June, 1997

Contents


• Next Two Months at a Glance
• New Bridge Constructed Over Laurel Fork, Trail South of Bitter End
• Konnarock Crew Work Schedule with TEHCC
• Scheduled Hikes/Activities
• Multiclub 1997
• Activity Reports
• Wilderness Rules After Catastrophic Storm Events

New Bridge Constructed Over Laurel Fork, Trail South of Bitter End, April 12
Joe Deloach Reporting
Fifteen of us ignored the weather forecast and the drizzle to build a bridge. We knew beforehand that the bridge over Laurel Fork, Trail south of Bitter End, was rickety and needed to be replaced. Our timing was good as when we reached the bridge on Saturday morning, we found that it had collapsed! Several Club members had drilled the holes and generally prepared the bridge forinstallation earlier in the week, so once we got the material to the site, it went up pretty quickly. It took all of us, and we could have used more, to carry the material in almost a mile from Bitter End to the creek. Several people had to make three trips, with considerable up and down, and Steve Wilson was pretty impressive at carrying a 4 foot 10"x10" footing by himself (while four of us carried the other one). The work by and large went very well. We did have one mishap when Derrick slipped and got his finger hit with a hammer. He was taken to the hospital but nothing was broken. Once we completed the bridge, we took some of the old planks and used them to build two bog bridges close to Bitter End. It was an extremely productive day. Helping were Steve Banks, Collins Chew, Mary Cunningham, Joe DeLoach, Carl Fritz, John Kiefer, Tim McClain, Ted Malone, Bill Murdoch, Darrol Nickels, Ed Oliver, Steve Perri, Bill Stowell, Derrick Stowell, and Steve Wilson.

Konnarock Crew - Little Rock Knob Relocation, June 5-9
Leader: Joe DeLoach
We have four weeks of Konnarock Crew time to work on Appalachian Trail projects this summer. This year the Crew will work on a relocation on the Trail north side of Little Rock Knob and on continuing the repair work in Laurel Fork Gorge. The Little Rock Knob Relo is a new project to replace the very steep and eroded section of Trail between Hughes Gap and the top of Little Rock Knob. The new section will not only improve the safety and stability of the path but will provide great views of the Roan Highlands which are currently absent. Volunteers who work at least five days with the Konnarock Crew receive a T-shirt and a year's free membership in ATC. Volunteers are encouraged to help the Crew at any time but there will be scheduled trips on Saturday and Sunday, June 7-8. These will depart from the parking lot between Burger King and McDonalds in Colonial Heights at 8:00a.m. Bring lunch, work gloves, and plenty of water. Please contact Joe for more information.

Nolichucky Gorge Paddling Trip, June 7
Leader: Dewey Fuller
The Noli Gorge is a spectacularly scenic class III-IV run through mostly National Forest. For more information on the trip, call Dewey Fuller.

Hike: Falls of Little Stoney, Hanging Rock, June 7
Leader: Steve Perri, Rating: Moderate
This hike should provide a new opportunity for view of Stoney Falls for many of us new to the area. More time will allow us to see Hanging Rock. Plan on meeting in the parking area between McDonalds and Burger King in Colonial Heights at 8:00 a.m. Call Steve Perri for more information.

Hike: Virgin Falls, June 6-7
Leader: Collins Chew, Rating: Moderate
This hike will explore the trails and caves of the Virgin Falls pocket wilderness provided by Bowaters Corp. at the Cumberland Plateau. In order to have a full day of exploring, we will drive to Crossville, Tennessee on Friday night and stay in a motel. Then we will drive 25 miles to the trail head on Saturday morning and hike to the various caves and overlooks of this fascinating area at the edge of the Cumberland Plateau. The scenery should be spectacular with cliffs and the Caney Fork River to view along the way to the beds of limestone which contain the caves. Virgin Falls refers to a creek which issues from a cave to directly plunge over a 110 foot cliff and then reenter another cave. We will return to Kingsport on Saturday night. Bring what you need for the motel, appropriate clothing for the weather, good shoes or boots, lunch, water (from Motel, actually), good flashlights for peeking in the caves (not serious spelunking at all). There are several side trails so some of the distance is optional. Call Collins Chew for reservations, information or details.

AT Hike: Indian Grave Gap to Nolichucky River, June 14
Leader: Jill Wilson, Easy-Moderate
Last year while hiking the 126 miles that the club maintains, I found this section the most enjoyable, since it is a little over six miles and generally is down hill. Bring lunch, water and a rain jacket. Meet at the parking lot between McDonalds and Burger King in Colonial Heights at 8:00 a.m. With some good weather, this hike should be very pleasant and enjoyable.

Third Saturday AT Maintenance: Special Projects, June 21
Leader: Ed Oliver
We will be working on the rehab/relo of the trail at Laurel Falls on the third Saturday in June. No special skills are required. We should be able to significantly improve a bad section of trail that has lots of use by hikers. Come out and help us make a major improvement in the trail. Meet in the parking area between McDonalds and Burger King in Colonial Heights at 8:00 a.m. Call Ed Oliver for more information. Also let me know if you know ahead of time that you will go so that I can bring enough tools.

AT Dayhikes, Vermont, June 28 - July 6
Leader: Kevin Edgar, Rating: Difficult
We will begin our hiking traverse of the Vermont mountains on the AT near Bennington, close to the Massachusetts border. A series of dayhikes will take us north to Sherburne Pass near Rutland, then northeast to the Connecticut River at the New Hampshire border. We'll taste the balsam-scented Vermont air atop such peaks as Killington, Glastenbury Mt., and Peru Peak. At night we'll stay at B&Bs and country inns in the scenic and well-preserved little towns of Vermont. There's lots to do up there for those who might like to come but don't want to hike EVERY day. Contact the leader to preregister or for more information; don't delay as the accomodations will fill up fast this time of year.

Slickrock Creek Backpacking/Fly Fishing Trip, June 28-29
Leader: Ted Malone
Rating: backpacking - moderate, fly fishing - not required
Plans are to drive down on Friday, June 27 after work and spend the night somewhere. It's a long drive for Saturday morning and I would rather be hiking then spending time driving to the trail head. The trail head is a parking area across from Cheoah Dam. We'll hike northwest along Calderwood Lake for about a mile and a half then turn south and hike up Slickrock Creek until we find a good spot to camp. For about 5 or 6 miles, Slickrock is the border between Tennessee and North Carolina and as the name implies, is in the Joyce Kilmer Slickrock Wilderness Area. Call for the rest of the details.

MULTICLUB 1997 The 1997 Multiclub on Labor Day Weekend will be hosted by PATH and OCTV at Stoney Fork Campground in Wytheville, VA. The campground is located in the Jefferson National Forest close to the AT. Plans are beginning to include a full schedule of hikes along some of the most beautiful sections of the AT in Southwest Virginia; from the Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area, to vistas overlooking scenic, rural Burke's Garden. OCTV is arranging evening entertainment for everyone. In addition, a number of recreational and historic attractions and opportunities are available nearby. The New River Trail offers a multiple use trail for those who want to bring their bicycles. Others who are interested in history can tour Burke's Garden, or visit Shot Tower, the Settler's Museum or the historic buildings and museums in Wytheville. This is the annual family reunion of the southern maintaining clubs, and is an excellent opportunity to hike, socialize, and learn about other clubs. More detailed information will be available soon. For more information, contact Steve Wilson.

• April 18-20: Trail Rehab in Laurel Fork Gorge
  Konnarock and TEHCC members worked with the crew, funded by Bruce Cunningham and led by Fred Lashley, on rehabilitating the section of the AT leading down from the old railroad grade to Laurel Fork Falls. This is a very steep and rocky slope involving mostly rock step and cribbing construction. The weather hampered work somewhat - it drizzled all day Saturday and snowed Friday morning! - but good progress was made. Three different areas were concentrated on, two of which are nearly finished. There is still plenty of work to do - Fred estimated that a crew could spend an entire season on this Trail section! Club members participating on this work project include: Steve Banks, Bruce Cunningham, Mary Cunningham, Joe Deloach, Ed Oliver, Bill Stowell, Derrick Stowell, and Frank Williams.
• April 24: Abingdon Gap to Damascus Trail Maintenance
  Scout Troop #117 from Damscus cleared the trail from Damascus to Abingdon Shelter. The spring at the shelter was cleaned up, and about 18-20 blowdowns were removed. Those participating in this effort include: Tim Widener (Leader), Aaron Widener, Bob Martin, Drew Martin, Joey Arden, Eugene Moretz, Matthew Hubble, Michael Hubble, Daniel Shear, Tom Wilson, Dwayne Heath.
• April 24-27: Trail Rehab at Laurel Falls
  Club members worked with the special trail crew to continue the work on trail rehab in Laurel Fork Gorge. The steps and cribbing between the old railroad grade and the falls were worked on. All three sections of trail that the special team targeted for repair were completed by 4 p.m. Sunday. The crew and club members worked Thursday thru Sunday, April 24 thru 27 on this project. Unlike the previous week, the weather cooperated and the rain held off until after the last step was installed. The rehab makes this section of trail much safer to hike. Many hikers stopped long enough to thank us for the work. Club members helping one or more days along with their contributing hours for the entire project are as follows:

  Steve Banks	1 Day	10 hours
  Bruce Cunningham	5 Days	54 hours
  Mary Cunningham	3 Days	33 hours
  Joe Deloach	2 Days	24 hours
  Ed Oliver	6 Days	59 hours
  Morgan Sommerville	1 Day	5 hours
  Bill Stowell	5 Days	53 hours
  Derrick Stowell	4 Days	43 hours
  John Thompson	1 Day	11 hours
  Frank Williams	4 Days	42 hours
  Total Effort:		344 hours

• May 3: Backbone Rock to Virginia State Line Trail Maintenance
  Clipped and cleared weeds up the blueblaze trail, and spent most of the time on the section south of the stateline, where there was a greater need for work. Those participating in this activity include Garry Luttrell and Frank Williams.
• May 4: Blowdown Removal and Trail Rehab on Pond Mountain
  Derrick and Bill Stowell removed two remaining trees blocking the trail on the Shook Branch to Laurel Fork Gorge section. One was a blow down accross the trail. The other was overhead causing hikers to walk on the edge of the trial. Some minor trail rehab was done to fix the trail.
• May 4: AT Maintenance Trail North of Bitter End
  Mary and Bruce Cunningham continued cutting back the rhododendrons and improving the stream crossings trail north of Bitter End. They got about 1/2 mile more of trail cleared.
• May 10: AT Maintenance Tenn. 91 to U.S. 421
  Greg Kramer and Tim Frederick conducted maintenance from Tenn. 91 to U.S. 421. Seven blowdowns were removed as well as conducting routine maintenance and painting blazes. It was an excellent day to be out on the trail.
• May 10: AT Maintenance Trail North of Bitter End
  Mary and Bruce Cunningham, Steve Perri, and Frank Williams continued cutting back the rhododendrons and improving the stream crossings trail north of Bitter End. Trail improvements were made to about 3 miles trail north of Bitter End.
• May 14: Cut Out Blowdowns Between Doll Flats and Hump Mountain and Install Gate at North End of Hump Mountain
  Cris & Theona Moorehouse, Frank Williams, and Ed Oliver removed the two large blowdowns between Doll Flats and Hump Mountain. Each person tried their skill at using the chain saw. Theona was the only one who didn't get the saw hung. Also removed a couple of smaller blowdowns. A swinging gate was installed at the stile on the trail north side of Hump Mountain. The gate may be a little narrow. We are planning to increase the width by adding about 3.5 inches to the width. The day was nice with high clouds but good visibility. Several wildflowers were in bloom.

Spring Wildflower Hike, April 26
Joe DeLoach Reporting
Both the flowers and the weatherman helped this year's Spring Wildflower Hike, on the AT from Sams Gap to Devil's Fork Gap, lived up to its billing. Finding the Trail in Sams Gap is somewhat of a challenge, especially heading Trail south. Walk down from the state line about 150 yards and you'll see a double blaze on the right guardrail. The Carolina Mountain Club has put in a nice relocation winding through a field with good views of Mt. Mitchell, and which takes out much of the steep grade from the former route. There were nice flowers the entire way, especially in the mile or so descending from Sugarloaf Gap to Boone Cove Rd. This is another CMC relo and features a pretty waterfall in addition to the flowers. We ran into Bill Berry and harassed him for doing Trail maintenance with CMC instead of us. The only problem with the hike was that it was nearly nine miles, somewhat long to be able to enjoy the flowers. We'll try for a shorter hike next year. Participants in addition to the author were Neil Dotson, Alan and Jana Lewis, Lois Mansfield, Manley and Orieta Mitchell, Rachel Monderer, and Donna and Doug Niemi.