Tennessee Eastman Hiking & Canoeing Club
Supporting hiking and canoeing in the North East Tennessee area
Carl Fritz reporting
This 13th annual Damascus Hard Core event was Sunday, May 19th and Monday, May 20st. It was preceded by the tragic event at Damascus Trail Days during the parade on Saturday when 50 people were injured by a car. Everyone experienced more obstacles including rainy weather during the Hard Core event. But Monday ended spectacularly with everyone happy. Continue reading “2013 Damascus Hard Core”
TEHCC is sponsoring two FunFest events this year.
Tuesday, July 16 – Jay Erskine Leutz presents “Stand Up That Mountain: The Battle to Save One Small Community in the Wilderness Along the Appalachian Trail” at 6:30pm, Kingsport Higher Education Center Auditorium (300 W. Market Street). Jay will discuss the effort (as told in his book) about preserving Belview Mountain, a towering peak along the AT over in North Carolina, from destructive mining.
Thursday, July 18 – Moonlight Hike at Bays Mountain Park. ****CANCELLED**** Park reports significant damage from yesterday’s cloudburst, thus decision was made at 3:30PM.
This popular event attracts 400-600 participants each year. The hike traverses 2.5 miles around the lake on Lakeside and Holly Trails. It kicks off at 8:00PM from the dam near the visitors center. Arrive early as parking has been an issue with shuttle buses now running from the Eastman lodge parking lot. Bring your own flashlight/headlamp, water, and insect repellant. Hike ends with a headcount back at the visitors center by 10PM.
We need at least twelve volunteers to assist the Bays Mountain Park Association with this event. The responsibilities are minimal – show up 30 minutes early (7:30 pm), stand at a trail junction with a flashlight or headlamp and help make sure nobody gets lost. Contact Marc Schurger if interested, 423-229-5921.
With the shorter days comes an opportunity to gather at the Eastman Lodge to trade stories with friends about your adventures. Happy “Trails” Hour begins at 5:30pm. Dinner is a Seafood Boil, which is a throwback to the 1970’s when seafood was the fare at many club dinners.
Our evening program “Tennessee’s Western Blue Ridge: America’s next great park?” outlines a concept. The western rim of the Blue Ridge lies partially in northeastern Tennessee and includes spectacular wild places, such as the Roan Highlands, Unakas, Bald Mountains and Tennessee’s newest state park, Rocky Fork. Informal discussions have begun among local citizens to have part of this region designated as a new national recreation area. David Ramsey, a nationally recognized conservation photographer who was a leader in the effort to preserve the Rocky Fork area, will present images and information in support of this ambitious goal.
More information and the reservation form is in the October 2013 newsletter.
For the several decades, TEHCC has organized a summer weekend trip to Mount LeConte Lodge in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This lodge (elevation 6593 ft) can only be reached by hiking trails. Even supplies are brought in by llama train once a week. The hiking distance to the lodge is 5.5 to 7.8 miles one-way depending on the route. The package price this year is $138.30 per person which includes supper on Saturday, lodging for the night, and breakfast on Sunday. We have four reservations in a five-person cabin (double bunk beds and a single). If you are interested in one or more of these reservations, please contact Steve Falling, 423-239-5502, for availability. You must be a TEHCC member to participate in this outing. You can find out more about Mount LeConte Lodge at www.leconte-lodge.com.
April has several opportunities for the club (with more information provided later in the newsletter). Our dinner meeting is on April 19th with a program about the Roan Mountains. The Gear Swap is the following morning (April 20th) in the employee center parking lot on South Wilcox Drive; so clean out the garage/basement/attic/closet of idle outdoor equipment to sell or trade. Several day hikes are appearing on the calendar which support a partnership with Eastman Wellness. Regular trail maintenance outings are getting the path ready for increased use. And finally the APEs group is cross-listing some activities for paddling and backpacking. Hopefully, you can find something of interest to enjoy during this spring month.
Are you interested in exploring nature and helping out a good cause? ATC is seeking volunteers for their Phenology program. If you’re like me, the quote below should resolve your current question.
What is Phenology?
The term Phenology is derived from the Greek work “phaino”, meaning to show or appear. Phenology is the study of the reoccurring life cycle stages of plants and animals; such as bud break, leaf-out, hibernation, bird migrations an insect emergence. Phenology also includes the study of how the timing of these events relate to biotic and abiotic forces, such as weather and climate.
Read more about it at ATC’s website or download their brochure.
The Steering Committee decided to again partner with the Mission Possible wellness program. During March through October, TEHCC will be hosting day hikes on some Saturdays and Sunday afternoons. The intent is to provide the required fitness activity through an easy to moderate 2 to 4 hour hike somewhere within an hour driving radius of Kingsport. The hikes will be announced in both the monthly TEHCC newsletter and Mission Possible bulletins. So come enjoy a local trail with your family (while earning some HDA dollars).
The 5th and FINAL sale of chunks of Rocky Fork from The Conservation Fund to the Cherokee NF was completed on September 27, 2012. This concludes transfer of Rocky Fork into public ownership, a goal sought by ATC since at least 1983. To top off that excitement, on Oct. 30 TN Gov. Bill Haslam and US Sen. Lamar Alexander announced that the 2036 acre TN-owned portion of Rocky Fork will become Rocky Fork State Park! Funds for this project came from a TN Heritage Conservation Trust Fund grant (obtained by the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy), federal Land and Water Conservation Fund appropriations, and generous donations from private donors and foundations, notably Fred & Alice Stanback, the Lyndhurst Foundation, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (through Walmart’s 2012 Acres for America program), the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Conservation Alliance. The Conservation Fund bought and held the property pending public purchase. Look for an upcoming article in ATJourneys for more details.
Plans have been underway for over a year for the biennial celebration at ATC Cullowhee 2013. It will be held at Western Carolina University (WCU) July 19-26, 2013, in Cullowhee N.C. The five AT trail maintaining clubs in North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee have been working on all aspects of this event. TEHCC is responsible for organizing the workshops while other clubs are handling volunteers, hike selection, excursions, entertainment, housing, etc. We expect near 1000 people to attend this week long event. Continue reading “A Biennial Celebration at ATC Cullowhee 2013”
