The Cherokee Hiker. September 2014 Volume 30, Issue 9. Cherokee Hiking Club, Inc. 198 Crews Drive Benton TN

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1 The Cherokee Hiker September 2014 Volume 30, Issue 9 Cherokee Hiking Club, Inc. 198 Crews Drive Benton TN ~CHC Hike and Events Calendar~ September 11, 2014 Thursday. Monthly meeting/potluck at Charleston Park in Charleston. September 27-28, Saturday-Sunday. Big Frog Backpacking trip. Strenuous, 5.5 miles one way. Leader: James Anderson. SEPTEMBER HIKES Big Frog Backpacking Trip September 27-28, Saturday-Sunday Leader: James Anderson. Rating: strenuous. Length: 5.5 miles one way. This is the backpacking trip to Big Frog that to be canceled earlier in the year. It will be strenuous, and will be 5.5 miles in and 5.5 out. Anyone wishing to go must make contact with James Anderson at (cell) prior to going so that he can talk with you about your backpacking ability. James will share the specifics about where and when to meet with those people that contact him. Please call NO LATER than 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 25 in order to give him some information, and to give yourself time to prepare. Hikes and events in September For last minute updates to our current hike schedule, there are 3 places to check: 1. Our club website at 2. The Cherokee Hiking Club Facebook page. Click on the Facebook link:. 3. The Cherokee Hiking Club Meetup page. Click on the Meetup link below: *NOTE: As a courtesy, ALWAYS contact the hike leader in advance of the hike to facilitate planning. OTHER EVENTS OF INTEREST September Club Meeting September 11, Thursday The meeting will be held along with a potluck supper in Charleston Park in Charleston TN at 6:00 p.m. Directions from Cleveland: head north on U.S. Highway 11 (Keith Street/North Lee Highway) to 1

2 Charleston. In Charleston, you will see the Fire Station on the right and the Charleston Elementary School on the left. On that corner, make a right onto Worth Street and go a short distance, past the log cabin on the left. The Charleston Park will be on the left. Turn at the first driveway into the park, and park near the covered pavilion where we will have our supper and meeting. Directions from Athens and points north: head south on U.S. Highway 11 toward Charleston. After passing over the Hiwassee River and going a few blocks, you will see the Charleston Post Office on the left. Go a few more blocks, and you will see the Fire Station on the left and the Charleston Elementary School on the right. On the street (Worth Street) right before the Fire Station, make a left. Go a short distance, past the log cabin on the left. The Charleston Park will be on the left. Turn at the first driveway into the park, and park near the covered pavilion where we will have our supper and meeting. CHC Trail Adoption at Cleveland State Community College The Club voted at the August meeting to adopt and begin maintenance on the short loop trail at Cleveland State Community College. Some years back, a former club member had contacted CSCC about maintaining this trail, but there had been no further action made on this. We have re-contacted the head of the Maintenance Department at the school, and they were still interested in getting this trail maintained as it has since fallen into disrepair. We will begin maintenance on the trail in the middle of this month (September), after the September meeting. We will do this on a semiannual basis, as we currently do for our portion of the John Muir Trail at Childer s Creek (we will still maintain the latter as well). In order not to interfere with our trail maintenance for the JMT, we will schedule the maintenance for the CSCC trail in a different month than that for the JMT. Trail maintenance for both trails will occur in the fall and spring. Please consider contributing your time, energy and trail maintenance talents to this effort on a regular basis. The CSCC trail is a short 2.5 mile loop that should not take too long to complete clearing. The first maintenance trip will be more involved, as a few fairly large trees are down across the trail, so this will require some chainsaw work as well. Please wear long pants and possibly some sort of ivy block, as poison ivy has overgrown the trail in parts. We will set a time and date for our first maintenance of the CSCC trail at the September meeting, and an will be sent out to inform members of the exact time and date of this event Biennial Conference of the Southeastern Foot Trails Coalition (SEFTC) September 18-21, Thursday - Sunday This event will take place in Blairsville, GA. Join us for hikes, workshops on all sorts of hiking-related topics with nationally known speakers, lots of fun and great food! Our headquarters for the Conference will be the Union County Community Center in Blairsville and the new Comfort Inn right next door. Our speakers will include Ron Tipton, Executive Director of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and Janet Zeller, Manager of the U.S. Forest Service Accessibility Office in Washington, DC. Visit our website for details and registration information at Recent Hike & Event Reports 2

3 Tellico Wild: Explore Our Big Backyard August 9-10, Saturday-Sunday This event, sponsored by TN Wild, the Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards (SAWS), the Benton MacKaye Trails Association (BMTA), the Southeastern Foot Trails Coalition (SEFTC), the USFS Tellico Ranger District and the town of Tellico Plains, was a great success. On August 9 and 10, Tellico Plains ( The Little Town with the Big Back Yard ) was abuzz with activity in the great outdoors. Saturday started out with an introductory meeting behind the Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center before taking off on various interpretive and historic hikes, a trail maintenance trip, and stand up paddle boarding (SUP) at Indian Boundary Lake; for the latter, compliments of Rock/Creek Outfitters. Everyone then returned to a big white tent next to the Tellico Outpost Pavilion at 5:30 PM for the Tellico Plains Trail Town Dedication Ceremony. SEFTC Vice President Darcy Douglas, BMTA President David Blount, USFS Tellico Recreation Manager Brandon Burke and Tellico Plains Mayor Patrick Hawkins gave brief talks. Then a ribbon cutting ceremony was held, but using a more apropos grape vine with loppers. The SEFTC/BMTA Trail Town Program is designed to promote hiking and backpacking, canoeing, kayaking, biking, and horseback riding in communities with 100+ miles of trails in their immediate vicinity. The Tellico Ranger District of the USFS has about 180 miles of trails, and the adjoining districts have several more hundreds of miles of trails. Also the Benton MacKaye Trail, a 300 mile longdistance wilderness trail from Springer Mountain GA to the north end of the Smokies, courses close to Tellico Plains, crossing the Tellico River just above Green Cove. A website has been designed to help visitors to the area plan their hiking or backpacking trip ( Eventually there will be highway signs, rack cards, and trail guides developed to aid the hiker and backpacker. Bob Richards, Program Coordinator for the Greenways & Trails Program for the State of Tennessee, then spoke on the economic and health benefits of promoting the trails in small communities, such as Tellico Plains, that border the National Forest. Bob Richards also congratulated Tellico Plains and the Tellico Ranger District of the USFS on recently being chosen to receive a $200,000 RTP (Recreational Trails Program) grant to build and improve existing trails in the forest. This money will be matched with another $50,000 of USFS funds and work in kind to expand the existing trail system as well as for other trail improvements in the district. The RTP grants are funded by the federal highway gas tax and are utilized to build or improve trails of all types throughout the State of Tennessee. Following Bob Richard s talk, Jim Phitzer (an Aldo Leopold impersonator from Chattanooga) entertained the group with a hilarious fly fishing story, then most everyone convened in the Crab Trap at the Outpost Pavilion to eat, drink and have a good time while listening to live music by Faith Willin. On Sunday a crowd again met behind the Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center to break into hikes, stand up paddle boarding, and snorkeling in Citico Creek. The weather was very cooperative both days. It was expected to rain both Saturday and Sunday, but not a drop fell anywhere close by. This weekend event was coordinated by Laura Hodge of TN Wild, Rick Harris of the BMTA and SEFTC, and Bill Hodge of SAWS, in cooperation with the Town of Tellico Plains and the USFS. Various local people led the different hiking and other events, including the Cherokee Hiking Club s own Marc Bernatti, who led the Unicoi Turnpike Hike on Saturday August 9. Marc did a great job leading around 25 hikers of widely varying abilities, including several children in and associated with a Girl Scout troupe. This hike was very educational as well as giving great exercise. The moderate trail 3

4 consisted partly of the remains of the old wagon Turnpike and partly of newer foot trails used as detours for the points at which the Turnpike was truncated by the development of newer car-friendly roads. The Turnpike itself was alive with history as Marc expounded on the long series of events related to the Unicoi Turnpike and the role it has played in the economic development of the area. Below are shown Rick Harris, webmaster of the CHC and active member of the SEFTC and BMTA, along with Bill Hodge of SAWS, with the plaque presented to the town of Tellico Plains in honor of its designation as a Trail Town. Rhododendron Trail Hike August 24, Sunday On a cloudy Sunday afternoon, ten of us set out to hike the 2 1/2 mile Rhododendron Trail along the beautiful Ocoee River. Due to twist of fate (a truck spilled its load of drainage pipes on Highway 64), one group was delayed in its arrival. Therefore the group was split into two parts, with ½ of the hikers in each group. The first 5 to set out from the Thunder Rock parking lot were led by Becky Levings, and also included club members Olga Cinnamon, and Tom and Laura Hertz. This group met Dale, a friend of the Hertz s, at the Ocoee Whitewater Center at the Trail s other end. On their way back from the Whitewater Center they met up with the other half of the group, led by long time club member Joanne Jackson. Included in this group were Ruth and Clayton Pannell, soon-to-be new member Colleen Elwood and guest Brook Muellar. We all enjoyed an easy trek with pleasant talk, spotted brilliant cardinal flowers (picture at left) in the woods and took pictures on the boardwalk. We rested at the Whitewater Center and learned the history of the Ocoee River from Ruth on the way back. A fascinating discovery was the blue and white fruit (berries) of the silky dogwood along the river stone path. Many thanks to club member/plant expert Leon Bates for the plant IDs. With a 50% chance of rain, fate ended up being kind to us with nary a drop of rain on this hike. Our reunited group is shown in the picture below: kneeling in front is guest Brook Muellar; in the next row, standing or sitting from left to right are Coleen Elwood, Ruth Pannell, Tom Hertz, Laura Hertz and hike leader JoAnn Jackson; in the back row standing are Olga 4

5 Cinnamon, Club President Clayton Pannell and guest Dale. Not included is Becky Levings, taking the picture. The meeting was called at 6: people attended. Cherokee Hiking Club Meeting Minutes August 14, 2014 Michael s Restaurant, Etowah, TN Treasurer s Report: Treasurer Randy Morris reported that our treasury was holding steady at $1, Continuing Business: Effaleda Lee thanked us for our donation in memory of Robert Lee. Last month s minutes needed a correction: the ponies seen on the Grayson Highlands Virginia State Park camping trip were not for riding, or even touching. That did not stop everyone, though. Rebecca talked to Cleveland State regarding the trail we plan to maintain. Cleveland State would be very happy if we worked on it. Clayton called for a vote and there was general agreement with no opposition. We need a formalized maintenance plan, with scheduling. A committee formed. There were general plans made for a Saturday in September. The school may want a formalized agreement of their own; we may already have an old one. Rebecca will follow up. The Forest Service wants a similar agreement. Hikes made: Leon led a Gee Creek hike that was hot but nice, easy until it became rocky near the end. A Unicoi Turnpike hike for the TN Wild Weekend of Wilderness was combined with trail maintenance and other activities for the same event. The Unicoi Turnpike hike was a 2½ mile family event. Events planned: 5

6 August 24: Rhododendron Trail, with Joanne. Carpooling arrangements were made. Next Meeting: September 11: a potluck at Charleston Park, TN, 6 p.m. The meeting adjourned at 7:38 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Richard Foster, Secretary 6