OLD FASHION CAMPING - NO HIGH TECH STUFF
Leader: G. S. Luttrell, (Scheduled for Good Friday -Saturday - April 5 - 6, 1996) Difficulty: Easy. I'm moving this trip back one day to avoid Easter Sunday: it was originally scheduled 4/6-7. The idea on this trip is to utilize older equipment, menu items that were utilized year's ago, and showcase the way it used to be. Of course, if some of you younger guys only have modern, hi-tech stuff, you are welcome to come along; but, be prepared for tongue-lashing and lambasting from the others. The plan is to hike in from Massie Gap, at Grayson Highlands, a short distance to the first campsite on the A.T at the base of Wilburn Ridge. We will leave at 10 am on Friday, and plan to return to Kingsport early Saturday afternoon, in plenty of time for Easter Celebrations. Contact the hike leader if you are interested and to obtain further details.
SPRING WILDFLOWER HIKE - ABRIGHT GROVE (Scheduled for April 20, 1996) Leader: Joe DeLoach, Rating: Easy. While a long drive to the Smokies for a relatively short 6.8 mile hike may not seem appropriate, the Albright Grove is such a special place that I believe you'll find it worthwhile. The Albright Grove is one of the finest examples of a virgin cove hardwood forest left in the Eastern United States. There are many giant hemlocks and tulip trees, including one with a circumference of 25 feet! There is also a fine display of wildflowers and the beautiful Indian Camp Creek (which, I promise, you won't have to wade across even once!). The Albright Grove is accessed from the Maddron Bald Trail near Cosby. This trail is easy walking in the stretch that we will traverse. We then intersect the Albright Grove Loop Trail which winds through the giant forest for 0.7 miles. The grade the entire way is easy and the trip is suitable for all ages as long as the 6.8 mile round trip distance is not a problem. We'll leave from the parking lot between Burger King and McDonald's in Colonial Heights at 7:45 AM on Saturday, April 20. Please let me know if you'd like more information and please contact me beforehand if you plan to go so I'll be looking for you.
SAM'S GAP TO SPIVEY GAP: April 20, 1996, Rated Difficult, Contact Emmett Dougherty for details.
TRAIL MAINTENANCE - A.T - U.S. 321 TO DENNIS COVE
Leader - Kevin Edgar, (Scheduled for Saturday, April 20, 1996) Rating - Moderate. This is the easiest and one of the most scenic sections on our part of the Appalachian Trail. We will hike and maintain the less than four miles of A.T and blue-blaze trail, accessing the A.T via the blue-blaze trail at Hampton, and winding up on Dennis Cove Road. On the way we'll pass the beautiful Laurel Falls, cross several fine bridges, and generally enjoy a moderate walk through the woods. Come share a spring day, scenery, get one of those anniversary hike sections, and feel good from giving back to the trail - all at once. Please contact the leader if you plan to come so we will have enough tools, and to find out our meeting place. You'll need work gloves, lunch, water, and rain gear. We will plan to leave at 8:00 am Saturday morning.
FOUNDERS HIKE - 50TH ANNIVERSARY - BUCKEYE FALLS
Leader Frank Oglesby. Scheduled: Sunday April 27, 1996. Rated: Easy to Moderate. Researching the original hike notice in the TEC News I discovered that the 1946 hike was Sunday April 28. It seems appropriate therefore to observe the 50th on the exact anniversary of the 1st hiking activity of the club. Quoting from the hike notice of the 40th anniversary hike: " The activities of the Tennessee Eastman Recreation Hiking Club began on a Spring Sunday, April 28, 1946, with a hike to Clark's Creek. How that particular location was chosen has probably long been forgotten by the eighteen people who inaugurated the club activities. Actually to even call it a "club" at that point is stretching a point: no constitution, no by-laws, no officers - only a will to start a program to begin getting into and becoming better acquainted with the mountains that surrounded us and afforded the best of outdoor activity to be found anywhere. The idea took, and now forty years later we return to Clark's Creek, which by the way is south of the Nolichucky River, off of Highway 107 in the Rich Mountains, just west of Bumpass Cove..."(Buckeye Falls is at the head of Clark's Creek). Another fact discovered: Vol 1, No 1 of the TEC NEWS was published March 12, 1946! This may help explain the club activity starting at this time as prior to this time no plant wide publication for dissemination of information existed. Notices of the club's impending birth started appearing in the first and subsequent issues, but most of the first hikers were prior acquaintances. In the early years it frequently became the habit after a hike to stop at a restaurant on the way back to Kingsport for dinner. So - following this hike we (those who so desire) will go by the Chucky Trading Co. restaurant on the Nolichucky at Embreeville. They have space where we can talk and maybe dig up some more tall tales. Please call me of your intentions so I can tell the restaurant of our number. We will depart from the parking lot between Burger King and McDonalds at Colonial Heights at 1:00 PM.
PADDLING

WILSON CREEK GORGE: Rating: III/IV (V)
Leader: Bob Tonnies (Scheduled for Saturday, April 13, 1996). With a little luck, we'll have the water to make this run. I've paddled this river all of one time, so we'll count on scouting most drops, unless I can enlist someone who knows the river well enough to lead from the boat. Luckily, this river is an easy one to scout, since the access road runs its full length. This creek is mostly III/IV at normal levels with one drop (easily portaged) that has some serious consequences; it's in the same ballpark as the Doe Gorge. If we don't have the water, we'll look for something of similar difficulty.
LEADER'S CHOICE: M. Morrow April 14, 1996, contact trip leader for details.
SOUTH TOE RIVER TRIP, - Scheduled Saturday - April 20, 1996 Leader: Ed Montgomery.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. It is a very fine stretch of scenic water. It has class scenery, excellent water quality, a rating of 2-3, and runs for about 7 miles. We will meet at the Burger King in Johnson City (University exit) at 8:00 am 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 call trip leader to preregister. Plan to bring standard safety equipment, cold weather gear and lunch. DOE RIVER: M. Morrow April 21, 1996, contact trip leader details.
FOR THE RECORD

DEVIL'S FORK GAP TO SAMS GAP: March 2, 1996 Reporting Emmett Douherty. This 8.2 mile hike started at Devil's Fork Gap with a very cold breeze and about 1 inch of snow on the ground. It was a beautiful day for the hike with temperatures around 40. We hiked up to Sugar Loaf Gap and on to Frozen Knob summit where we saw a huge rock formation shaped like a rabbit. We had several rewarding views near High Rock. The trail was in great shape with about 5 tree blown. Hikers who enjoyed the trip were Phyllis Caines, Mary Ellen Ress, Emmett Dougherty and our canine friends, Biscut and Dale.
BALD EAGLE HACKING
Sheryl Maddux, District Ranger, Watauga District reporting.
Several adult, sub-adult, and juvenile eagles were sighted at South Holston and Watauga Lake earlier last year. More good news - in the past several weeks three adult, one sub-adult, and two juvenile eagles were observed at South Holston Lake as well as one eagle on Watauga Lake. We believe that at least some of these are eagles hacked here. We will be closely monitoring the area in the coming weeks in search of nesting birds. Typically, hacked eagles return to within a fifty mile radius of where they learned to fly in approximately four to five years. The sightings made last year and the recent sightings are right on schedule. Only the eagles know if any will nest this year. Time will tell. Needless to say we are very encouraged and excited about the prospect of birds nesting at South Holston Lake this year. This project was funded by the United States Forest Service through a joint venture with several local groups, among them TEHCC. The club donated $500 to help fund this project which was started in 1990 and about 30 eagles were released over a 4 year period.
BAYS MOUNTAIN TREE-CLEARING SATURDAY, FEB. 10
On Saturday Feb. 10 the Eastman Hiking Club and the Eastman Professional Development Club joined forces to tackle the overwhelming winter damage caused by heavy snow and wind on the trails at Kingsport City Park, Bays Mountain Park Naturalist, David Taylor, contacted the clubs to solicit volunteers to help clear the debris from the hiking trails that occurred as a result of the heavy snow storms in January. Extensive damage occurred to trees with canopies that suspended the heavy snows and ultimately snapped the tree tops or uprooted the base of the trees. Hand tools were used primarily to minimize the threat of potential injury as well as the liability to the park. Twentyfive members of the clubs met in the parking lot at 8:45 AM at the park office to receive maps and directions from the Park Naturalist, Marcie Jackson. Our effort was concentrated on clearing the Lakeside, Sweet Gum, and Hemlock Trails. All totaled about 3 miles of trail. We broke up in 7 groups of 3-4 people and began clearing the trees at different points along the trails. The crosscutting saws were our most sophisticated and formidable weapons against the large diameter trees and bow saws and loppers were used to handle the smaller trees and limbs. After cutting the large trees from the trail, the remaining debris was removed from the treadway and placed along the side of the trail so it could decompose naturally. Damage along the lake actually looked like a hurricane had passed through the area as trees were broken about 2/3 of the way from the ground or were just uprooted at the base. Many trees fell into the lake and will be visible for quite some time.
Park Director, Tom Bowman, lavished praise on the effort carried out by the organizations in clearing the trails. The park maintenance crew were very thankful to cut out large or questionable trees we left. The ones we left were to large or unsafe using hand saws. The park was appreciated the volunteer time and diligence in removing the trees, especially using hand tools. The efforts of the volunteers is to be commended since this is a valuable service to the community that is truly appreciated by not only park staff, but numerous users of the trails. The combined effort provided 120 people hours. Volunteers who helped with the tree clearing include: Jim Austin, Anita Bausman, Bruce Bell, Richard Colberg, Waylon Jenkins, Kathy Hall,Garry Luttrell, Karen and Mike Maness, Mike Meadows, Cris and Theona Moorehouse, Frank Oglesby, Ed Oliver, Witt Parham, Steve Perri, Andy and Karen Richards, Bobby Scott, Jeff Siirola, Bill and Derrick Stowell, Dean Webster, and Frank Williams, plus Northeast State student Paul Strong.
BACKPACK FROM TENN 91 TO DAMASCUS, VIRGINIA FEB. 24-25
With the rare, gorgeous forecast a few days before the weekend, this "spur of the minute" hike was thrown together on Friday. Collins had planned to paint the blazes on his section Saturday with the 3rd Saturday Work Trip Crew, but decided to paint and backpack. Arvell & I were anxious to purge some stress in the outdoors, so the three of us spotted a car at Damascus and drove to Tenn. 91, to begin the 21.8 mi. trek north. The views through the leafless trees and occasional vistas were outstanding, and the conditions were perfect for backpacking. Collin painted blazes on his section, and Arvell and I clipped briars and branches in the A.T corridor. We spent the night at Abingdon Gap Shelter, and during the night, the resident host innkeeper, a skunk, who bunks on the wire mesh beneath the plywood, welcomed us to his home as he dined on our food scraps. Participating in the maintenance / Anniversary Hike from Tenn. 91 to the end of the TEHCC section in downtown Damascus were Collins Chew, Dr. Arvell Luttrell, and Garry Luttrell.
1996 TEHCC WINTER DINNER MEETING - KICKOFF FOR 50TH ANNIVERSARY; G. S. Luttrell reporting. The 1996 Winter Dinner Meeting was held at the Eastman Recreation Area Cabin on Sunday, March 3, 1996; and, what an event it was! The largest crowd in many years, 153, plus several who joined us just for the program, attended. The program theme was "50 Years of Hiking, Stories, Experiences, and A.T Stewardship" and involved many members participating and sharing some exciting events in the life and history of the TEHCC: Frank Oglesby, Nancy Johnston Harvey, Harry Beckner, Aldine Giles, Troy Powers, Collins Chew, Ray Hunt, Kirk Finch, Ralph Giles, Cosmo Griffith, Don Kreh, Bob Harvey, Zellie Earnest, Terry Dougherty, Hugh Thompson, Judy Murray, Bob Hart, John Thompson, Frank Williams, Gordon Newland, Ted Malone, and Steve Banks. Trail Sports Ltd. provided the vendor display and door prizes. Mike Brown's store is located on Fort Henry Drive, just south of the Hammond Bridge. Thanks Mike! In addition to the vendor display, there were displays of "Old-Fashioned" camping and canoeing gear; and, all the TEHCC rental tents and packs for auction were sold by Cosmo. Thanks Cosmo! The Cabin grill this year was converted into Kabuki's Japanese Steak House. Tim Hongkham prepared Hibachi Chicken and Teriyaki Yakiniku and Jumbo Shrimp dinners. Thanks Tim, it was tough cooking on the small grill! The following awards were presented: Mike Morrow, Paddler of the Year; Frank Williams, Maintainer of the Year; Cris Moorehouse, Hiker of the Year; Darrol Nickels, Stan Murray Award; and, Collins Chew was presented a Certificate of Appreciation, signed by Garry Luttrell and Sara Davis, and was given a hiking/dog stick. Many thanks to the following without whose help, this great event would not have been as great as it was: Collins Chew, Brad Dayvolt, Jan Mayo, Frank Oglesby, Frank Williams, Steve Wilson, and Janice Luttrell.
UPCOMING EVENTS

A.T - SPIVEY GAP TO DAMASCUS: Rating: Difficult
Leader: Emmitt Dougherty (Scheduled for Saturday, May 4, 1996 through Saturday, May 11, 1996)
I am planning a backpacking hike covering TEHCC's section of the A.T to celebrate our 50th Anniversary. Anyone interested please contact Emmitt Dougherty for more details.
IN THE PATH OF THE GRIZZLY - SLIDE PRESENTATION
Leader:Ted Cross, (Scheduled: Fri.May 10, 1996)Rating: FUN. A slide presentation entitled "In The Path Of The Grizzly" will be presented by Ted Cross at B-310. This show covers a recent backpacking trip into the remote backcountry of the Canadian Rockies where the grizzly reigns as king. Alpine meadows decked out in fall colors, glacier clad mountains and a host of alpine residents such as elk, bighorns and even porcupines all combine to make this adventure, which ends up in British Columbia, a real wilderness experience. For more information call Ted Cross.
BLUESTONE RIVER, OVERNIGHT TRIP 18
Leader Terry Dougherty, Scheduled 4-5 May, 1996. Rating II - III. For the past 17 years we have made the trek to Pipestem, WV to paddle the Bluestone River. Sixteen out of seventeen we did paddle the river and 17 out of 17 we enjoyed good food, drink, and the company of some very nice people. Come and enjoy this paddling tradition on a very scenic and sometimes challenging river. As usual I have reserved rooms for us in Mt. Creek Lodge for Friday and Saturday night. Camping is also available in the park. Please call me for reservations, information, or to tell me if you are going on the trip. Plan to meet at 9 AM Saturday in the Mt. Creek Lodge parking lot to start the trip.
A.T - NEW HAMPSHIRE AND VERMONT (Scheduled for Sunday, June 23 to Sunday, July 7, 1996) Leader: Steve Banks  Difficulty: Difficult. This will be a series of dayhikes and backpacks on portions of the A.T. in New Hampshire and Vermont. Total distance will be about 130 miles. If you are interested in going, contact the trip leader.
ISLE ROYALE. Leader: G. S. Luttrell. This trip has been moved back from it's original scheduled date to Sept. 1 - Sept. 15, 1996, due to ferry schedule problems after Sept. 14. Those wanting to visit this isolated island described as "an archipelago of wilderness" will be required to pay a deposit to reserve a spot, since the ferry service must be reserved and prepaid. More, later.

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