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Revision as of 09:30, 2 November 2015 by Tim (talk | contribs) (embiggen the featured photo)
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Welcome to Tennessee Eastman Hiking and Canoeing Club's Trail WIKI

Our online repository for everything trail related within a reasonable distance from our club's center in Kingsport TN.

Trails by area Trails by use Trails by features Other ways to find trails Information

TEHCC Fall EXPO - November 14th - Wiki Discussion

Attend our Fall 2015 Expo!

In the midst of our day of hiking, paddling, chili, gear, etc. from 4:00pm to 7:00pm at the Eastman Lodge near Bays Mountain we'll have a table set up for discussions about our trail wiki. The talk is unstructured and we can discuss anything from how to use the site, to how to edit, to an open discussion on plans for the future. There will also be a Bays Structure Tour hike beginning at 8:30a at the park dam. Come and see how the trail details are collected and then entered into the site.

For more details visit our main site. Members and non/prospective-members are welcome at this or any of the day's events. Advance reservations aren't required for any events, but appreciated for planning purposes. Paid reservations only required for those wishing to partake in the chili, drinks, sides, and desserts. Paid entrance into Bays Mountain Park is required unless prior car pooling arrangements are made.

Featured Trail

Rogers Ridge Balds View
Rogers Ridge Horse Trail is an in-and-out 6.87-mile ridgeline trail. It's a long hill climb trail for a day hike, but near the end, the 360° views of the surrounding ridgelines make it all worthwhile. A side benefit of this hike is being able to reach the Tri-State Corner Knob junction of TN-NC-VA. The trail begins in the Horse Ridge Scenic Area of the Cherokee National Forest past Damascus near Laurel Bloomery, TN. Horses are allowed, but on a recent October 2015 trip, there was little evidence of them. Although clearly marked at the trail head that ATV/ORV vehicles were not allowed, signs of their recent presence were along the entire trail.

The hike begins with an immediate creek crossing that has neither a bridge nor decent rocks to hop across; but this will be the last time you see water. Although guide books mention some campsites along the way with water access, we didn't see them. The trail wastes no time getting to the 3,201 feet of climbing, as it's nearly a consistent slope up to the summit. The trail itself is very well marked with yellow rectangle blazes, but several unmarked and well worn trails connect along the way. It may be that one of them connects to the Gentry Creek Falls trail that would make for a nice loop trail. The trail itself is wide with a clear "two-track" appearance and the occasional water-logged rut to walk around. While not noticed on the ascent, the descent can be challenging for the ankles, as there are several sections of loose rocks, fist-sized and smaller.

After hiking for 5.33 miles with glimpses through the trees of mountains and neighboring ridgelines, you finally enter a clearing to enjoy the views. The trail may "officially" end here as the previously well-blazed path now lacks markings, but you can continue on to enjoy the views. From here you can take a side trip to the south to get an early view of the surrounding ridgelines and valley including Grandfather Mountain. Continuing on the trail to the north, you reach another bald clearing that would be suitable for camping, especially for large groups. The only reservation I myself have about camping here is the apparent frequent use of ORVs here. From this higher elevation, there are views of Whitetop Mountain and Mt Rogers Mountain to the northeast. Throughout these bald clearings, blackberry bushes appear to be growing rampant. If you can tolerate the thorns, the blackberry picking in the summer must be unlimited!

In a bald clearing to the east towards the state line is the trail high point in the final bald clearing. Although various sources differ on the exact elevation, we measured by GPS at 4,900 feet. The ridgetop home seen to the south appears to have been severely vandalized. Although unfortunate for the owner, one can only hope that one day this majestic ridgeline and profile can be returned to its original natural glory. After the high point, the trail begins to descend for the first time, and ends at a trail/road. Turn left to continue the descent to find the Tri-State Corner Knob, the terminus (at least at one time) of this trail.

When visited in October of 2015, the hike was an enjoyable day of near complete solitude. The only encounter was a couple in a truck near the trail terminus. Unexpectedly we found the trees to be in the early stages of changing colors to the south and west, and found only bare trees to the north and east. Regardless, the day of fresh air, views, and exercise was more than enough to make this a great trail to visit, that you should consider as well.

  • Triangulation Disk at TN-VA-NC Corner

  • View of the trail

  • Whitetop and Mt Rogers

Contribute

Yes! We would love your help! No, you don't need to be a computer wizard to do it.

How can you help?

  • Send me an email to
    • Say you have found this site useful
    • Request information that would help to plan for a hike
    • Provide information that we have missing that you know about
  • Edit a page
    • It's easy! It's just text
    • It's foolproof! All edits are saved, you cannot mess it up (permanently)
    • Just hit 'Edit' on the upper right and just start writing. More experienced editors will likely come along and apply any needed tweaks
    • We'd rather have information added that messes up a page than to have no contribution at all

Recent major updates

  • Plumbing
    • Major overhaul of trail infoboxes underway (box on right side of trail pages) - Provides more information and creates the "tagged" information discussed above
    • Added three new map pins, MarkerT MarkerT.png to designate trail intersections, MarkerU MarkerU.png to designate road crossings, and MarkerV MarkerV.png to designate abandoned cabins/structures near the trail
    • Creation of a new page category Hike Plan - used to document a single hike plan utilizing multiple trails or a partial of one - first use at Bays Mountain Park Page
    • Allowed anonymous editing going good and bad - good that no vandalism edits have occurred, bad that no new editors have showed up
    • Created a "Trail page needs" box that can be shown on pages to list and link page needs (see Azalea Trail)
  • Content

Currently there are 52 trails documented on our wiki!

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