The Cherokee Hiker

July 2014 Volume 30, Issue 7

Cherokee Hiking Club, Inc. • 198 Crews Drive • Benton TN 37307 www.cherokeehikingclub.org

~CHC Hike and Events Calendar~  July 10, 2014 – Thursday. Club meeting and meal at the Golden Corral Restaurant in Cleveland at 6:00.  July 12, 2014 – Saturday. Hiawassee River Float Trip. Leader: Clayton Pannell.  July 27, 2014 – Sunday. Gee Creek Wilderness Hike. 2.5 miles round trip, easy to moderate. Leader: Leon Bates.

JULY HIKES

Hiawassee River Float Trip – July 12, Saturday Event leader: Clayton Pannell.

We will meet at the boat ramp in the Hiawassee/Ocoee State Park (Gee Creek Campground) at 2:00 p.m. We will work out a shuttle when we meet in order to get some vehicles to Patty Bridge, from where we will launch out.

The river most likely will be low, but we plan to float anyway. Everyone is responsible for their own canoe or kayak, life jackets, paddles, drinking water, snacks and any other needs. Note: life jackets MUST be worn at all times when on the river.

Please contact Clayton Pannell if you plan to attend, by calling 423-263-9730 (home) or 423-435-1848 (cell).

Directions from Cleveland: head east on U.S. Highway 64, and take the access road to U.S. Highway 411 in Ocoee (right past the McDonald’s on the right). Turn left on 411, continuing north, going through Benton, and past the Polk County High School on the right. Soon after you cross the Hiawassee River, you will see Spring Creek Road off to the right. Turn down Spring Creek Road and continue on this road a mile or two, crossing over Gee Creek. Not long afterwards, you should see a sign for the Hiawassee/Ocoee State Park on the right. Turn down this road, going for a short ways. You should see the Gee Creek Campground off to the left. Turn in here and look for the boat ramp.

Gee Creek Wilderness Hike – July 27, Sunday afternoon Hike leader: Leon Bates. Rating: easy to moderate. Length: 2.5 miles round trip.

This will be joint hike with the Cherokee Hiking Club and the Valley Wild Ones (native plant society; website is http://tennesseevalley.wildones.org/ ) to the Gee Creek Wilderness will be Sunday afternoon July 27. Meet at the Gee Creek Trailhead near Delano at 1:30 p.m. and bring water, snacks and rain gear. The 2.5-mile round trip is rated easy to moderate with spectacular scenery and diverse wildlife habitat.

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Contact Leon Bates at 256-710-5508 for more details, and to confirm participation.

Directions from Cleveland: head east on U.S. Highway 64, and take the access road to U.S. Highway 411 in Ocoee (right past the McDonald’s on the right). Turn left on 411, continuing north, going through Benton, and past the Polk County High School on the right. A little ways after you cross the Hiawassee River, you will see Gee Creek Road off to the right. Turn down Gee Creek Road and continue on this road for a little while; it will first go south and then head back up toward the northeast. After a little while, you will see the trailhead off to the left. To make sure you don’t miss it, please contact Leon a day or more ahead of time at the number listed above, as cell service will be limited in this area.

Hikes and events in July For last minute updates to our current hike schedule, there are 3 places to check: 1. Our club website at http://www.cherokeehikingclub.org 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

July Club Meeting – July 10, Thursday The meeting will be held along with a cafeteria-style supper in the Golden Corral Restaurant in Cleveland at 6:00 p.m. The address is 350 Stuart Road NE. Everyone is responsible for their own tab and tip.

Directions: go to Exit 27 on I-75, and turn toward the east, going into Cleveland on Paul Huff Parkway. Go past the Home Depot and the Bradley Square Mall on the left and Lowe’s on the right. Continue through the major intersection with Highway 11 (Keith Street); Paul Huff Parkway at that point becomes Stuart Road. Just a short ways afterwards you will see the Golden Corral on the right.

In Memory of Bob Lee As was mentioned in the June newsletter, Bob Lee, an active member of the club for many years and avid hike leader along with his wife Effaleda, passed away at the end of May. In honor of Bob and in appreciation of his many years of service to the club and love of the Smoky Mountains, the club donated a sum of $100 to the Niota United Methodist Church in Niota, Tennessee, at the request of his widow Effaleda.

Please continue to keep Effaleda and the Lee family in your prayers of sympathy.

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Monthly Saturday Work Trip in the Tellico Ranger District – July 12, Saturday This is not an official CHC event, but all willing and able hands are invited. No special skills are needed, just an ability to wield simple yard tools, a strong back and positive attitude.

We will be tackling side hill slump on the Henderson Mountain Trail, as well as logging and brushing out the trail. This event is open to all, but you must let us know in advance. We will be limiting the number of workers to 20. Put this on your calendar and let us know if you plan to join us – Rick Harris.

We will meet at 9:00 a.m. at the Cherohala Skyway Visitor’s Center in Tellico Plains. The address is 225 Cherohala Skyway. Bring a lunch, water and some tools such as loppers, lightweight saws, clippers, etc. And don’t forget the bug spray!

Directions from Cleveland: go east on U.S. Highway 64 and turn onto U.S. Highway 411 at Ocoee, heading north. Go through Benton and turn right on TN State Highway 310 (Mecca Pike) in Etowah, heading east again. This road turns into TN State Highway 39 and ends up in Tellico, where it will dead- end into TN State Highway 68. Turn right on 68, and then a short ways after, turn left on Highway 165, the Cherohala Skyway. Go a short ways down and you will see the Cherohala Skyway Visitor’s Center on the left.

Please contact Rick Harris at 513-260-1184 (cell) or [email protected] if you plan to attend. For further updates on this event, and to post comments or questions, go to http://www.meetup.com/Cherokee- Hiking-Club-of-Southeast-Tennessee/events/190563732/.

Cherokee Heritage Festival –August 2-3, Saturday-Sunday This event is sponsored by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Friends of Red Clay. The event, as well as most events held at the Red Clay State Historic Park near Cleveland, is of interest to all those who are interested in the Cherokee heritage and history in this area. The times will be 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., both days.

This is the first of a new annual event that will offer a different Cherokee theme each year. This year, the theme will be “Resistance and Persistence: The Formation of the Eastern Band of Cherokee”. Complete with traditional singing and dancing, Native American foods, nature programs, Cherokee vendors, 18th and 19th century living history historians, storytelling, and other programs throughout the weekend. Be sure to enjoy the traditional game of Stickball and hear the lectures about the and the formation of the Eastern Band of Cherokee. There will also be a new temporary exhibit in the Visitor’s Center that will focus on the new theme. We look forward to seeing you there.

If interested in purchasing food or gifts from the Cherokee vendors and artisans, it is advisable to bring cash. Other costs include $5.00 per vehicle for parking.

There are short hiking trails at the Park, so if you feel like a little exercise, bring your walking shoes/boots. The terrain is a little hilly, but the trails are well-made and don’t have a lot of rocks. For more information please call the park office at 423-478-0339.

Directions from Cleveland: head south down I-75 and turn at Exit 20, going east (left) on U.S. 74/Bypass U.S. 64/APD 40. Go a few miles, and turn down Blue Springs Road to the right, going south. Continue for several miles. The road will come to a “T” intersection at some point; just take a right, and Blue Springs Road will continue there. When Blue Springs Road crosses TN State Highway 317 (Weatherly Switch Trail), continue to go straight. The road name changes at that point to Red Clay Park 3

Road. At the fork, bear to the right. The road will pass over a creek shortly after. Continue for a ways, and the road will curve to the left and then to the right. You should start seeing the signs to the Red Clay State Historic Park around that point; just follow the signs. The entrance to the park will be on the right. If you have crossed the state line into Georgia, you have gone a little too far.

Recent Hike & Event Reports

Harrison Bay Loop Trail Hike – May 4, Sunday One toad, three deer, and a thousand ticks! On a bright and sunny spring Sunday afternoon 11 hikers completed the 4.5 mile loop trail at .

The hikers included some from the Club, some Meetup guests and some personal guests. The going was pretty easy and relatively flat. The company was good, and some of us made new friends. The view of the Bay from the marina and the trail was enjoyable. As mentioned above, we observed deer and toads, and the ticks were out and enjoying themselves at our expense. As reported by hikers also on the trail but not in our group, the snakes were out and about as well. But all in all, a good time was had by all. The picture below shows our group: members James Anderson (hike leader), Randy Morris, Laura Hertz, Rebecca Levings, Debbie Koenig, and guests TaLeah Schneiter, Puspa, Olga Cinnamon, and James and Phyllis Anderson’s daughter and son-in-law. Taking the picture: Phyllis Anderson.

Tellico Plains Trail Town Event - June 7, Saturday This event was not a CHC event, but a few CHC members attended, including club webmaster Rick Harris, who organized this event. Rick is very active in the BMTA and SEFTC, as well as local trail maintenance in the Tellico Plains area.

Tellico Plains is soon to be named as a BMTA/SEFTC Trail Town. On August 9 the official dedication ceremony will be held in Tellico Plains during the Tellico Plains Wilderness Weekend. However, as a presage, Tellico Plains held a National Trails Day Event on June 7 to work on local trails. This event 4 involved about 40 area residents and another 10 or so representatives from the USFS.

The event started off at the picnic area at Indian Boundary Recreation Area at 8 AM with a breakfast of cinnamon rolls provided by the Tellico Grains Bakery, along with coffee and orange juice. Then event organizer Rick Harris made introductions of all the sponsors of the event as well as the USFS personnel, most of whom gave a brief thank you, including Katherine Foster (Tellico District Ranger), Doug Byerly (CNF Recreation Program Manager), Brandon Burke (Tellico Rec Mgr), Travis Schwarzer (Tellico Trails Tech), Drew McCarley (Ocoee Trails Tech), Rob Stewart (Tellico Rec Tec), and Robert Thomas (Tellico Rec Tech), among others. Rick Harris also introduced Joanne and Bobby Mitchell with the Southern Appalachian Back Country Horsemen (SABCH), Bill Hodge with Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards (SAWS), the Wilderness Society and TN Wild, Clayton Pannell and Ken Jones (who organized the construction of most of the BMT through TN/NC), as well as Patrick Hawkins (mayor of Tellico Plains).

We then broke up into four groups. One group worked on the new Miller Ridge Horse Trail with

members of the SABCH, another group worked on the Mills Branch Trail in the Citico Wilderness with the SAWS group, a third group worked on the Flats Mountain Trail. The fourth group worked on trailheads in the local area.

At the end of the day, all returned to the picnic area for a supper of hamburgers, hotdogs, and pizza provided by the Partners of the , as well as the Tellico Outpost. In all it was a very successful day with hundreds of hours of hard work put into the local trail system. All received a commemorative T-shirt as well. Plans are to hold this event every National Trails Day. In addition, there will be a monthly Saturday work trip for the local community in the Tellico area sponsored the Tellico Ranger District beginning in July. The upcoming July work trip is mentioned under Other Events of Interest, above.

The pictures above show the fun that was had that day, as well as the hard work that went into it. At left are pictured the very tired duo of club members Rick Harris and James Anderson, along with other exhausted men. At right are shown Katherine Foster, Tellico District Ranger, along with Bill Hodge, 5 director of SAWS. For more pictures of this event, see http://www.meetup.com/Cherokee-Hiking-Club- of-Southeast-Tennessee/photos/22927302/.

Grayson Highland State Park Camping Trip – June 16-22, Monday-Sunday We arrived on Monday afternoon at the group camping site in Grayson Highland State Park in southern Virginia. Clayton Pannell was our fearless event leader. It was our first time there and many campers had already selected their tent sites in the large group camping area. The group camping area was downhill from the parking area next to the road. The restroom was up along the road and did not have a shower, so to get a shower, one had to walk or drive to another restroom in another part of the campground.

With such a large group of campers and so many trails to hike, smaller groups formed and hiked different trails at different times. The following is a day-by-day account of our many adventures.

On Tuesday the 17th, after a slow start in the morning, club members Aggie Scott and Ruth and Clayton Pannell went to the Visitor’s Center to see all the exhibits and history of the area. Many of the items on display we remembered from our childhood. After the visit there, we hiked the Twin Pinnacle Trail, and saw a tree growing over a rock with its roots reaching down, covering three feet over the rock until they reached into the ground. The next thing we saw on that hike was the small Pinnacle, with 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains. Another group consisted of guests Judy and Johnny Pannell, who hiked to Mount Rodgers, a nine-mile round trip. A third group, made up of club members Debbie and David Flower, Carroll and Carol Guhne and their guests, hiked the Rhododendron Trail, seeing lots of wild ponies and great views of the area.

On Wednesday the 18th, Debbie and David Flower and Carroll and Carol Guhne went for a bike ride on the Virginia Creeper Trail, riding down from White Top Junction to Damascus. Meanwhile, Ruth and Clayton, Johnny and Judy Pannell, Aggie Scott and club member Boyd Firestone hiked the Rhododendron Trail to see the wild ponies and the great views; they saw many small colts and some long-eared mule colts. The Rhododendron Trail crosses the (AT) in an open area. We hiked on the AT for a ways, and then returned to its crossing with the Rhododendron Trail. After lunch we hiked on the Rock House Trail, where we saw a rock large enough to be used as a shelter; there was only one good overlook with a great view. We also saw the Old Settlement, with log cabins and other buildings from days gone by.

On Thursday the 19th, we had a very large breakfast of country ham, eggs, gravy, grits, potatoes and coffee. We hiked the Cabin Branch Trail; part of this trail followed the Cabin Branch creek, where we saw a waterfall. We continued with a steep climb on this trail, following the creek. We then took a long break at the end of the trail and returned to the parking lot on the other part of the loop.

On Friday the 20th, club members James and Phyllis Anderson came by the camp to visit on their way to hike up Mount Rodgers. They started up the Rhododendron Trail. The group hiked the Wilson Creek Trail from the campground, a steep decline of 7/10 of a mile down the creek. The Wilson Creek Trail is very rough with a large rock in it; the trail could not follow the creek bed. We had a hard climb to get around places along the creek, so we finally returned to the campground on a horse trail that had been a road back in the day. Clayton and wife Ruth then hiked the Listing Rock Trail near the Visitor’s Center; it was handicap-accessible and had one good view. Johnny and Judy Pannell, along with David and Debbie Flower, hiked the Pinnacle Trail. There was a big storm in the late afternoon; the shelter over our picnic table would puddle water on it and so we had to keep paddling out the water spots to get the water off the canopy. Hiawassee Hiking Club member Sheri Stuart arrived about 7:00 on Friday evening and 6 joined the fun.

On Saturday the 21st, we had another very large breakfast and waited for club member JoAnn Jackson to arrive. After she arrived, we went on another hike to see the wild ponies and some more great views. We got caught in a storm near the parking lot.

On Sunday the 22nd, we had yet another large breakfast, packed up and started home with stops in Damascus for lunch and to see the sights.

I thank all who came on this camping trip and contributed to the hard work of setting up camp so far from the parking lot. Campers included club members Clayton Pannell (leader), Ruth Pannell, Carol and Carroll Guhne, David and Debbie Flower, Boyd Firestone, Aggie Scott, JoAnn Jackson, and guests Johnny and Judy Pannell, Calvin and CharMaine Hayes, Sandra Wingfield, Emily Wingfield, Broder Wingfield and Sheri Stuart.

Buggy Top Cave Hike – June 28, Saturday Six hikers, all club members, took the rocky trail to Buggy Top Cave on a semi-overcast day with thunderclouds that rumbled in the background. Progress was slow, due partially to the care that was needed traversing the wet rocks and partially to the many informative conversations about the native plants found along the way, thanks to our knowledgeable hike leader Leon Bates and Rick Foster. We finally arrived at our lunch destination, which turned out to be a top cave that connects to Buggy Top Cave itself. We ate our picnic lunch there and observed comings and goings of the phoebes that were nesting in the shelter of the overhang. The way down to the final destination at Buggy Top Cave proved very treacherous indeed, and those few that did attempt it were sliding on their bottoms along the muddy slope and picking their way over large boulders. The attempt proved worth it, as the cave with its falls was an awesome sight. Those that didn’t go all the way to the bottom had to content themselves with hearing the falls from a short distance. Even though there were a few slips and falls, all made it back in one piece not long before the rains finally came.

Four of us ended up afterwards at the Smokehouse in Monteagle, where we treated ourselves to the delicious country-style buffet and took home some of their excellent BBQ pork ribs and other goodies from their unique store.

Above is shown the entrance to Buggy Top Cave, and at right a picture of a very large dinner-plate-sized (unidentified) white mushroom we found along the trail. For more pictures, go to the hike Meetup site at http://www.meetup.com/Cherokee-Hiking- Club-of-Southeast- Tennessee/photos/22879742/ . 7

Cherokee Hiking Club Meeting Minutes June 12, 2014 Charleston Park, Charleston, TN

The potluck began at 6 PM. The meeting was called at 7:04. 20 people attended.

Treasurer’s Report:  Treasurer Randy Morris reported that our treasury was $1,903.99.

New Business:  Robert Lee died. We will send a card. Rebecca will ask how his family wants the club to memorialize him.

News:  Sandra Corn is selling a Burmese mountain dog.  The Ocoee rangers had a Youth Corps group working on trails the week of the meeting.

Continuing Business:  The American Hiking Society raised its membership fee to $75. We voted to pay it.

 We are supposed to be maintaining a trail at Cleveland State. The volunteer (ed. note: Bill Ristom, not a member since April 2012) to do the work hasn’t attended a meeting since. We could meet at Cleveland State this summer and look at the trail.

Hikes made:  May 10: Coker Creek Falls & Unicoi Turnpike.  National Trails Day at Tellico Plains had a good turnout, with good food much appreciated. Tellico Plains is a designated Trail Town.  The Harrison Bay loop trail hike attracted club and Meetup attendance to a good hike on a good day.

Events planned:  The Grayson Highlands Virginia State Park camping trip was set to start June 16.  June 28: Buggy Top Cave hike with Leon.  Rebecca & Olga are considering a Smith Mountain hike.

Next Meeting:  July 10: Golden Corral, Cleveland, TN, 6 PM.

The meeting adjourned at 7: 31 PM

Respectfully submitted, Richard Foster, secretary 8