Saturday, December 16 With five member aboard and a forecast of high winds and rain, we decided on "Plan B" and drove to the end of the Roaring Creek Motor Trail and hiked up the road two miles to the Grapeyard Ridge Trailhead. We then followed Grapeyard Ridge for seven and a half miles to Greenbrier. It was very windy but the rain held for most of the trip and we enjoyed seeing the remains of an old steam engine which had been wrecked and abandoned in "Injun Creek!"
Saturday, December 9 There were seven club members along on the loop hike in Cades Cove. We began hiking on the Abrams Fall Trail, went past the falls to the intersection of the Hannah Mountain and Hatcher Mountain Trails. Here we had a wet, cold and slippery ford of Abrams Creek. We then returned to the trailhead on the Hannah Mountain and Rabbit Creek Trails for a total distance of eleven miles.
December 2 & 3 On Saturday, we had about 15 members out to work on the float for the Christmas Parade. Gordon Fanning brought his trailer, on which we piled up 25 bales of straw. The straw was covered with greenery which we hoped would resemble a mountain scene. Although there was some difference of opinion among the workers, on how the float turned out, most were satisfied with their work. Seventeen hikers, six children, a baby, dog, bear and a gorilla, braved the cold and windy day to participate in the parade on Sunday. It was a long wait for the parade to get started but we all had a great time showing off before a big crowd of onlookers. For some unknown reason, we didn't win a prize but just "wait 'til next year!"
Sunday, November 26 Since the day turned out to be windy and drizzling rain, we decided to leave the bicycles at home and hike instead. To avoid Deer Hunting Season, the seven club members in attendance checked out the hiking trails at Panther Creek State Park between Morristown and Knoxville, Tennessee.
Friday, November 24 Five workers came for the scheduled Trail Maintenance day. We rode up to Camp Creek Bald and worked on our recently adopted section of the Appalachian Trail. We cut briars, rhodo and re-blazed trees until we had worked off most all the turkey and pumpkin pie.
Sunday, November 19 The scheduled Road Prong, Chimney Tops loop hike had to be abandoned when the Newfound Gap Road was closed due to snow. Eight club members and two guests from Murphreesboro, Tennessee hiked up the Laurel Falls trail, then took the Little Greenbrier Trail to Metcalf Bottoms for a total of approximately ten miles. The snowfall made the hike a beautiful winterland experience.
Saturday, November 18 Five bike riders braved the cold, overcast weather on the bike ride at Hot Springs, but not for long!! The chili, pizza and hot chocolate at the campground after the ride sure did hit the spot!
Saturday, November 11 We had a perfect sunny, cool, crisp day for this trip in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Nine club members left from Elkmont and hiked about a mile on the Cucumber Gap Trail, then took the Bent Arm Manway up the ridge, across blowdowns, brier thickets, sheer rock bluffs and rhododendron tunnels to the intersection with the Miry Ridge Trail. We then returned to Elkmont on Jakes's Creek, a beautiful creekside trail for a total of twelve miles.
Sunday, November 5 There were twelve participants on the hike from Old Forge to Round Knob and back. We climbed up on the Big Jennings Creek and Cowbell Hollow Trails and descended on the Little Jennings Creek Trail. No problems were encountered with the creek crossings because of the extremely dry conditions. This was a moderate to strenuous hike of approximately five miles.
Saturday, November 4 After a "tour" through Cades Cove, five members did a seven mile hike from Metcalf Bottoms to the Townsend Wye via the Roundtop Ridge Trail. We got wet from the drizzle and even wetter having to ford the Little River in knee deep, fast moving water at the Wye.
Saturday, October 28 We had seventeen participants for the "Halloween Hayride" up to Camp Creek Bald. We didn't get there in time to hike to the relocation of the AT, but did manage a short trip to the Black Stacks just before sundown. We cooked hot dogs, served along with fixins, baked beans, cookies, soft drinks and some foul looking concoction that was reported to be brownies! Stan and Kathy Hoard were posthumerously awarded the prize for the best costumes. The club would like to thank Gordon Fanning, W.T. Daniels and Bill Sigler for driving their trucks to haul the goblins and gear.
Sunday, October 29 There were nine hikers along for the trip to the Greenbrier Section of the GSMNP. We started on the Trilium Gap Trail and hiked to Grotto Falls and continued to the "Gap". We took the spur trail up to the summit of Brushy Mountain, a shoulder of Mt. Leconte. The views of Gatlinburg and the surrounding area were very clear for this day and time. The group had lunch back at Trilium Gap, then descended to Greenbrier on the Brushy Mountain Trail with a short stop to check out the "fittified" spring!
October 20-22 We had seven people along on the trip to explore Mammoth Cave in Central Kentucky. On Friday, we took the Frozen Niagra tour which showed the vertical shafts that are formed by sinkholes along with many beautiful stalactite and stalagmite formations. Saturday morning was the Historical Tour, explaining how the cave has been used by humans for up to 4000 years. On Saturday afternoon, we donned helmets, headlamps and knee pads for the Introduction to Caving tour which had us doing crawls, duck walks and all kinds of caving maneuvers. Along with the trips underground, we, of course, worked in a couple of short hiking trips in this beautiful country.
Sunday, October 15 We had six club members for the Mystery Hike. We decided to go to North Carolina and hike on the Appalachian Trail from Mill Ridge to Hot Springs. It was a beautiful day and the colors were starting to peak.
Saturday, October 14 There were 11 bikers on the ride on the Virginia Creeper, a rails-to-trails conversion. The group started at Abingdon, Va under chilly conditions and rode to Damascus for lunch. The group took a side ride back over into Tennessee and climbed Backbone Rock, an old tunnel. We then rode back to the trailhead in Abingdon for a total of 41 miles.
Sunday, October 8 We had a big turnout for the Kid's Hike to Margarette Falls, led by Denise Ashworth. Water levels were lower than normal making all the creek crossings easier. The weather was crisp and cool but all the kids (and adults too) had a great experience.
Saturday, October 7 There were five members on the hike up the Spruce Thicket Trail, then down Greene Mountain on The Camp Creek Trail. Spruce Thicket, while not presently recognized by the Park Service, is one of Greene County's most beautiful creekside trails, and is in pretty good shape and fairly easy to follow. J.C. Hensley and Bill White took their machetes and cleared some briars and rhodo, leaving the trail passable although the trail does need some chainsaw work in the middle section. The Spruce Thicket Trail, which begins about .2 mile up the Phillips Hollow Trail, gains about 2000 feet over approximately four miles but is very steep in just a few places. The last mile or so is on an old logging road that intersects with the Camp Creek Bald road at Low Gap. We crossed to Kennedy Cabin and descended on the Camp Creek Trail which is also not a recognized trail, but is in great shape with good footing and a wide footbed. The Camp Creek Trail comes out behind the Freewill Baptist Home and permission was obtained from the home before crossing their property. This trail is very steep in places and would be a very strenuous climb if you started at the bottom.
Sunday, October 1 Nine bike riders rode from Murray Branch Picnic Ground to the Paint Creek Campground and back followed by a picnic supper at the pavillion.
Saturday, September 30 Fifteen club members hiked seventeen miles from Greenbrier to the Jellystone Campground on the Old Settlers Trail. It was a cool, crisp, perfect day for hiking. A rattlesnake was spotted having a squirrel for dinner in the middle of the trail. Congratulations to Past President and Current Club Treasurer Mike Jones on the completion of his goal to hike all the trails in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
Thursday, September 28 Seven Club Members met with Tom Sanders of the Carolina Mountain Club to finalize the Greeneville Hiking Club's adoption of the Appalachian Trail section from Round Knob to Camp Creek Bald.
Sunday, September 24 Because of a prediction of seventy percent chance of rain, five members decided to leave the bikes at home and hike instead. We hiked the Little Paint Creek trail from the bulletin board to the Appalachian Trail and back. The precipitation never came and we had a great outing.
Saturday, September 23, Four club members drove to Polls Gap which is off the Blue Ridge Parkway on the Balsam Mountain Road between Maggie Valley and Cherokee, NC. We started on the Rough Fork Trail, made a short run on the Caldwell Fork Trail and then finished with an 8.5 mile hike on the Hemphill Bald trail for a total of fourteen miles. The trail was wet from showers the day before and the footing was rocky a lot of the way but the overwhelming vistas from the top of Hemphill Bald made the total climb of nearly 3000 feet worthwhile.
Sunday, September 17 Nine Hikers made the strenuous hike of over 16 miles on the Cooper Road-Deeplow Gap-Indian Creek-Sunkota Ridge-Thomas Divide loop in the Cherokee/Bryson City Area of the Smokies. Cool, crisp weather made this long hike with over 4200 ft. altitude gain a great adventure.
Sunday, September 10 Three club members went on the Mystery Hike to Hickey Fork Falls Trail in Shelton Laurel. This trail is clear and in great shape but the last mile has an altitude gain of 1200 feet.
Saturday, September 9 There were eleven participants on the hike in North Carolina on the Mountain to Sea Trail from Mt. Pisgah Inn to Looking Glass Rock Overlook. What started out as a moderate hike got three miles longer than expected when the group took the wrong trail in search of a snake and bear. The foggy weather subdued the view somewhat but the meal at the Inn made all the climbing worthwhile.
Monday, September 4 Six club members went on the semi-loop hike on the Curry Mountain-Meigs Mountain-Meigs Creek trails that started with a one and a half mile walk on the Little River Road then began the climb at the Metcalf Bottoms and ended at the Sinks. The descent on the Meigs Creek was through a beautiful area of temperate rain forest and contained 22 creek crossings.
Saturday, September 2 We had seven riders on the New River Ride from the Shot Tower to Fries and back. The weather was drizzly and the trail was muddy but the bananna pudding at Fries made the trip worthwhile.
Saturday, August 25 A steady rain set in on the way to Gatlinburg and half the group decided to hike in the Pigeon Forge mall. The hard core hikers decided to disregard the weather and hike anyway. They were rewarded when the rain quit half way up the Alum Cave Trail and then the sun appeared then totally cleared by the time the group reached Cliff Tops, presenting us with a very clear view. We also saw some interesting wildlife on the trip back down the mountain.
Saturday, August 18 Fifteen Hiking Club Members climbed "Ole Rocky Top" in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We left the trailhead in the picnic area of Cades Cove and started on the Crib Gap Trail for the first mile and a half. The we took the Lead Cove and Bote Mountain trails to climb to the Appalachian Trail at Spence Field. Part of the group went north on the AT to reach the summit of Rocky Top. The weather was fairly clear, making for a 360 degree view. The group continued south on the AT to the Russell Field Trail, and descended on the Russell Field and Anthony Creek Trails back to Cades Cove. This strenuous hike covered about 16 miles with an altitude gain of approximately 3200 feet.
