February 2008		www.tehcc.org

For an explanation of the ratings, see either Hiking Schedule or Paddling Schedule.

Annual Maintenance Dinner
Friday, February 22, 2008

We will have our annual dinner to kick off the primary maintenance season on Friday, February 22 at the Eastman Lodge.

Mary Cunningham and Ed Oliver have graciously again volunteered to provide dinner.  If you have been before, you know you can't beat the quality for the few dollars cost.

Carl will have a packet of information for each maintenance section.

Please contact Carl Fritz (423-477-4669 or ) to let me know how many people may come for dinner, so we can plan accordingly for the meals.

TEHCC Rental Equipment: HT-20 – Northface Lightspeed Tent

HT-20 Northface Lightspeed is a non-freestanding tent. Ten stakes total are required to correctly hold the tent down, expand the full ventilation system, and pull out the vestibule.

HT-20 is one of the lighter weight backpacking tents that TEHCC purchased back in the late 90's. "Lighter" at 3 pounds, 12 ounces means that there are even lower weight (sub-2 pounds) tents now on the market. It is 8 ounces lighter than the similar freestanding HT-19 Lunar Light tent. Northface appears to have replaced these models with the Tadpole at the $239-289 range, while the Lightspeed brand name is now used for performance winter gear.

Although the tent is listed for two people, they need to be short, thin, and friendly without any gear inside. Would not recommend this tent for anyone over 6' tall. It would be great for one person on a short trip trying to minimize weight. The vestibule opens directly off the end of the tent easing entry, but it is only large enough to hold a pair of boots and a waterbottle.

The market for ultralight tents has moved toward tarps, which can be set up with trekking poles. An online auction site could not even get a $50 bid for a little used Lightspeed tent purchased in 1996.

Numerous Opportunities to Help Maintain the A.T.

There are many ways to participate in maintaining the Appalachian Trail from frequently to once a year. We have special project groups going out usually once a week. The typical day is Tuesday but it can vary to other week days or even the weekend. Usually, the weekend trips include a small or large hiker or college student group. An e-mail notice is sent to interested participants several days in advance of the event.  You can receive all notices or just those that are for the weekend.  We often have at least 8 to 14 people for each event. Sometimes we do routine maintenance like cut blowdowns and cut weeds. Often we are doing major trail or structure repairs, or we are digging new trail.  No prior experience is necessary but you must enjoy being outside.  Almost all trips start in morning and we are home by late afternoon or early evening.

As you probably know we have divided our 132 miles of the A.T.  into 34 sections. A single individual or several individuals have primary responsibility for each of these sections. They do blowdown removal, lopping, blaze painting, weed cutting, water bar cleaning and minor repairs. Often these individuals have a difficult time finding someone to go out with them. A couple of extra hands sure make the tasks easier and more enjoyable. We will try to accumulate a group of volunteers who are willing to occasionally go out with some of these section leaders. The section leaders can send out an e-mail notice and I will forward it to the potential volunteers to see if anyone can help on that day and task.

Please contact Carl Fritz (423-477-4669 or ) if you are interested in getting notices of any of these events:

• Special events during week and weekend
• Special events only on weekend
• Working on a trail section with a section leader for a single event

TEHCC Welcomes New Members

New members are eligible for a free dinner at the next Dinner Meeting.

Scheduled Hiking, Paddling and Trail Maintenance Opportunities (Future)

South Holston Lake, February 9, 2008

This hike is a short stroll (about 5 miles) made even easier by the nearly level path it takes. It begins just shy of the South Holston Lake dam, and skirts the some of the northwest shore of the lake before ending at the spillway. My family and I hiked this at the end of October, in fall colors, and our 3-year old did most of the trip on his own two feet. We won’t have autumn colors to enjoy in February, but I am hoping there might be snow on Holston Mountain, of which we get good views, particularly at the spillway – snow on the mountain, I hope, if not underfoot! We will meet in Colonial Heights in the parking lot between McDonalds and the bank at 8:30 a.m.; the drive to the start of the hike is around half an hour. Please call so I will have an idea of how many and who. We should be back at the cars by around noon – so no need to carry lunches, but snacks and water are recommended. Please plan to dress warmly, with layers, and with appropriate footwear, especially if there has been a snowfall.

A.T.: Temple Hill from Erwin, February 16, 2008

Winter hiking is for getting up high to see the views which are usually blocked by leaves. My proposal is for a short, but strenuous day hike. The lookout tower on top of Temple Hill above Erwin is 3710 ft, while the benchmark by the parking lot is roughly 1710 ft, so 2000 ft climb. The reported distance along the A.T. is 3 miles one way including the side path to the tower. For those familiar with geocaching, the topo map to the right is marked with caches along the trail. Meet in Colonial Heights at 8:30 AM for carpooling the 35 mile/40 minute drive to parking at the White Memorial Bridge in Chestoa. Could also pick up folks in Johnson City or just meet at the trailhead. Dress for the weather, including for cold and wind. Bring lunch, water, energy bars, etc.. E-mail or call the leader with any questions.

Lower Mount Cammerer Trail (S900M), Feb. 16, 2008

This 10.5 mile, 1500-ft elevation gain hike will involve spotting a car at the Chestnut Branch trailhead at Big Creek, then shuttling to Cosby Campground to begin the hike. Since most of the hike will be on the north face of Mt. Cammerer, expect lingering ice and snow, even without recent accumulations. Please let the hike leader know, by phone or email if you are coming, and to get further details on meeting time and place.

Buffalo Mountain Park Trails, March 1, 2008

This hike will be a group choice once we meet. Proposal is to head up to the White Rock overlook for the great view shown in this summertime picture. Several routes will take us there. Meet at the usual spot by McDonalds in Colonial Heights at 8:30 a.m. for carpooling the 22 mile drive or at 9:15 a.m. at the park trailhead in Johnson City. Wear appropriate clothing layers for the likely cold weather (hike will be postponed in case of heavy rain or icy roads). Bring snack lunch and drinking water. E-mail or call the leader with any questions.

Special Activity and Trip Reports (Past)

Ramsey Cascades (S900M), Jan. 12, 2008

This was a beautiful day for an eight mile trip to the highest waterfall with trail access in the Smokies. The heavy rains earlier in the week provided abundant water for the falls. The weather was cool but on the return trip all of us were down to shirt sleeves. Lunch on the big rock below the falls was chilling due to the coolness of the rock. The large virgin trees along the trail were also very impressive. We meet several larger groups of young people on the return trip. Making this beautiful hike were Larry Miller and Kent and Nancy Wilson.

Photos courtesy of Kent and Nancy Wilson, click on image to enlarge

Larry and Kent with big trees	Nancy and Kent with big tree	Nancy, Kent and Larry

A.T. Section Maintenance and Special Project Reports (Past)

Reporting: Carl Fritz
Date: January 8, 2008
Purpose: Build new bridge
Location: Section 19, Jones Branch, trail north of Nolichucky River
People: Daryel Anderson, Paul Benfield, Ken Buchanan, Bruce Cunningham, Dave Dunham, Carl Fritz, Chuck Mather, Ted Mowery, Ed Oliver, OTTO, Bob Peoples, Brandon Saunders, Tim Stewart, Ben Trotter
Summary: With this large crew we were able to haul in a 24-foot bog bridge and all the auxiliary lumber and hardware, plus a hand rail. We built this unique bridge on top of the single locust log we installed in December. Our bog bridges are already a unique design. Someone suggested that we call this one a blog bridge. Both approaches to the bridge were rebuilt with large rock steps.

Photos courtesy of Tim Stewart

The finished product with (left to right):  Ted Mowery, Chuck Mather, Otto, Brandon Saunders, Bob Peoples, Bruce Cunningham, Paul Benfield, Ben Trotter, Daryel Anderson, Carl Fritz, Ed Oliver, Dave Dunham, and Ken Buchanan

Reporting: Joe DeLoach
Date: January 13, 2008
Purpose: Scouting and blowdown clearing
Location: Section 19, Martin Creek Trail to Curley Maple Gap Shelter
People: Craig DeLoach and Joe DeLoach
Summary: The main purpose of this trip was to establish the best vantage points for viewing a proposed Forest Service action in the Martin Creek drainage. We took the short cut up the old Martin Creek Trail to the A.T.  about 1.5 miles south of Indian Grave Gap, then walked to Curley Maple Gap Shelter. Along the way we removed all of several small blowdowns. The shelter was in good shape, but the shovel and rake are missing. There is potential to construct a side trail from the Martin Creek Trail intersection about 1/4 mile to a rocky outcrop which would make a very nice overlook towards Erwin and beyond to the Bald Mountains, possibly back towards Unaka Mt. as well.

Reporting: Carl Fritz
Date: January 16, 2008
Purpose: Search out new route to A.T.
Location: Section 2, About 0.1 mile north of Backbone Rock Trail
People: Collins Chew, Bruce Cunningham, Carl Fritz, Bob Peoples
Summary: We explored a forest service road in TN just north of Backbone Rock Trail with two 4WD vehicles. It was passable and we gained about 2.6 miles on it. We found a reasonable walk through the woods of about 0.8 miles to intersect the A.T.  about 0.1 mile north of Backbone Rock Trail. We judged this access probably only suitable for special projects. Most section maintainers are unlikely to have the vehicle capability to use this as a routine access and the walking route is not obvious.

Reporting: Carl Fritz
Date: January 23, 2008
Purpose: Attend ASU Job Fair
Location: Appalachian State University
People: Mike Hupko, Bob Peoples
Summary: Bob and Mike attended the annual job fair at Appalachian State University and discussed with interested students the opportunities to volunteer with TEHCC, Konnarock, or ASU Trail Club. They also shared some potential training opportunities with ATC. ASU is reorganizing the Freshmen Seminar program and it may impact the number of groups that volunteer with us.

Reporting: Joe DeLoach
Date: January 24, 2008
Purpose: A.T.  Committee Meeting
Location: Eastman Building 310, Kingsport
People: Collins Chew, Joe DeLoach, Jim Foster, Carl Fritz, Darrol Nickels, Ed Oliver, Kim Peters, Jeff Siirola, and John Thompson
Summary: We determined a good way to signify hostel locations, without violating ATC policies and Forest Service regulations.  Signs can be placed along the A.T.  at geographic points that can then be referenced in publications describing the A.T.  We'll put up such signs at two locations on our section. The Superintendent of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail (OVNHT) and members of the Southern Appalachian Greenways Alliance have expressed interest in collaboration in the Yellow Mountain Gap area where the OVNHT crosses the A.T.  While we do not want to commit the Club to maintaining this portion of the OVNHT, we will write an article for the newsletter so those interested individuals can become involved with the Alliance. We will request five weeks of Konnarock Crew time in 2012 and 2013 for relocations north of Hughes Gap. For our 60th anniversary, hats will be awarded at the Spring Dinner Meeting to 29 volunteers who reached the 60-hour maintenance milestone.  The A.T.  Committee was informed of our new Steering Committee members and the SharePoint site that has been created for Club use. A new program has been announced to recognize volunteers who have worked 500 hours on federal recreation lands. Such volunteers will receive a pass for free admission to any federal recreation site for one year. Carl Fritz has already received such a pass and we believe he is the first person in the United States to do so!

Reporting: Jim Foster
Date: January 26, 2008
Purpose: Work on new bridge
Location: Section 19, Jones Branch, trail north of Nolichucky River
People: Jim Foster
Summary: I hammered the ends of all the bolts in the new bridge to keep the nuts from being removed.