Sunday, September 29 On a beautiful fall afternoon, nine club members drove to Mill Ridge outside of Hot Springs and hiked about five miles on the Appalachian Trail through Pump Gap and over Lover's Leap to the French Broad River.
Saturday, September 28 Since none of the writers from the Writer's Conference were interested in hiking, seven hikers drove to Panther Creek State Park and hiked along Cherokee Lake then did several of the short loop Trails there.
Sunday, September 22 Five hikers walked about eleven miles in the rain on the Thomas Divide and Newton Bald Trails in the Smokies.
Saturday, September 21 Four bikers rode twenty one miles in the Horse Creek area of Greene County.
Sunday, September 15 Seven hikers showed up in the rain and did a short, and very wet, mystery hike on Greene Mountain from Low Gap to Kennedy Cabin on an old manway and returned on the jeep road.
Saturday, September 14 The hike on Snake Den in Cosby had to be rescheduled, but four hikers did the re-location loop on the Appalachian Trail on Camp Creek Bald. The loop starts on the Bald, then goes north by the Black Stacks and Bearwallow Gap on the AT, then takes the new AT "relo" section across the ridgetop and returns on the existing Appalachian Trail.
Thursday, September 12 A Juniper Tree was planted In Memory of Charles Flaglor on Camp Creek Bald. Seven club members participated in the planting of the tree on the club's section of the Appalachian Trail .
Wednesday, September 11 Six "Wednesday Walkers" hiked the nature trail on Bluff Mountain outside of Hot Springs, N.C.
Monday, September 9. We had a very good turnout for our quarterly meeting. The club was honored to have Orville Bach and his wife, Margaret, as our guests. Dr. Bach is a professor at Walter's State in Morristown and has worked summers as a park ranger at Yellowstone and other National Parks for 29 years. He presented a very interesting and informative slide show on the diversity of Yellowstone along with slides of the "Fairyland", a rarely seen backcountry spot with very unique rock formations. There was plenty of good food as usual.
Sunday, September 8. Eight club members drove to Elizabethton to attend the Sycamore Shoals Celtic Festival and hike the nature trail that runs by the Watauga River.
Saturday, September 7. Six bikers rode about 17 miles from the Warrensburg Road to the Newport Highway on the Brighthope and Whittenburg Roads.
September 1-2 Two backpackers covered 19 miles on the Welch Ridge, Jonas Creek and Forney Creek Trails.
Sunday, September 1 Four hikers checked out the Wolf Creek Trail and Falls between Del Rio and Hot Springs.
Saturday, August 31 Three bikers rode 14 miles in the Newport Highway/Warrensburg Road Section of Greene County.
Sunday, August 11 Six hikers walked from the washed out bridge on the Clark's Creek Road to Sill Creek Falls and back. Because of the dry climate lately, the falls was down to a trickle.
Saturday, August 10Five bikers rode from the NPS Office in Hot Springs down the road by the French Broad to Paint Rock. Then the group forded Paint Creek and continued to Dudley Falls. According to local news, the Paint Creek Road will be rebuilt by 2004.
Wednesday, August 7The Wednesday Walkers had 4 participants. The group was shuttled up to the Meadow Creek Mountain Tower and walked 3 miles to the campground on the Meadow Creek and Gum Springs Trails.
Sunday, August 4 One a hot, muggy afternoon, five river rats launched their "tubes" just below the Embreeville Bridge near Erwin, and floated down the Nolichucky River to the rapids near the old 'Chucky Trading Post, which is now closed. The whitewater float was so thrilling that the group did it several times 'til they got it right.
Saturday, August 3 Five bikers rode from Doak School up the bike trail past Davy Crockett State Park and on to the Limestone Mall where they ate breakfast. The group returned to Tusculum just before the head of noon became uncomfortable.
Sunday, July 28 On an extremely hot and muggy morning, eight hikers left the picnic ground at Cades Cove and headed up the Anthony Creek and Russell Field Trails to the intersection with the Appalachian Trail. The group then turned south on the AT and hiked across the ridgeline of the Smokies to the intersection of the Gregory Bald Trail. The group met up with two others who had driven the shuttle and hiked up the Gregory Ridge Trail. After a short trip to the top of Gregory Bald the group descended to the parking lot on Forge Creek Road near the Cades Cove Visitor Center.
Saturday, July 27 Five bikers has a nice, cool early morning ride along the French Broad River in Del Rio from the Shack to the Wolf Creek Bridge and back.
Sunday, July 21 We had received word that the club's section of the Applachian Trail on Camp Creek Bald was in need of trimming, so thirteen workers spent the afternoon with weedeaters, sling blades, loppers and trimmers. The whole section was covered and should be in great shape until late fall.
Saturday, July 20 Five bikers rode from Hot Springs to Paint Rock. The group then carried their bikes across the washed out bridge over Creek, then continued their ride to Dudley Falls and then returned for lunch at the Smoky Mountain Diner. It was very nice having this beautiful area all to ourselves, but we all hope that the road and bridges will be repaired in the near future.
Sunday, July 14 Seven club members drove in the pouring rain to the Chimney's Trailhead and met up with two others from Knoxville for the shuttle to Clingman's Dome. As soon as the group suited up for the weather, the rain quit for most all the rest of the day. After hiking the Appalachian Trail, a slippery, soggy section, for the first six and a half miles, the group headed down The Road Prong Trail. This historical old Indian Road and game path was very steep and rocky but is one of the most picturesque trails in the Smokies. The trailside was lined with bright red Bee Balm and Orange Turk's Cap Lillies and the group passed also passed many beautiful cascades and waterfalls before reaching the Chimney Top Trail intersection.
Saturday, July 13 The rafting trip on the Nolichucky River above Erwin, Tennessee was a big success even though the weather failed to cooperate. We had 11 participants in the big six person rafts and seven river rats chose the one person, inflatible, fun ducks. The rain was light but steady for most of the day and the lunch on the river was very good though a bit soggy. Low water conditions made the trip a little more strenuous than usual from either prying off the rocks of paddling very hard to avoid them in the first place.
Wednesday, July 10 Four Wednesday Walkers went to Winged Deer Park in Johnson City and hiked on both paved and unpaved trails. Wild flowers were abundant around a circular paved track. Rain held off till the group was headed home.
Sunday, July 7 The Laurel River Trail close to Hot Springs, N.C. was the chosen destination for the Mystery Hike. This trail was picked by the seven hikers who participated mainly because of the cooling effect of the river.
Saturday, July 6 Seven bikers rode on the Virginia Creeper from Abingdon, Virginia to Damascus, Virginia and back. We had a beautiful warm summer day for the trip.
