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

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]]

April 12, 2016

From the Chair – April 2016

By William Werner

For fair-weather hikers like me, April marks the beginning of hiking season. I’m excited to get back out on the trails, and we have a great lineup of hikes this month. I’d also like to bring to your attention two important non-hiking events in April. The first is our annual rental equipment inspection on April 20^th. The club maintains a broad selection of hiking and camping equipment for rent, and each year we need volunteers to examine the items to evaluate their condition. Helping out with this process is a great way to get to know what equipment is available, and it’s just plain fun to set up tents in the middle of the B-310 lobby. Volunteers are rewarded with a light lunch of pizza and snacks, so I highly recommend you come out. The inspection is from 11:00 to 1:00 in Room 221 of the Eastman Employee Center (B-310). Contact our Rental Equipment Coordinator, Terry Dougherty, at 502-5177 and let him know if you can make it. The second event is our Spring Dinner Meeting, scheduled for the night of Friday, April 22. We have an excellent speaker this year in Danny Bernstein, an Asheville author who will present stories and photos from her visits to each of the National Parks in the Southeast. We also have some copies of her book to give out as door prizes; so be sure to attend!