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Trip Report – Keokee Lake Loop Trail

Reporting: Terry Dougherty
Trip Date: September 21, 2014

We started our four mile hike on the eastern side of the lake in very light rain.
The trail was in poor condition with lots of over growth, 15 or more blow downs,
many foot log bridges rotted out, but the trail tread was good. There were very
limited views of the lake from that side. After 3 mi. of borderline bushwhacking we
came to the dam with very nice views of the lake. The trail was well marked, but the last serious maintenance was probably ten or more years ago for that side of the lake.
The mile of trail from the dam back to the starting point on the western side was in very good condition with nice views of the lake. A few ducks was the only wildlife we saw.
This area is isolated and if one wanted to hike without seeing anyone this might
be a good place. Hikers were Mary Tennant ,Thresa and Terry Dougherty.

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Trip Report – Pinnacle Mountain Fire Tower

Reporting: Barry Griggs
Trip date: 10/19/14

What a beautiful day for a fall hike in the mountains of east Tennessee! We honestly could not have ordered a more perfect day. Our illustrious group of seven gathered at the trailhead to begin our nine-mile round-trip up to Pinnacle Mountain Fire Tower. The restrooms in the relatively new building at the trailhead provide a convenient beginning in preparation for the lengthy hike.
Several other hikers and bikers were also taking advantage of the beautiful day to get out and enjoy God’s creation. The trails many switchbacks make the trail probably the most doable 4.5-mile hike up a mountain anywhere in these parts. It can be completed by even the most casual hiker with a few rest stops on the way if necessary. While leaves are on the trees, the trail is shaded the whole way. The 360-degree views from the top of the tower were spectacular with the reds and yellows really outstanding! Although overall peak color was probably just a few days away, there were many trees that were already in full color. The bright blue sky and clear air allowed maximum visibility for many, many miles.
The hike downhill back to the parking area went very quickly and our group headed for home with mental pictures of beautiful views and several new friends among fellow hikers and lovers of the outdoors. Hikers were Zhufang Liu, Junjia Liu, Lin Liu, Jackie Liu, Jinghua Yuan, Jim Floyd and Barry Griggs.

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Trip Report-Tweetsie Trail

Barry Griggs reporting
Trip date: September 28, 2014

On a warm, but comfortable Sunday afternoon our hike began at the trailhead at the intersection of Legion Street and Alabama Street in Johnson City, TN. The parking lot at the trailhead was overflowing, but parking was available in other nearby gravel areas. The trail is obviously very popular with walkers, runners and bikers, especially on weekends, as we were never out of sight of one or more people. With two cancellations and one no-show, this became a Griggs/Metcalf family hike. My wife Beverly and I were joined by our daughter, Jill Metcalf and her husband, Josh Metcalf. We walked out two miles and back to make it a four-mile hike. The trail has markers every 0.2 miles, so it’s very easy to make the walk/ride whatever distance you like. The finished portion of the trail from JC to Elizabethton is 4.5 miles. It should be a very easy walk for most anyone, with a slight uphill grade when returning to JC. The trail is a very nice addition to our region.

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Trip Report – Devils Bathtub Hike

Terry Dougherty reporting
Hike date: June 8th

This started out as trip to Lake Keokee, but the leader was out voted by popular
demand. The water level was low in Devils Fork which made the fifteen or so
creek crossings much easier. There were lots of hikers on the trail that day
because of the good weather. Attending were Brenda Hitch, Gabriela Bruggeman, Thresa Dougherty, and Terry Dougherty.

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Trip Report – Bays Mountain Bays Ridge Loop

Tim McClain reporting
Hike date: August 17th

Another in the TEHCC Sunday Hike series, on August 17th the featured hike was in Kingsport at Bays Mountain. The Bays Ridge Loop covers about 5.3 miles to the southwestern side of the park and back. Weather was warm but rain free for a pleasureable Sunday outing. Enjoying this hike were Peggy McClain and Tim McClain.

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Purchase Ridge Trail – Trip Report

Barry Griggs Reporting
Hike Date: Aug 24, 2014

The warm, sunny afternoon with a chance of thundershowers did not deter our feisty group of hikers. They weren’t even too discouraged by the leader’s difficulty in locating the planned starting point for the hike – a little whiny, but not discouraged. My wife, Beverly, and I met good friends, Lowell and Betsy Biller at Natural Tunnel State Park to hike the Purchase Ridge trail. The plan was to get on this trail in the campground, compete the loop at the end of this trail and return via the Cabin Trail and the campground road.
The starting point proved to be a little hard to find, so it was decided to do the planned route in reverse. We walked up the road to the Cabin Trail and hiked to where it joined the Purchase Ridge Trail. Since we had already some extra walking on the Gorge Ridge Trail to Lover’s Leap Overlook and because of more whining from certain hikers, it was decided to omit the loop and head back to our originally planned starting point on the Purchase Ridge Trail. It was cooler after we actually got in the woods on the trail. The leader no longer feared a mutiny. But seriously, it was a fun afternoon with friends in a beautiful part of our region. Our total distance was about 3.5 miles, not much more than the 3.25 we had planned.
We discovered the planned starting point is actually off the right side of the road about 100 yards past the camp store. It is off the road several yards at the edge of the woods and there is no sign marking the trail by name. There is a sign showing all the trails, but it’s easy to miss if driving down the road.

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2014 Damascus Hard Core

Carl Fritz reporting

It always seems that the volunteers (hikers, club maintainers and friends) exceed expectations during Damascus Hard Core. And the volunteers did so again for this 14th annual event. This year’s hikers enthusiastically signed up. In fact 68 were signed up in the first two hours Friday morning of Trail Days and only 50 was the target. However, fewer returning hikers came to Trail Days and we also target 50 of them. Then surprisingly with good weather many hikers did not show up Sunday morning for departure from Damascus. Continue reading “2014 Damascus Hard Core”

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Wilderness Rally September 6th – Hampton, TN

September marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of the National Wilderness Act. Join the Wilderness Society’s Southern Appalachian Wilderness
Stewards (SAWS) program and the US Forest Service in celebrating! Two events will mark the occasion. Both will convene at the Watauga Point Recreation Area in Hampton TN on September 6th. Trail maintenance will be from 9am to 4pm at which point it will become the actual celebration of food, crosscut sawing, storytelling, games, etc. See the two attachments for the details.

Stewardship Rally Flier

Wilderness Rally Watauga Point