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Friday Hikers: AT – Jones Meadow to Allen Gap, April 8

Collins Chew reporting

The weather was pleasant but cloudy for our 7.4 mile on the AT from Jones Meadow to Allen Gap.  Occasionally, a few sprinkles fell, but never enough to cause problems.  It rained a bit while we were in the Shelter eating lunch.  A few wildflowers were out: Service berry, spring beauty, trailing arbutus, various violets, a few bloodroot and chickweed.  Backpackers were out in force with a few other dayhikers.  Hikers were: Don Baker, Kathy Case, Andrew Cleland, first timer from South Carolina Beth Ann Cushman, George Dickert, Carol Dunham, Judith Foster, Carol Idol, Heather Jacob, Jerry Jones, Eloise Kaeck, first timers Lotta and Ken Murray, first timer John Parks, Lowell Toof, and Collins Chew.

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Meeting Locations for TEHCC Hikes

Over the years, TEHCC hikes have typically left from the following locations.  Others can be prearranged with the hike leader.

Colonial Heights: The parking lot between McDonalds, State of Franklin Bank, and Ingles located north of Fort Henry Drive on the Kingsport side of I-81 Exit 59.

Johnson City: The parking lot behind Parkway Discount Wine & Liquor just off I-81 Exit 24 at intersection of University Parkway and South Roan Street.

Gate City: Up on the hill above US23/58/421 at the Kane Street intersection (traffic light) sits Food Lion, Advance auto parts, and Subway.

For more detail, check out the [[Meeting locations for TEHCC hikes|Trail Wiki]].

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Lunch & Learn: The New TEHCC Trail Wiki – May 18th

Come to this month’s meeting to learn about the details of using and how you can contribute to our new trail wiki site. Come learn how you can navigate our new [[Main Page|wiki]] and use it to find trails that interest you.  We’ll even cover how you can help contribute to the site by either directly editing yourself or by providing the information for others to use in editing.  Bring a sack lunch to enjoy while talking with others. The program starts at noon and we plan to be finished by 12:45 to give travel time for those who may have a 1PM meeting. Location is at Eastman in Kingsport B150 Room C. If you’re not an Eastman employee but are interested in attending contact Tim Schaefer to arrange a visitor pass.

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The Week Ahead – May 9th

Wow! Do we have you covered this weekend! Take your pick. Whitewater or flatwater paddling, the infamous Damascus Hard Core, or the always reliable Collins Chew and his Friday Hikers. Check out the schedule for all of the details.

  • 2011 Nolichucky Hometown Throwdown Event
  • Moonlight paddle on South Holston or Watauga Lake
  • Friday Hikers
  • Damascus Hard Core 2011 – Look for me here!
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Konnarock Crew – Hughes Gap to Cloudland Relocations

Scheduled for June 3-5, June 17-19, July 8-10, and July 29-31, 2011

Leaders: Joe DeLoach and Carl Fritz

Last year, we began one of our most ambitious Appalachian Trail relocations ever, from Hughes Gap to Cloudland atop Roan Mountain.  This formerly 2.6-mile section of Trail ascends 2200′, with a 0.4-mile slight descent along the way, making it possibly the steepest section of the A. T. in the South.  We don’t always relocate a Trail section just because it’s steep, but steep trails that run on a ridgeline are very prone to erosion, with only the rockiness of parts of this section retarding that erosion.  It is also a treacherous descent, especially in the icy or rainy conditions that are prevalent at those elevations.  We’ve flagged numerous relocations to climb the mountain at a sustainable 10-12% side-hill grade, and built the first four with Hard Core, student groups, and Club outings in 2010.  This year, we’ll tackle some sections higher on the mountain with all our resources, including the Konnarock Crew which will work near the midpoint of the section.  The Konnarock Crew, in its 29th year, is managed by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and works with the 12 Southern clubs.  We are fortunate to have them for five weeks this year, with plans to devote the first four weeks to these relocations and the final week of August 11-15 to putting more gravel on Round Bald.  The Crew arrives on a Thursday afternoon, has three full days of work Friday-Sunday, and departs Monday afternoon.  So the best days to work with them are Friday-Sunday.  Volunteers who work at least 40 hours with the Crew receive a Konnarock T-shirt for their efforts.  Please contact Joe DeLoach or Carl Fritz if you’re interested in helping.

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Friday Hikers: AT – Chestoa to Curley Maple Gap Shelter, April 1

Bob Harvey reporting

The hike of April 1 was on the Appalachian Trail  from Chestoa to Curley Maple Gap Shelter and return, a total of 8.2 miles.

The temperature was a little brisk to begin with, but once we started the strenuous climb out of Jones Branch valley there was much shedding of outer layers.  At the upper end of the hike, around elevation 2800 feet, we began finding a dusting of snow on the leaves and ground, but it didn’t last long after the sun came out.

Lunch was at the newly-rebuilt Curley Maple Gap Shelter, a vastly improved version of what used to be there.  When we arrived, the shelter was filled almost to overflow by a jolly bunch of northbound through hikers, this being the time of the year that they pass through our territory.  But, there was additional outside seating in the vicinity and we had a great lunch — until we started getting cold again.  It was then time to go.

On the return trip we passed even more through hikers, some of whom didn’t mind stopping to chat for a minute or two.  After the hike we tried to guess how many we’d seen, and the numbers varied widely, but maybe sixteen would be close enough.

Jones Branch may have been running full, but it was crystal clear, something that a number of us commented on.  We had one ford to make of the creek and possibly a few of us got a foot in the water, one of the feet being mine; but we mainly made it across without incident.

The hikers were Olin Babb, Kathy Case, Anne Cosby, George Dickert, Judith Foster, Phil Gibson, Bob Harvey, Carol Idol, Chuck Mather, Larry Miller, Susie Seiler and Jerry Sluder.

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April Lunch and Learn – Selecting Rental Equipment, April 20, 2011

Vic Hasler reporting

During this lunch and learn, a discussion was held on how to decide which of the club’s tents, backpacks, or sleeping pads to rent for an outing.  Most rental items have a description on the website.  Selection guides exist for the tents (for 1-3 or 4-6 people).  The group was fairly familiar with the existing equipment, so the talk became an idea session of what new gear the club could purchase.  Like HT-1, other styles of hammock tents could be offered.  Even lighter than the 1.5 pound HT-12, a very lightweight hexagonal fly could provide backpacking shelter.  A backpack, which combines the close fit of an internal frame with air flow across the back offered by external frame, would be desirable for hot summer treks.  A German brand, Deuter, was suggested.  A new item, a pair of trekking poles, from a quality supplier, such as Leki ($80/pr + shipping) found favor with the group to allow folks to try them out, thus likely to be pursued once agreement with Recreation is obtained.  A very compact, air chamber (thus not self-inflating or foam) sleeping pad was discussed to help get the gear volume down.  The downside is that repairs are needed in case of puncture.  Big Agnes has Air Core pads for around $40 plus shipping.  Since the current rental set is in great condition, we hope to purchase several of these items in order to give members a chance to try out new gear for themselves.  If you have any suggestions on future purchases, please let me know at rental@tehcc.org.  Finally, a show-n-tell session for these lunch gatherings was proposed to share what has been working for each of us.

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SACWMP Invasive Exotic Plant Workshop, May 7

Contact:  John Odell, 828-254-3708

The Southern Appalachian Cooperative Weed Management Partnership (SACWMP) is seeking volunteers to participate in an invasive exotic plant workshop on Saturday, May 7, 2011 at the Roan Highlands.  There is no charge for the event, and participants will receive free guidebooks for the identification and control of invasive exotic plants.  The workshop will educate hikers and the general public about the threats of invasive exotic (IE) plants, how to identify and inventory IE species, and how to remove these plants, protecting native biodiversity along the Trail. Continue reading “SACWMP Invasive Exotic Plant Workshop, May 7”