2016 is here and for that means reminding everyone to renew membership to the Tennessee Eastman Hiking and Canoeing Club. Most of everyone should fall into one of the three categories.
Eastman employees – Dues are automatically deducted from your first paycheck, no further action needed
Retirees – email me at tim@tehcc.org to confirm your contact information
Affiliates – Complete the form, include the required payment, and mail to the provided address
That’s it! Still debating? My easy response is that your membership fee is a cheap trail head fee. That’s 7.5¢/mi for the miles of trail our club maintains on the AT. I just ran the preliminary numbers for 2015 AT maintenance. People volunteered over 10,000 hours over 347 outings to maintain our 134 miles of trail. Large portions of our club revenue, well over half if not close to 80% goes to trail maintenance activities. This is mostly tools and materials needed to maintain one of the most popular sections of the AT. Your little bit of dues doeshelp.
The bulk of the remainder of our dues revenue is for our web hosting. Our Trail Wiki continues to grow. 2015 has some renewed focus along with exploring new capabilities that have been added. Early next year I hope to have a customized searchable list so you can find the trails near you that match your desires.
Membership in 2016 is looking to be a good year. We have commitment to continued focus on our event calendar. I personally hope to lead at least one hike a month. With five to ten more people with that level of commitment, we would have a really full calendar. That would be 1% of our membership leading hikes, not that many. I also have some ideas of weekend camping and hiking trips that I may explore if there is enough interest.
So please renew today! Still not convinced, contact us at chair@tehcc.org or tim@tehcc.org and let us know what you think.
Tim Schaefer Reporting
Hike date: 12/19/2015 “It will be a tough hike with all of the downed trees and overgrown brush.” As said by Vic Hasler, or something close to that. He wasn’t too far off. [[Roaring Branch Trail]] is an in-and-out 8mi hike and a mostly uphill climb from the road to the overlook. Not having any takers to join me, possibly partly due to the below-freezing morning that was forecast, I decided to bring the dogs with me. They’re two Great Danes often mentioned in trip reports, Zoinks! and Beetle. The wiki was right. The parking area is not much more than a narrow gravel shoulder on a curve of Business 23/Roaring Branch Rd. It made for some nervous dog wrangling as trucks and cars zipped by us. The light snow cover and brisk morning, to me, was perfect for a weekend hike. Several sections of trail as warned by Vic have some significant downed tree sections. Some were simple hop overs, others could be walked around, several required climbing over and under patches of downed logs. I didn’t have too many problems, but my four legged companions had some more difficulty. A few times I thought we would have to turn back, but we eventually found a way through the mess. Also difficult were the stream crossings. Roaring Branch was flowing quite well. This was the dogs’ chance to show off an easy passing while I struggled to find a rock hopping path but managed to keep my feet dry. We made it to the High Butte overlook and enjoyed lunch. I noticed that the yellow blazed trail does continue past the overlook on the right. I thought about exploring it, but with a family out home and two tired dogs that normally spend the day napping on their bed I saved that for another day.
Falls at the trail headZoinks! inspects a massive blowdownWho would pass up a chance to hike on a morning like this!Beetle admires her believed kingdomView south from High Butte overlookThe repercussions of eight miles of hiking for our beasts of comfort.
Tim Schaefer Reporting
Hike Date: 12/13/2015
The Zimmerman family joined us for this 3.26mi hike on [[NTSP Purchase Ridge Trail|Purchase Ridge Trail]] at [[Natural Tunnel State Park]]. It was a great late fall day and fun was had by all. The trails were in good shape and the views of the tunnel were fairly clear to see with the absence of foliage. As luck would have it, shortly after starting our return we hear a train whistle in the distance. The trail head is a little hard to find with no clear parking area near by but the detail on the wiki was good enough to get us to find it. Since the campground was closed we parked at the camp store, but it’s not clear where you would park in the summer months. Having fun was the Schaefer Family (Tim, Carrie, Jamie, Bob, Josie and dogs Zoinks! and Beetle) and the Zimmerman Family (Yuyan and Frankie).
Leader: Tim Schaefer, 423-302-0846 Hike the Roaring Branch Trail near Big Stone Gap in Virginia. See the wiki for trail details and trail head. The plan is to depart the
Colonial Heights meeting location at 8 am and be at the trail head and on the trail at 9:30 am. Contact hike leader to caravan or car
pool. Prior contact is not required, but is appreciated so we know to look for you.
Leaders: Tim & Carrie Schaefer, 423-302-0846
Rating: Family/Beginner
Come on this Family/Beginner hike to view the Natural (Train) Tunnel in Virginia. The plan is to depart the Colonial Heights meeting location at 12:30 and be at the trail head and on the trail by 1:30 pm. Prior contact is not required but is appreciated so we know to look for you. Contact hike leaders Tim & Carrie Schaefer for caravan or carpooling, 423-302-0846, timcarrie@tehcc.org
Amy received a B.S. in Biology from Armstrong Atlantic State University in 2006. As a graduation present to herself, she decided to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. During her hike, she witnessed the dramatic devastation of the forest caused by the gypsy moth invasion. This experience inspired her to pursue a M.S. in Entomology from Virginia Tech. Since graduation in 2011, she has been working towards forest protection in the natural sciences and natural resources fields. In her free time, Amy enjoys hiking, whitewater kayaking, and mountain biking. She can be reached at asnyder@appalachiantrail.org.
I updated a good amount of content during the month of October, including Rogers Ridge Horse Trail, Bays Mountain, and Warriors’ Path State Park . It’s becoming too much work to go out hiking! As for the inner workings, I’ve turned back on anonymous edits and user account creation. It’s working great to stop the vandals, but still no new editors have been contributing. I’ve also started a concept of “hike plans.” These will be pages that assemble a collection of trail hikes into a single plan. Bays Mountain and their network of trails are prime examples of needing hike plans. An 11 miles tour of structures within the park is an early example. I call it the Bays Mountain Structure Tour and will lead this hike as part of the fall Expo.
Speaking of contributing, it is a wiki and, yes, we would love your help. We have documented 168 trails, some with little more than just their trail name, and I know there are many more within a 2-4hr drive that we haven’t even listed yet. Although I promise that wiki editing is easy and that you can’t permanently mess it up (all edits are saved, past versions can be reviewed, and edits can always be undone), you can always email me at tim@tehcc.org with any desired corrections. But get in there, try out wiki editing, and help make this site the resource to find out about great hikes in our area.
Come burn off some turkey and stuffing and hike to see the 8th wonder of Colonial Heights – a stream sinking into a hole. Since REI has been in the news we have also rebranded this as our “Opt Outside” hike. This hike will be Family/Beginner friendly as it will have small children along for the hike. Meet at the pool parking lot at 1:30 PM to caravan over to the Sinking Waters trail head or if you know where it is, meet us there. Reservations not required but appreciated so we know to look for you. Contact Carrie Schaefer (carrie@tehcc.org).
View South-East from the first bald clearing of Rogers Ridge
Rogers Ridge Horse Trail is an in-and-out 6.87 mile long ridge line trail. It’s a long hill climb trail for a day hike but near the end, the 360° views of the surrounding ridge lines all make it worth it. A side benefit of this hike is being able to reach the Tri-State Corner Knob junction of TN-NC-VA. The trail begins in the Horse Ridge Scenic Area of the Cherokee National Forest past Damascus near Laurel Bloomery, TN. Horses are allowed, but on a recent October 2015 trip, there was little evidence of them. Although clearly marked at the trail head that ATV/ORV vehicles were not allowed, signs of their recent presence was along the entire trail. The hike begins with an immediate creek crossing that has neither a bridge or decent rocks to hop across, but this will be the last time you see water. Although guide books mention some camp sites along the way with water access, we didn’t see them. The trail wastes no time in getting to your 3,201 feet of climbing as it’s nearly a consistent slope up to the summit. The trail itself is very well marked with Yellow rectangle blazes, but several unmarked and well worn trails connect along the way. It may be possible that one of them connects to the Gentry Creek Falls trail that would make for a nice loop trail. The trail itself is wide with a clear “two-track” appearance with the occasional water logged rut to walk around. While not noticed on the ascent, the descent can be challenging for the ankles as there are several sections of loose rocks fist sized and smaller.
View from the upper part of Rogers Ridge Bald
After hiking for 5.33 miles with glimpses through the trees of mountains and neighboring ridge lines, you finally enter a clearing to enjoy the views. The trail may “officially” end here as the previously well blazed path now lacks markings, but you can continue on to enjoy the views. From here you can take a side trip to the south to get an early view of the surrounding ridge lines and valley including Grandfather Mountain. Continuing on the trail to the north, you reach another bald clearing that could suit well for camping, especially large groups. The only reservation I myself have about camping here is the apparent frequent use of ORV’s here. From this higher elevation, there are views of Whitetop Mountain and Mt Rogers Mountain to the northeast. Throughout these tree bald clearings, blackberry bushes appear to be growing rampant. If you can tolerate the thorns, the blackberry picking in the summer must be unlimited! In a bald clearing to the east towards the state line is the trail high point in the final bald clearing. Although various sources differ on the exact measurement, we measured by GPS at 4,900 feet. The ridge top home seen to the south appears to have been severely vandalized. Although unfortunate for the owner, one can only hope that one day this majestic ridge line and profile can be returned to its original natural glory. After the high point, the trail begins to consistently descend for the first time, and ends at a trail/road. Turn left to continue the descent to find the Tri-State Corner Knob, the (at least at one time) terminus of this trail.
View of Whitetop Mountain and Mt Rogers from Rogers Ridge
When visited in October of 2015 the hike was an enjoyable day of near complete solitude. The only encounter was a couple in a truck near the trail terminus. Unexpectedly we found the tree colors to be apparently in their early stages to the south and west, and finding only bare trees to the north and east. Regardless, the day of fresh air, views, and exercise was more than enough to make this a great trail to visit that you should consider as well.
