Tennessee Eastman Hiking & Canoeing Club – Page 7 – Supporting hiking and canoeing in the North East Tennessee area

April 15, 2017April 18, 2017

Rental Equipment Checkout, April 24

When
Wed, April 24, 2017, 11am – 1pm

Where
B-310 Lobby (map)

Description
Rental Equipment Checkout Monday, April 24,11:00 am –1:00 pm Contact: Terry Dougherty, or better yet show up. Location: Eastman Employee Center, Rm. 221 and Lobby. It’s time to ensure the Club’s rental gear is ready for another year. We will evaluate all of the equipment and propose necessary repairs or replacements. A light lunch of pizza, veggie tray, cookies, soft drinks and bottled water will be provided. This is a great opportunity to become familiar with available rental equipment. Come and go as your time permits. Many hands make light work. Please help if you can. Contact: Terry Dougherty, 502-5177

March 21, 2017April 2, 2017

Bluestone River Trip 38th Year

When
May 26 – 28, 2017

Where
Pipestem Resort State Park, 3405 Pipestem Drive, Pipestem, WV 25979, United States (map)

Description
Bluestone River Trip, May 26-28, 2017, 38th Year, Leader: Terry Dougherty, 423-502-5177. The annual Bluestone River Trip (38th Anniversary) is scheduled for May 26-28, 2017. We will stay at the beautiful Pipestem State Park (Mountain Creek Lodge). We have reserved a block of rooms, please call 800-CALL-WVA (ask for Pipestem State Park / Mountain Creek Lodge) and reserve your room for Friday and Saturday. To secure one of the clubs block rooms, reservations must be made by May 12. Room $ 112/night + taxes. We plan to paddle the scenic Bluestone River both Sat. and Sun. This is a Class III trip the first day and Class I the second day. You can skip the second day, if you like. Other options include family camping at the state park campground and/or driving up on Saturday morning. This is a GREAT trip with a lot of family fun, scenic river and very nice lodging. In addition to the paddling, Ed Montgomery will once again be in charge of HAPPY HOUR and libation coordination on Saturday night and is going to make this one special. Please contact the trip leader (Terry Dougherty, 423-502-5177) if you are planning to attend.

March 17, 2017April 18, 2017

Spring Dinner Meeting – April 7th, Friday

Reservations required for the meal and can be made using this form.

Event	Time	Details
Spring Dinner Meeting April 7th, 2017	5:30pm	Location: Eastman Lodge, Main Banquet Hall 404 Bays Mountain Road, Kingsport, TN
Happy “Trails” Hour	5:30pm-6:30pm	Beer and wine for sale, or BYOB
Dinner – Barberitos taco and fajita bars plus tea, coffee and desserts	6:30pm-7:15pm	Barberitos will be providing a fajita and taco bar including hard and soft shells, chips, salsa, and more with other items purchased separately by the club. ($8 per person)
Club Business	7:15pm-8:00pm	– Update of club activities – Awards
Special Program: An Overview of Hiking, Paddling, and Camping in the Tri-Cities	8:00pm-9:00pm	Johnny Molloy

November 28, 2016

Iron Mountain Gap to TN 19E Water Report: Nov 11-13, 2016

We have a water conditions report from an area hiker. This was in early November. Hopefully this will improve with the rain in the forecast this week.

Iron Mountain Gap to TN 19E Water Report. I hiked with a good group of people over this section on November 11-13, 2016.
Here is a report on water based on listings in the AWOL guide (going north):

Campsite 1.3 North of Iron Mountain Gap: Did not check due to being .1 off the trail
Greasy Creek Gap: Did not check due to being .2 off the trail
Clyde Smith Shelter: Had lunch here and took the time to walk down to check out the water source. No water available. Ground was not even damp.
Water .4 North of Hughes Gap: Damp ground by no water
Ash Gap: Very low flow of water. We had to build a dam and clear a path for the water. One of the crew used a piece of PVC to try and get the top water, but it was still sludge. Between engineering, low flow, filtering through a bandana, and then through a Sawyer, it took us almost two hours to get six clean liters of water. If it had not been at dusk and we were not tired, we would have moved on. I would not count on the water here.
Roan High Knob Shelter: Slow steady flow with good pool to dip from.
Footbridges/Streams south of Carvers Gap: Low flow. Would need to dig or find a hole to dip from.
Springs .2 North of Grassy Ridge Bald: Good flow running right across the trail. One was piped and the other could easily be dipped from.
Stan Murray Shelter: Did not check due to earlier reports of being dry and frequently dry.
Overmountain Shelter: Good flow
Doll Flats: Very low flow. Took almost five minutes to get 1.5 liters. There was good flow coming from a spring running across the trail about .5 south of Doll Flats.
Doll Flats to 19E: The next water we saw was the stream that was alongside 19E and that ran about .5 south of 19E.

October 19, 2016

Laurel Fork Shelter – Reopened for use

Carl Fritz is reporting that along with a small crew of maintainers they were able to clear the trees from the shelter. The shelter sustained some cosmetic damage but it remains functional. The back roof overhang sustained some damage but has not affected the functionality of the shelter. The trees were laying across the roof. They cut the tops off trees then were able to pull the 16 inch maple with a 20 foot stump on a root ball upright with a rope and come along. Then they felled the 20 foot stump with a crosscut saw. They were also able to clear blowdowns on the high water trail in the Laurel Fork Gorge as well.

September 18, 2016September 18, 2016

Laurel Fork Shelter – Still closed to use

UPDATE: Laurel Fork Shelter continues to be temporarily closed because of the July 8^th high wind storm. While the Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards (SAWS) removed the hazard tree in front of the shelter, there are two oak trees and a large locust tree still laying on roof. The major concern is a , which will require an expert sawyer from USFS to remove.

Closure signs have been posted at the shelter trail junctions. Please do not plan to visit or even stay in its vicinity until the storm damage has been safely cleared.

August 19, 2016 photo:

July 17, 2016 photo:

July 27, 2016July 27, 2016

Norovirus (Stomach Bug) Information – 2016

July Update: Reports have been received of half dozen hikers being ill with source possible in the area around Nolichucky River, Curley Maple Gap Shelter, and Cherry Gap Shelter with the results showing in the Roans. Don’t lay food directly on open surfaces – and follow proper sanitation to avoid adding to this number!

Prevent outbreaks of norovirus (or even passing around a stomach bug) at campsites/shelters along the Appalachian Trail. Proper hygiene — especially hand washing with soap and water — is key to preventing the spread of the disease. (Hand sanitizers may not be effective against norovirus; however, vigorous rubbing of applied sanitizer has been reported to improve performance.) Also, be aware that most water filters do not filter viruses.

Please be informed! Read the following information carefully.
Prevent Norovirus 2015

July 18, 2016July 18, 2016

7/23 Hike from Hughes Gap to the Barn Shelter

This is the continuation of the “Hike the TEHCC A.T.” series. We made it to Hughes Gap last month. Now it’s time to hike the balds! If you’ve wanted to hike large sections of the A.T. but avoid the in-and-out, here’s your chance. We’ll need roughly half to help participate in shuttling. This leg will be from Hughes Gap to the Barn Shelter. We’ll take the Overmountain Victory Trail for trail access. Contact tim@tehcc.org for details. Past and future hikes are being detailed at [[Hike Plans:2016 TEHCC AT]]