September, 1997

Contents

• Next Two Months at a Glance
• For The Record - 1997 Konnarock Crew
• 31st Biennial Meeting of the Appalachian Trail Conference
• Scheduled Hikes/Activities
• Reporting Suspicious Activities Helps Trail Communities Too
• Activity Reports
• Two New Adopters For Another 6.8 Miles of the A.T.
• Vandalism Awareness

For the Record - 1997 Konnarock Crew
Joe DeLoach Reporting
This was a very productive year with the Konnarock Crew. We had four weeks of Konnarock Crew time this summer, two for the Little Rock Knob Relocation and two for Trail rehab in Laurel Fork Gorge. The Little Rock Knob work in conjunction with the AmeriCorps Crew was described in the August newsletter. In Laurel Fork Gorge, the Crew and Club volunteers were able to build on the work started by the crew funded by Bruce Cunningham to make great improvements in the steep stretch between the old rail road grade and Laurel Falls. Many rock steps were put in place, making this a much safer walk. Many passing hikers complimented this work. It was all the more successful because it took place in a Wilderness area, albeit a heavily used one, and Crew and Club alike abided by Forest Service restrictions on power tools and group size limits. While a couple of short sections could still use some work, we are ready to move on to other projects (hopefully the Round Bald Relocation in 1998!). Altogether, we had pretty good support for the Konnarock Crew. A total of 21 Club volunteers worked 53 person-days (510 hours) with the Konnarock Crew. This is not a record total for us, and we can always use more volunteers, but was a good total nonetheless. Five Club volunteers worked at least five days with the Konnarock Crew and earned a year's free membership in ATC, as well as the highly coveted Konnarock T-shirt. Ed Oliver led the way with 7 days, followed by Derrick and Bill Stowell, Jim Pence, and Joe DeLoach. Other volunteers included Frank Williams, John Thompson, Bruce Cunningham, Steve Perri, LuAnn Mack-Drinkard, Jim Nevin, Mary Cunningham, Rachel Monderer, Garry Luttrell, Steve Piontkowski, Collins Chew, David and Josh Pruitt, Dee Drinkard, Adonis Johnson, and Dustin Peterson. Thanks to all who helped!

31st Biennial Meeting of the Appalachian Trail Conference
Steve Wilson Reporting
On August 1-8, the Appalachian Trail Conference met at the Sunday River Resort in Bethel, Maine. The conference was quite popular with over 1,400 attendees enjoying the talks, seminars, workshops, and other activities. The following TEHCC members attended: Charlotte and Collins Chew, Martha and Ray Hunt, Ted Malone, and Steve Wilson. Some highlights were: 1) The Myron Avery Exhibit of photographs and memorabilia on Katahdin and Baxter State Park on display from the Maine Room of the State Library, 2) Ray Hunt represented the ATC Board of Managers and gave Margaret Drummond an honorary ATC membership (Ray and Collins have received this honor in the past), 3) Collins led one of the most popular workshops on the geology of the trail, 4) Ted and I gave a thank you letter to Leon Gorman, the president of L. L. Bean, for the Grants to Club donations to ATC for $105,000 over the past 5 years. TEHCC has received several thousand dollars for trail maintaining tools via these grants. One final note - our club will be cohosting the next conference at Radford University in Virginia on July 9-16, 1999. Our club has two key responsibilities. First, Collins Chew is chairing the conference and will need some volunteers. Second, Ted Malone and I are organizing the conference workshops. Any recommendations for workshop topics would be welcome. The Maine Appalachian Trail Club and the Maine chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club hosted this year's conference.

Hike Notice - Ramsey Cascades of the Smokies, Saturday, September 6
Leader: Ed Oliver
Rating: Moderate
We will follow the trail along Ramsey Prong for about 4 miles to Ramsey Cascades in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Highlights of this hike will be the cascades and the large trees along the trail. We will return on the same trail. If someone doesn't want to hike the entire distance, they can stop at any point along the way. Meet in the parking lot between Burger King and McDonald's in Colonial Heights at 8:00 am. Bring lunch and water. Contact Ed Oliver for additional information.

Backpacking Trip: I-40 to Hot Springs, September 13-15
Leader: Emmett Dougherty
Rating: Difficult
This will be a 33.5 mile backpacking trip from I-40 to Hot Springs. This hike is rated difficult. We will be going over Snowbird Mt. and Max Patch Mountain. Call Emmett Dougherty for more information.

A.T. Day Hike: Petites Gap to James River, Virginia, September 20
Leader: Kevin Edgar
Rating: Moderate
This will be a 10-mile hike which is on the easy side of moderate, where we will start high and make the mostly gentle descent from Petites Gap to the James River, not far from Lexington, Virginia. It's roughly a 3 hour drive from Kingsport, so we will drive up the evening before and stay close to the trail head. It so happens that this will complete the A.T. for the trip leader, so some of us at least will be staying over Saturday evening at a nearby B&B and doing a bit of celebrating. Those who wish to go straight home can of course do so. The trail is entirely within the James River Face Wilderness and should be quite scenic. Join us for a late summer/early fall excursion to a beautiful area and help celebrate a happy occasion. Call the trip leader to preregister or for more information.

Third Saturday Special Projects Trip, Saturday, September 20
Leader: Ed Oliver
Rating: Worthwhile
We will work on trail rehab either near Temple Hill Gap or trail north of Laurel Fork Gorge. Meet in the parking lot between Burger King and McDonald's in Colonial Heights at 8:00 am. Bring lunch, water and work gloves. We will be doing clipping, cutting, and digging side hill. Contact Ed Oliver for more information.

Hiwassee Paddle Trip, September 13
Leader: Ed Montgomery
Rating: Class II
Contact Trip Leader for details.

Leaders Choice Paddle Trip, September 20
Leader: Bob Tonnies
Rating: Class IV-V
Contact Trip Leader for details.

Lower and Upper Gauley Paddle Trips, September 21-22
Leader: Mike Morrow
Rating: IV-V
Contact Trip Leader for details.

A.T. Hike - Devil Fork Gap to Camp Creek Bald, September 27
Leader: Kevin Edgar
Rating: Moderate
One of a series of hikes this year which covers the Carolina Mountain Club section of the A.T., just to the south of our own. This particular section is both scenic and historic, encompassing open views and Civil War grave sites, among other attractions. We will use a side trail to make this hike a reasonable distance rather than hiking all the way to Allen Gap. At this time of year we have a good chance for some color at high altitude, as well as good hiking weather. Call the trip leader to preregister, set up meeting places, and/or get more information.

Backpacking Trip: Max Patch to I-40, or Smokies Loop, September 27-28
Leader: G. S. Luttrell
Rating: Moderate
Since Emmett Dougherty has a previous hike scheduled on September 13 to do a backpack from I-40 to Hot Springs, I'll offer a choice of doing I-40 to Max Patch or a loop hike to Mt. Sterling or Laurel Gap Shelter in the Smokies. Max Patch to I-40 was originally scheduled as a backpack trip on May 3-4, but was postponed. If interested, call me, and register your choice.

Hike Notice: Grassy Ridge, Saturday, October 4
Leader: Steve Wilson
Rating: Moderate
This should be a nice hike from Carvers Gap over the Roan Mountain balds to Grassy Ridge and back. With good weather, the views will be impressive. Bring lunch, water, and appropriate clothing for the weather. Meet between McDonalds and Burger King in Colonial Heights at 8:00 am. Call for more information.

Trail Work at Southview Community Park
Leader: G. S. Luttrell
Rating: Fun
This fall, we plan to complete the trail at Southview Community Park that was started last year. Completion of the trail was delayed from the original target due to a slowdown of the work on the other facilities at the park. Again we plan to work during the afternoons on Tuesdays or Thursdays in late September and October. If you are interested in helping, let me know.

A.T. Section Maintenance and Special Projects

• July 19: Weed Removal from Backbone Rock Trail Junction to Tenn./Va. Stateline
  Garry Luttrell hiked up the blueblaze trail from Backbone Rock and cut weeds on the A.T. to the Tennessee/Virginia state line. Someone had done some work on this section within the last few days - clearing blowdowns, some digging, and clipping.
• July 26: Rehab Trail with Konnarock Crew in Pond Mountain Wilderness - Laurel Fork Gorge
  Frank Williams led a group of 5 club members to help the Konnarock crew improve the treadway up the hill from Laurel Fork Falls. Workers were David and Josh Pruitt, John Thompson, Collins Chew, and Frank Williams.
• July 27: Blowdown Removal on Section 20 - Spivey Gap to Nolichucky River
  Dixie and Fred Hoilman and daughter Kathy Lewis removed 10 blowdowns in the 11 mile stretch between Spivey Gap and the Nolichucky River. Most were large and had fallen since their last blowdown removal trip in June. Horseshoe prints were spotted trail south of the shelter and seemed to parallel a trail of small candy wrappers. The three workers carried out two large bags of trash picked up at the shelter. Some bear scat was noticed along the trail. Two hikers reported their food supply had been eaten by a bear while they had camped near the Nolichucky Expeditions. Their food bag was suspended just a few feet off the ground to discourage mice and racoons... but it was just right for this bear.
• July 27: Weed Removal from US 421, 2.5 Miles North
  Tim McClain covered his adopted section (beginning at US 421, 2.5 miles north). On this trip he took care of cutting weeds along the entire section. There are two blowdowns on the section, neither of which pose a significant interference for hikers. The first is about 14 inches in diameter, located about 1 mile north of US 421. It is down on the ground across the trail. The second is a smaller tree that has blown down parallel to the trail with some of the branches sticking out in the trail but easily avoided.
• July 28: Rehab Trail with Konnarock Crew in Pond Mountain Wilderness - Laurel Fork Gorge
  Derrick Stowell, Ed Oliver, and Frank Williams went up to Laurel Fork Gorge to work with the Konnarock crew. They worked just below the first flight of stairs putting crush and fill down on the trail. The crew has done a great job and might be able to finish putting the steps from where the trail leaves the railroad grade at the top to the newly relocated section at the bottom next time the crew is here in August.
• July 28: Cut Weeds from McQueen's Gap to Abingdon Gap
  The Tuesday Work Crew met at Burger King, at 8:00 am, for the trip of the week. Ed Oliver, Theona and Chris Moorehouse, and Derrick Stowell made up the party. They decided to cut weeds north and south from McQueens Gap Road. They cut from the road to Abington Gap Shelter and south to the spring next to the trail. They stopped on their return trip to hike south from 421 to determine the weed situation, which was weedy. As they walked up past the Forest Service gate, Cris was stung by two yellow jackets. This notation was added as a warning to those of you that hike south from 421 to use caution when approaching this gate. The nest appeared to be on the left side of the gate, where the walk around is located. Everyone is invited to join the Tuesday Work Crew. Please call Ed Oliver or Cris Moorehouse for details.
• August 2: Trail Rehab North of Curley Maple Gap Shelter
  Ed Oliver, Derrick and Bill Stowell, Frank Williams, Neal Dotson, and Jerry Cunningham worked on the trail rehab north of Curley Maple Gap Shelter. Finally!!!! The rehab of the trail from Indian Grave Gap to Curly Maple Shelter was completed. The group spent the day on the final digging and clipping near the shelter. This completes around 12 trips starting last September including one trip during a good snow fall.
• August 5: Weed Cutting at Yellow Mountain Gap
  Theona and Cris Moorehouse, Ed Oliver, John Keifer, and Frank Williams met at Burger King at 8 am and drove to the gate below Yellow Mountain Barn. They hiked to the A.T. and divided into two groups and hiked north and south cutting weeds. They cut south to the Stan Murray Shelter and north two miles. The weeds were high, over their heads in the open spots. They then cut the weeds on the blue blazed trail towards Yellow Mt. Barn.
• August 12: Weed Cutting at Doll Flats
  Ed Oliver, Derrick Stowell, Frank Williams, and John Kiefer cut weeds from 1/2 mile below Doll Flats to the fence on Houston Ridge.

A.T. Dayhikes, Vermont, August 1-3
Kevin Edgar Reporting
This was a series of three dayhikes over a long weekend on the northern portion of the A.T. in Vermont. In this section, the A.T. crosses from the Green to the White Mountains. It is not distinguished by high elevations, but the Trail here runs perpendicular to the many ridge lines and the result is more than adequately challenging from the point of view of elevation change. On Saturday, for example, we were treated to approximately 4000 feet of climbing, spread out nicely over about 18 miles. We were treated to sunny weather which was warm, but not oppressively so for this time of year. We saw few flowers and mammals (a ferret being an interesting exception), but reptiles abounded; garter snakes, toads, and orange salamanders being the most frequent slithery sightings. The most interesting hiker sighting was the pair of veteran hikers who were wandering around late one afternoon, desperately searching for the B&B which they were sure was just off the trail somewhere. Helping the trip leader to finish the A.T. in Vermont and move within 10 miles of completing his quest were his brothers Dave and Rob (both of whom expressed interest in hiking the whole Trail...the tradition continues!).

Fun Fest Moonlight Hike, July 24
Steve Falling Reporting
Again this year the club supplied volunteers to help with the Fun Fest Moonlight Hike at Bays Mountain Park. The hike was around the lake (2.3 miles) beginning at 8:00 pm and ending at about 9:30 pm (in the dark). As in previous years, the club volunteer with the closest guess of the number of hikers received a t-shirt from Bays Mtn (Steve Banks was closest to the total of 296). Volunteers were Steve Banks, Steven Banks, Greg and Graham Kramer, Steve, Julie, Dennis and Marie Falling, Cris Moorehouse, Steve Perri, Bhaskar Arumugan, Collins Chew, Dean Webster, Richard Colberg, and David Vonk.

Two New Adopters for an Another 6.8 Miles of the A.T.
Ted Malone Reporting
Frank Oglesby and family have adopted the 4.2 miles from downtown Damascus to the junction of the Backbone Rock Trail. The Oglesby's live in Kingsport. Bob and Pat Peoples, owners of the Kincora Hostel in Dennis Cove, have adopted the 2.6 miles of trail from the Dennis Cove parking lot to the fire tower. This brings our total length adopted for the Club to 63.4 miles and just over 50%.