Collins kept the Friday Hikers busy in the month of March with trips to hike the trails to Pinnacle Mountain, Ripshin Mountain, and the section of our maintained Appalachian Trail from [[US421 to Damascus|Taylors Valley to Damascus]]. Read on for the details.
Events Coordinator Position Opening
Ian Powell reporting
There is currently a position opening for an Events Coordinator. The position entails the upkeep of the TEHCC calendar as well as soliciting hike and trip leaders to lead outings each month. The coordinator works hand in hand with the Steering Committee on the clubs bigger events as well. If you are interested in learning more about the position, please feel free to contact Ian Powell at ipowell@eastman.com. If you’ve been looking for some way to be more active in the club and see how things work, this is your opportunity.
The week ahead – April 11th
We have something for everyone this week, hiking, paddling, and maintenance. I hope you can find something that suits you. If not, plan a trip yourself and get it on the schedule.
- A wildflower hike at [[Rock Creek Falls]]
- A paddling competition in Bryson City, NC
- The second of three mountain bike trail building outings at [[Bays Mountain Park]]
Check out our schedule for the details and have a great week!
New rental equipment: HB-33 – Gregory G-pack
by Vic Hasler, Rental Equipment Coordinator (rental@tehcc.org)
A grab at the 2011 Gear Swap – $25 for like-new $149 list price. And now the club’s lightest backpack at 2 Lb, 10 oz for 3100 cubic inches or up to 25-30 pounds. It is the large frame which fits a 19.5-21.5” torso size.
Pack is made of strong, but light, silicone-impregnated fabric, which can handle our region’s normal trail conditions. Warning: Based on actual reported experience, do not lift by just a shoulder strap when loaded! The backpack has a large central core area with full outer mesh pocket and a lid bag. Compression sacks would be great packing aid to minimize volume.
The challenge is to have your gear down to within its capacity. Check by seeing if everything (tent, sleeping bag, mat, clothes, cookware, food, etc.) can fit into just one and half photocopy paper boxes, and then weighs less than 30 pounds total on the home scales. If yes, then this is your light-weight option for an overnighter trip.
This will be available at the rental counter and on our rentals page very soon.
ed by Vic Hasler, Rental Equipment Coordinator (rental@tehcc.org)
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A grab at the 2011 Gear Swap – $25 for like-new $149 list price. And now the club’s lightest backpack at 2 Lb, 10 oz for 3100 cubic inches or up to 25-30 pounds. It is the large frame which fits a 19.5-21.5” torso size.
Pack is made of strong, but light, silicone-impregnated fabric, which can handle our region’s normal trail conditions. Warning: Based on actual reported experience, do not lift by just a shoulder strap when loaded! The backpack has a large central core area with full outer mesh pocket and a lid bag. Compression sacks would be great packing aid to minimize volume.
The challenge is to have your gear down to within its capacity. Check by seeing if everything (tent, sleeping bag, mat, clothes, cookware, food, etc.) can fit into just one and half photocopy paper boxes, and then weighs less than 30 pounds total on the home scales. If yes, then this is your light-weight option for an overnighter trip.
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TEHCC’s New Trail Wiki
Tim Schaefer reporting
Check out our new site! https://tehcc.org/wiki. Many might not know that we have non-AT trail information on our website. Even if you did, it was hard to find and only editable by a certain few. So I am very excited to introduce the club to a little project I’ve had in the works for quite some time now. Continue reading “TEHCC’s New Trail Wiki”
Friends of Warriors Path Work Day, April 30, 2011
Leader: Kevin Barham
Warriors Path is requesting help with their upcoming maintenance event, Friends of Warriors Path Work Day. FOWP is typically able to get a good numbers of volunteers at their work day events, but often need a few more experienced volunteers to help lead the pack. The projects for the day are still being determined, but will be on a hiking trail, bike trail or disc-golf trail. Please contact Kevin Barham, kbarham@eastman.com, if you have any questions or project requests.
New blog engine!
I’ve moved the site to a new blog engine, from Joomla to WordPress for the incredibly curious. My main goal was to make the move as transparent as possible. Most of the old links should still work, the look and layout (theme) of the site was attempted to be as similar as possible, and most of the same content should still be here. Contact me at webmaster@tehcc.org if you find any problems. Continue reading “New blog engine!”
From the Chair for April
Ian Powell, Steering Committee Chair
It will soon be warming up and more people will be spending time outside
enjoying the trail and water. Have you thought about what you are going to
make out of this spring and summer? Do you have a big trip planned? If you
have an activity or trip that you have been putting off for awhile, waiting for
the right time to take it, wait no more. Make the plans and make it happen.
No one knows what the future will hold, so don’t get caught regretting never
hiking that trail or paddling that river. If you are looking for some company
on this outing, I can guarantee that there is someone in the club who would
be willing to go with you. So please consider posting your trip on the club’s
calendar.
Roaring Branch Trail up to High Butte, March 19th, 2011
Vic Hasler reporting
Located north of Big Stone Gap, VA, the Roaring Branch Trail is within the Jefferson National Forest. This hike ended up being 8 miles round trip with ~1400 ft elevation change requiring six and half hours to complete. The trail starts at the cascades (see photo), proceeds up the lush valley to the ridgeline, which is followed to the High Butte overlook. There are multiple stream crossings – mostly rock hopping, but one did end up needing to be waded. Blowdowns from the winter 2009 storms in the first 1.5 miles have been cleared by volunteers (per Forest Service ranger). The mid section, still along the creek, had not yet been maintained to remove several small tree falls plus trim back the rhododendron growth, thus required a few detours and lots of hand clipping. The upper section, emerging onto the ridge crest, changed to more open forest. At the overlook, lunch and the sunny day were enjoyed while peering down into Powell Valley. The return trip, downhill and with a more open path, was quick. Not much active wildlife was seen, except for several species of birds and a small snake on a rock in the trail. Out for the nearly spring day were Vic, Clark, and Ben Hasler. For more details, visit the TEHCC Trail Wiki’s entry for [[Roaring Branch Trail]].