Here’s a memory jogger for our routine events!
33rd Anniversary Bluestone River Trip Notice
The 33rd annual Bluestone River Trip is scheduled for May 25-26, 2012. A block of six rooms have been reserved at the Mountain Creek Lodge and space is limited this year. Room reservations can be made by calling 1-800-CALLWVA and asking to be connected to the Pipestem Lodge. The block of rooms is under the Tennessee Eastman Hiking and Canoeing Club. Room rates are $87 per night plus tax.
Please call the trip leader, Terry Dougherty at 423-502-5177 to sign up for the river run. We normally paddle both days (Saturday and Sunday), but you can always tram your boat out to avoid paddling a second day. The river (Saturday paddle) is a very scenic 9 mile stretch that passes through a deep West Virginia gorge. It is mostly class II with a couple of borderline class III rapids. The first class III rapid can being easily portaged. The second day is mostly class I and suitable for families. Hope you can join for this great trip!
Spring Wildflower Hike April 7 – Margarette Falls
Joe DeLoach hike notice
(Scheduled for Saturday, April 7, 2012)
The combination of wildflowers and waterfalls has led to some popular Club hikes, and we’re hoping for the same with this short hike to Margarette Falls. One of our prettiest area waterfalls, Margarette Falls drops about 60 feet and descends through a rocky canyon adorned by many spring flowers. The Unaka Ranger District of the Cherokee National Forest has improved the trail with some relocation and a bridge, and the trail makes a great family hike suitable for young children. Round-trip distance is about 3 miles with an elevation gain of around 700 feet; see [[Margarette Falls|our listing in the Trail Wiki]] for more information. The flowers are early this year with all the warm weather, but early April can be cold, wet, and fickle so bring layers of clothes and good raingear. We’ll meet at 9:00 AM in the parking lot between McDonald’s and State of Franklin Bank in Colonial Heights. A meeting point in Boones Creek can be arranged for people who live towards Johnson City. We’ll plan on lunch at the falls and get you back in the early afternoon. Please contact Joe if you’d like to go or for more information.
The Week Ahead – October 17th
You may be thinking that with Fall quickly approaching (or is it here already?) the activities will be slowing down. Well they have according to our schedule, except for our Fall Dinner this Friday of course. Rehash your summer adventures with friends and good food from Firehouse Restaurant. Stick around for (or come just for) Toney Scales as he discusses the Southwest Virginia Trilogy: Natural Tunnel, the Breaks, and Cumberland Gap. Details in the newsletter.
Elk Knob – Saturday October 8
Leader: Joe DeLoach, 423-753-7263
Trail 4 miles round trip with 1000 ft elevation gain
North of Boone are some high but seldom visited mountains sometimes referred to as the Amphibolite Mountains, for the hard, alkaline rock that underlies them. The alkaline soil and high elevations create a habitat that harbors a large number of rare plants, with some species reaching their highest population density along the rocky cliffs and mountain bogs in this area. That scenery and biodiversity, coupled with a lack of public land, has led to land trusts working to preserve areas within these mountains such as Bluff Mountain and Long Hope Valley. One such area is [[Elk Knob State Park]]. In 2002, 5540′ Elk Knob was purchased by The Nature Conservancy and later conveyed to the State of North Carolina as first a natural area, then a state park. Initially the summit could be reached by a very steep gravel road, but some excellent trail construction work has resulted in completion of a new, hardened sidehill trail not unlike the A. T. heading up Round Bald. The new trail leads 2 miles to the top of Elk Knob which has two very nice overlooks, one at the summit looking north towards Mt. Rogers and the Grayson Highlands and one a little below the top looking south towards Grandfather and Roan Mountains. Though this is a great wildflower hike with many trillium in early May and Gray’s lilies and flame azalea in June, the Club’s first hike of Elk Knob will be a fall color hike. We’ll meet in Colonial Heights in the parking lot between McDonald’s and State of Franklin Bank on Saturday, October 8 at 8:30. We’ll have a pretty but curvy drive through Blountville and across Holston and Iron Mountains to Mountain City, then continue to Trade where gravel Rich Mountain Road crosses a high gap between Rich and Snake Mountains and deposits us near 4500′ Pottertown Gap, the entrance to Elk Knob State Park. We’ll take time to enjoy the woods along the way, the views and lunch at the top, and should be back to Kingsport by 4:00 pm. The hike is suitable for children; families are encouraged. Bring lunch, water, and layers of clothing including rain gear as October in the high country can be unpredictable. For more information or to sign up, please contact Joe.
Fun Fest 2011 Moon Light Hike at Bays Mountain Park
Ian A. Powell Reporting
TEHCC needs your help. On Thursday July 21 the club is co-sponsoring a moon light hike at Bays Mountain Park. For those who haven’t attended or volunteered, it’s a fun 2.4 mile hike along [[BMP Lakeside Trail|Lakeside Trail]]. It kicks off at 8 o’clock and goes to about 10 PM. Previous community attendance has been in the 200’s. The club needs people to help with head count and to help guide attendees through trail intersections. Volunteers should meet on the end of the dam closest to the visitors center at 7:30 PM. All that volunteers need to bring are a flashlight and insect repellant. Please contact Tom Boyd at tomboyd@eastman.com or call 229-1395 if you would like to volunteer/help with the event. Please contact Tom if you plan to help out so that we can ensure we have enough people to support the event. Hope to see you there.
July Club Meeting – Trekking Poles
Leader: Ian Powell, ipowell@eastman.com
Never used a pair of trekking poles before? Not exactly sure how they are supposed to be used? Why do they have baskets on the bottom, it’s not going to snow in July? Why are the pesky straps on the pole, should I cut them off? Trekking poles can be intimidating and sometimes a big ticket item to purchase. At this meeting we will go over the proper use, adjustment and maintenance of trekking poles. We will touch on the different options that the industry includes in their pole designs. This is your chance to try out a pair of poles and see it they are something you might be interested in.
The Week Ahead – July 11th
Is it too hot for hiking? Would everyone prefer to be on the water instead? We have a lot of water events but only the reliable Colins Chew and his Friday Hikers doing a foot based event. We do rely on our members (any member) to organize and list events, so if you have an idea please email chair@tehcc.org and we’ll work with you to arrange it and get it on the calendar.
- Paddle to the Grill on Thursday
- Friday Hikers
- NOC Canoe Club Challenge on Saturday
- Explore the Holston River (flat-water series) on Saturday
- Watauga Class I-II on Saturday
- 2011 Nantahala Hometown Throwdown Event #4
As usual, get the details on the Schedule.
The Week Ahead – July 6th
It’s summertime and I bet it’s busy for a lot more people than me. We’ve got lots of adventure to satisfy your weekend needs.
- The usual Thursday paddle to the grill and Friday Hikers
- Konnarock Crew continues their major undertaking
- A Cl1-2 trip down the Watauga River
- The already full annual Mt LeConte trip
Check out the schedule for the details.