLIFF RIDGE RELOCATION
(Scheduled: 25-29 May 95)
Leader: Joe Deloach
The Konnarock Crew is a summer work crew organized and funded by the Forest Service and the Appalachian Trail Conference. This year we will have four weeks of Crew time to work on a series of relocations collectively referred to as the Cliff Ridge Relocation. Cliff Ridge is the ridge that the Trail climbs steeply just south of the Nolichucky River near Erwin. Parts of the existing Trail are very steep, dangerous and painful to descend, and eroding badly. The relocations will swing the Trail away from the cliff to a more gradual grade, but will preserve the great views above the river. The first week of Konnarock Crew time will be Memorial Day weekend, with weeks to follow on July 27-31, August 3-7, and August 17-21. With good Club support we hope to complete the entire relocation in two years and open several sections this year. Volunteers who work at least five days with the Konnarock Crew win a year's free membership in ATC and the highly coveted, not-sold-in-stores/must-be-earned Konnarock Crew Crew T-shirt. Our Club has done very well with support from the Konnarock Crew, partly because we have had good Club participation with the Crew. We need your help once again to keep this support and to complete another much needed relocation. There will be organized trips each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday that the Crew is on our section. Please call Joe Deloach if you are interested in helping with this year's Crew project.

PADDLING

BLUESTONE RIVER - OVERNIGHT XVII
(Scheduled: Saturday-Sunday, 6-7 May 95)
Leader: Terry Dougherty
Rating: II/III
For the past 16 years we have made the trek to West Virginia to paddle the Bluestone. Fifteen out of sixteen we did paddle the river and 16 out of 16 we enjoyed good food, drink, and the company of some very nice people. I have reserved 8 rooms in Mt. Creek Lodge for Friday/Saturday nights. Camping is also available in the Park. Plan to meet at 9AM in the Mt. Creek Lodge parking lot at Pipestem State Park to start the trip. Please call me for reservations, information, or to tell me if you are going on the trip.

LOWER NOLICHUCKY PRE-SCHOOL SPRINT
(Scheduled: Saturday, 13 May 95)
Leader: Brad Dayvolt
Rating: II
This will be a quick run from the "Expeditions" campground to the Chuckey Trading Co. restaurant. This 10 mile paddle features many class II rapids and will be the setting for the following week's canoe school. We will check for strainers and other hazards and remove them as best we can. Contact the leader for details.

INTRODUCTORY CANOE SCHOOL 1995
(Scheduled: 18, 20, 21 May 95)
Leader: Brad Dayvolt
The 23rd annual School of River Canoeing, sponsored by the Tennessee Eastman Hiking and Canoeing Club in association with the APEs, will be held May 18, 20, 21. The school is targeted for beginner to intermediate solo and tandem whitewater canoeists and kayakers, and consists of an evening of lecture and video plus two river trips. As in the past there will continue to be a strong emphasis on river safety. Participants will be responsible for providing their own gear and transportation. Refreshments will be provided at the end of both river trips. The recommended text is BASIC RIVER CANOEING by McNair ($7.85 incl tax). This is an excellent book, and can be purchased at the school or in advance at the Eastman Employee Center.

Minimum required gear: Whitewater canoe w/one paddle per paddler plus one spare per boat, or a whitewater kayak w/paddle and sprayskirt. 1 life jacket per person. Canoes should have bow and stern lines. Rain jacket. Knee pads. Lunch. Change of clothes in a waterproof bag.

Schedule:
18 May (Thur) Lecture and films. 6:30 - 9:30PM. Eastman Employee Center, room 225.
20 May (Sat) River Trip, class I-II. 9:00AM, B215 parking lot
21 May (Sun) River Trip, class I-II. 9:00AM, B215 parking lot

Cost: $3.50 per student plus cost of text.

For additional information contact Brad Dayvolt. To register complete and return the form below.

Name: __________________________     Date: ____________

Address:

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

FOR THE RECORD

HIKE AND CANOE TRIP LEADERS NEEDED
(Steve Wilson Reporting)
It's time to prepare the TEHCC schedule of hikes and canoe trips for the second half of 1995. To continue our long tradition of offering a wide variety of outings, we need volunteer leaders. Send your list of hikes to Steve Wilson, B-150B, 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 phone number. It's not difficult to lead an outing - contact Steve, Dewey, or any member of the Steering Committee if you have any questions.

ORGAN PIPE NATIONAL MONUMENT
March 95
Bill Tindall reporting
For some time we have contemplated a trip to the desert during spring. A reward of two free airline tickets to anywhere rekindled these thoughts. A call to Organ Pipe Monument headquarters revealed the flowers were reaching their peak of what was predicted to be the best year in memory for the spring bloom. We threw backpacking gear into duffel bags, flew to Phoenix, rented a car and headed south.

Organ Pipe was created to preserve the northern tip of a Sonoran ecosystem that includes the organ pipe and related cactus, numerous other shrubs and flowers as well as plants so of the more familiar northern Sonoran desert, such as the saguaro cactus. The park has two roads, a few short trails, a campsite beautifully landscaped with native plants, and a zillion acres of desert. Lack of trails is not a problem. Nothing grows very thick and visibility is such that a day of hiking will not take you out of sight of prominent landmarks. Water is a problem; there isn't any, so day hikes are more attractive than longer treks. Trail food was spurned in favor of nightly trips across the border to a Mexican village where $3 would buy a memorable meal.

My misconception was that it rained in the spring and the next day everything bloomed. Spring is a succesion of bloom just as anywhere else, triggered by the light and warmth of spring (it reached 90) and enabled in a good year by ample spring rain. Annual and perennial flowers and shrubs created vast expanses of color. The cactus were starting to bloom but would not reach their peak for another month. The saguaros were as big as trees and as common as oaks around here. Another 20 varieties of cactus added variety. More than 200 varieties were reported blooming. The peak varies year to year according to rain and temperature and in dry years some things may not bloom at all. The helpful people at headquarters should be consulted.

ANNUAL WINTER DINNER
25 March 95
(Collins Chew reporting)
Cris Moorehouse arranged a fine Bar-B-Q dinner catered by Pratt's. Brad Dayvolt presented an exciting slide show of canoeing the San Juan River in Utah and of nearby scenic areas in Colorado. Mahoney's provided the outfitter display and some nice door prizes. Bob Tonnies arranged for an introductory Orienteering Session led by Becky Walker from Mahoney's and some friends. Awards were given out or announced: Hiker of the Year - Garry Luttrell, Maintainer of the Year - Ed Oliver, Paddler of the Year - Dave Ingram, and Stan Murray Award to Ray Hunt. Joe DeLoach updated the group on A.T. matters and passed out the maintenance hours awards. The more outstanding were: 1000 hour awards to Frank Williams, Darrol Nickels, and Bruce Cunningham and a 1500 hour award going to Ed Oliver.

LOWER NOLICHUCKY RIVER TRIP
8 April 95
(Ed Montgomery reporting)
This trip was originally scheduled for the South Toe, but due to the low water level on the South Toe it was moved to the Lower Noli. We arrived at the put-in (Noli Exp) under sunny skies with the Noli running around 1100 cfs. This was Mike Matthews first club trip and he was very excited to be out with this elite paddling group. We made our way down the first few rapids without incident and enjoyed the route changes due to the Noli flood which was described in great detail in our last newsletter. The last newsletter was excellent and Paul Savarese's trip report was unbelievable. I can't believe anybody would get on the Noli at 20,000 cfs!

We had only one out-of-the-boat experience as Mike had a close encounter with a friendly river rock. He lost his water, lunch, and some miscellaneous items as he learned one of his early river lessons - tie everthing in your boat. The group was getting hungry and we moved on to the famous Noli waterfall for some lunch and scenery.

Big Rock was hopping and the scenery was again excellent. Burchel and I played a little here and I paid the price for skipping roll school this past year as I missed my first combat roll. We then returned to the put-in where Mike test-paddled Burchel's solo boat. He is now in the market for a new solo boat, but plans to keep his tandem boat in case he gets lucky. Those river paddlers enjoying a nice long day of paddling included Mike "I heart whitewater" Matthews, Burchel Pierce, Dave "Tom Pridgen's favorite student" Ingram and Ed Montgomery.

HOLSTON MOUNTAIN REPORT
8 April 95
(Rick Lott reporting)
We had nine folks report for this hike. We had a beautiful day, sunny and warm. After a brief detour on the wrong trail head we headed up the mountain. The short spur trail which was accessed of USFS 87 was clear and well marked for the first mile. The trail then ascended rather steeply and had apparently been descended by some horse traffic recently (it is supposed to be a hiker only trail). The trail had been worn pretty badly by the horse traffic and was very narrow in some spots. We all found it hard to believe someone would descend that steep a trail on a horse. After reaching the top we ate lunch and some of those not so scared of heights climbed the fire tower for a nice view of South Holston Lake and Shady Valley on the south side. After traversing the ridge to the northeast for two miles we started descending on the Flint Mill Trail. There was a nice overlook at Flint Mill Rock overlooking South Holston Lake. From here the trail descended severely (as described by Ken Murray in his book). Severe was an understatement. The trail was extremely steep and covered with pine straw. The two ladies in our group perfected the slide down on your bottom descent technique. Half way down the grade flattened and we took the Flat Woods Horse Trail on its up and down path back. The hike leader misjudged the mileage and we were pushing 11 miles when we reached the power line just in front of the Short Spur Trail. By unanimous vote we made a beeline down the power line to the cars. We all agreed that this hike should have had a difficult rating. We all wearily headed to the Burger King at Piney Flats for milkshakes. Hike participants were: Steve Woody, Chris Niederer, Taylor Pickard, Charlotte Farmer, Neil Dotson, Brendan McSheehy, Robin Britton, Tessa Simons, and Rick Lott.