Cherokee Hiking Club
198 Crews Drive, Benton, TN 37307
Trail
Maintenance
Projects
2011
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Work Trips in 2008 or 2009 or 2010 or 2012
Tellico
Ranger District Worktrips
Benton MacKaye Trail Worktrips
Other Worktrips
Videos of Work on Horse Trails (click on this link)
Thursday, January 6, 2011 - Warriors Passage Trail - We will have a covered dish breakfast at the Ranger Station at 8AM to be followed by the monthly safety meeting. At the safety meeting, the Trail Worker Award will be presented to one of our hard working volunteers. I hope that many of you can attend and support the presentation of this award. We will be doing some logging out work on the Warriors Passage Trail following the safety meeting, weather cooperating.
Saturday, January 22, 2011 – BMT TN/NC Work Trip - BMT Section 15c and Section 16a - The location of this trip depends upon the weather. If the weather is severe up high, we will move to a lower elevation. We want to finish off a couple sections which have been worked on recently but did not get finished. One section is the area just north of Six Mile Gap. A Scout troop from Atlanta worked on this section from Sandy Gap toward Six Mile Gap in early December, but did not get all the way to Six Mile. So we plan to finish off the job of brushing out and logging out this section, which has to be done during the non-growing season due to a rare plant which grows in the trail corridor. This section of trail is mostly in wilderness, so we will be using primitive tools. The other section is to finish logging the trail north of Sandy Gap toward Round Top. A chain saw can be used on this section. We need to send in one chain saw crew from Sandy Gap, hiking to a point about 3/4 mile north of Hazelnut and maybe a mile from Round Top. From there to Round Top we need to log out the trail. There may not be too much to saw, so one saw crew should be able to handle the work. If the crew finishes early, then the crew can keep going north looking for new logs so long as they turn around in time to get to back to Sandy Gap by about 4 PM. Plans are to meet at the Coker Creek Visitor Center at 9AM and from there go to Sandy Gap with both crews. We plan to be out no later than 4 PM and perhaps go out to dinner in Tellico Plains at the newly opened Tellico Fish Camp. Brenda and I went there recently and it was excellent. I had all-you-can-eat catfish and Brenda had a three-cheese grilled cheese sandwich. The hush-puppies were some of the best I have ever had. Contact Rick Harris for further information and to sign up: HarrisRi@aol.com, 423-253-6358 home, 513-260-1184 home.
ADDENDUM: Due to closure of forest service road due to snow and ice, the location of this work trip was changed to Section 13d-e and Section 14a
Monday, Jan. 31st - BMT Section 13d - There is a problem spot on the John Muir / BMT located near the intersection of the old and new routes at Rock Island Branch. A tree has gone down and left a 3' drop off where the roots used to be. We looked at this problem last Saturday when we were in that location, and determined that we will need to do some serious rock work to fix the trail back. We will need all of the help that we can get to haul tools and gear in about 1 mile upstream from the Powerhouse parking lot. We plan to use 2 rock bars, 2 come-alongs, chains, and some digging tools. We also need to haul in a sign and post for the intersection if we have enough help. Meet at the Powerhouse Parking Area at 9 a.m. for this trip.
Thursday, Feb. 3rd - Flats Mountain Trail - We plan to clear blow downs on this trail for the work day. If there is still snow at Eagle Gap, then we will go up from Bee House Gap and tackle as many blow downs as we can clear. Meet at the Tellico Ranger Station at 8 a.m. for the monthly safety meeting with breakfast, then we will leave to work on the trail around 9AM.
Thursday, Feb 10th - Sugar Cove Trail - We need to log out the lower mile of this trail with chainsaws. We also need to start brushing out with weed eaters at a point about 3/4 mile in from the North River Road. We will brush out upstream to the point where the trail becomes excessively steep. The remainder of the trail will probably be abandoned as far as routine maintenance in the future. Meet at the Tellico Ranger Station at 8 a.m. for this work trip. Bring weed eaters if you have them and want to operate them for this trip. CANCELLED DUE TO BAD WEATHER
Thursday, Feb 17th - Certification Refresher and Sugar Cove Trail - Next Thursday (Feb. 17th) will be the annual refresher class for persons holding certification as sawyers. Here is the list of persons that are scheduled to attend.
Carey McHugh
Roger Taylor
John Kalabus
Ed Ley
Tazz Reid
Ken Jones
Bobby Mitchell
If any of you cannot attend, please notify Greg as soon as possible. The class will last for about 1-2 hours and starts at 9 a.m. If the weather cooperates, then those who can will work on Sugar Cove Trail following the class. This work trip will need mostly brushing out, and we will plan on Bobby bringing his chainsaw to finish logout.
Thursday, Feb 24, 2011 - McNabb Creek Campground - We will be doing some other activities instead of our usual trail work this Thursday. We will begin the day meeting at the Ranger Station at 9 a.m. to move some picnic tables. There are 4 or 5 picnic tables to load up at the Ranger Station and move to the new day use area at Baby Falls. There will also be a covered dish lunch party for Greg at the Ranger Station, and we should be back in plenty of time to participate in the Party and wish Greg well in his new position.
Saturday, February 26, 2011 – BMT TN/NC Work Trip - BMT Section 15c and Section 16a - The location of this trip depends upon the weather. If the weather is severe up high, we will move to a lower elevation. We want to finish off a couple sections which have been worked on recently but did not get finished. One section is the area just north of Six Mile Gap. A Scout troop from Atlanta worked on this section from Sandy Gap toward Six Mile Gap in early December, but did not get all the way to Six Mile. So we plan to finish off the job of brushing out and logging out this section, which has to be done during the non-growing season due to a rare plant which grows in the trail corridor. This section of trail is mostly in wilderness, so we will be using primitive tools. The other section is to finish logging the trail north of Sandy Gap toward Round Top. A chain saw can be used on this section. We need to send in one chain saw crew from Sandy Gap, hiking to a point about 3/4 mile north of Hazelnut and maybe a mile from Round Top. From there to Round Top we need to log out the trail. There may not be too much to saw, so one saw crew should be able to handle the work. If the crew finishes early, then the crew can keep going north looking for new logs so long as they turn around in time to get to back to Sandy Gap by about 4 PM. Plans are to meet at the Coker Creek Visitor Center at 9AM and from there go to Sandy Gap with both crews. We plan to be out no later than 4 PM and perhaps go out to dinner in Tellico Plains at the newly opened Tellico Fish Camp. Brenda and I went there recently and it was excellent. I had all-you-can-eat catfish and Brenda had a three-cheese grilled cheese sandwich. The hush-puppies were some of the best I have ever had. I am in Hawaii (darn) so I won't be able to run this trip. So Ken Jones is doing it for me. Contact Ken Jones at mkjones@comcast.net or call him at 423-745-2451. If you cannot get Ken, then contact me, Rick Harris for further information and to sign up: HarrisRi@aol.com, 513-260-1184 cell. I will get your info to Ken.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - Replacement of several karsonite signs - Ken Jones came out this afternoon and took care of replacing some missing trail head Carsonite numbered posts. It was clear that someone had backed over the old post at Long Branch Trail and broken it off, but he couldn't find any of the old posts. He installed new posts at Long Branch and Hemlock Creek Trails behind rocks so that they were protected from vehicles. These two new posts were installed straight and at the proper depth. He wasn't able to do as good a job on the new post at Panther Branch Trail. He used the post starter, but kept hitting rocks everywhere. When he finally decided to install the post, it ended up less than straight and not deep enough. He thinks that next time it may work better fastened to the end post of the bridge. The bad part is that this post is seen by a lot more visitors than the two straight posts. Here are Ken's time for the work today:
Travel Hours = 1.5 Work Hours = 1.5 Total = 3
Thursday, March 3, 2011 - Little Citico Creek Horse Trails - We will start the project of reflagging the 17 miles of proposed new horse trails after the monthly safety meeting. Meet at the Ranger Station at 8 a.m. for this work trip. Safety meeting at 8 a.m., then the work trip.
Thursday, March 3, 2011 - BMT Section 18b - Fodderstack Trail - Bill Hodge and Roger Taylor logged out part of the Fodderstack Trail from Farr Gap to Mills Branch Trail.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011 - BMT Section 19c - Tapoco Section - Dick Evans and friends plan to work on their section.
Thursday, March 10, 2011 - Little Citico Creek Horse Trails - We will be continuing our work on reflagging the proposed new horse trails this next Thursday. This has turned out to be an important project since very few of our original ribbons remain. Meet at the Ranger Station at 8 a.m. for this work trip.
Monday, March 14th - Little Citico Creek Horse Trails - Reflagging Proposed New Horse Trails - We plan to continue with our effort to clearly establish the construction route for about 17 miles of new trails. We have currently have completed about 4 miles in this effort. Meet at the Tellico Ranger Station at 8 a.m. for this work trip. CANCELLED DO TO BAD WEATHER
Wednesday, March 16th - BMT Section 19b - Ernie Engman plans to work on his section.
Thursday, March 17th - We will be helping Robert Thomas with a large Spring Breakaway Group of 42 college students sponsored by Ed and Arleen Decker. Our work trip will be picking up trash on the Citico Creek portion of the District. Meet at the Ranger Station at 9 a.m. Please note the later than usual meeting time.
We started the day at Farr Gap picking up trash with a volunteer crew of three. We walked the next 1.5 miles down toward Doublecamp Creek, dropping down the steep side slope to collect every piece of trash we could see. This was both time consuming and exhausting. After lunch we decided to ride the road slowly and collect everything that we saw from the road. We also stopped at every campsite and picked up trash along the way. I believe that we collected about a dozen bags of trash as well as one tire and one iron pipe.
It turns out that Roger has a real talent for owl imitations. He started calling just before lunch and woke up an owl. The owl then returned his calls thinking that Roger was a long lost friend. Here are our volunteer hours for the day:
Name
Travel Hours
Work Hours
Totals
Ken Jones
1.5
7.5
9
Tazz Reid
1
7.5
8.5
Roger Taylor
1
7.5
8.5
Totals
3.5
22.5
26
Monday, March 21st - We will be continuing our efforts to reflag the proposed new horse trails. Plans are to work on the section located on Salt Spring Mountain. Meet at the Ranger Station at 8 a.m. for this work trip.
Thursday, March 24th - We will be working with a Spring Breakaway Group sponsored by Ed and Arleen Decker. The plans are to pick up trash along the road to Conasauga Falls. Meet at the Ranger Station at 9 a.m. Please note the later than usual time.
We had a great time working with 32 college students yesterday picking up trash on the Conasauga Falls Road. Every single student that I worked with had a good attitude about what they were doing, and worked very hard to clean up one of the worst eyesores in Tellico District. The improvement was certainly noticeable as we took the big truck back in for the last load of collected trash at the first stream crossing. It was a pleasure for us local trail volunteers to work with groups of young people that believe in giving their time to make other people's lives a little better. Here are our hours for the work trip:
Name
Travel Hours
Work Hours
Totals
Ken Jones
1.5
7.5
9
Tazz Reid
1
7.5
8.5
Roger Harris
1
6.5
7.5
Bobby Mitchell
1.5
6.5
8
Joanne Mitchell
1.5
6.5
8
Rick Harris
1
3.5
4.5
Cody Depitty
1
6.5
7.5
Arleen Decker
2
6.5
8.5
Totals
10.5
51
61.5
Friday, March 26, 2011 - BMT Section 16e - Sugar Mtn to Tellico River - Ken Jones and Rick Harris decided on the whim to go up to Sugar Mtn and clear the huge tree across the BMT just north of the Sugar Mtn Road crossing
Monday, March 28th - We will be moving 4 picnic tables from the Ranger Station to the Baby Falls Day Use Area. We will also mount the tables to the concrete with bolts and brackets. These tables are heavy so we need a good crew of 4-6 people to help. I also have a conflict in being able to make this work trip. Meet at the Ranger Station at 8 a.m.
Thursday, March 31st - We will be continuing our efforts to reflag the proposed new horse trails. Plans are to work on the section located on Salt Spring Mountain from the Bivens Branch Road. Meet at the Ranger Station at 8 a.m. for this work trip.
April
Saturday & Sunday, April 2-3, 2011 -
BMTA TN/NC Work Trip - BMT
Sections 12a and
17d -
Annual Saw-A-Thon - Our plans are to meet at the
Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center in Tellico Plains at 9AM each day then to
break into groups of 3-4 workers to go to various segments of the
trail to log out with chainsaw and crosscut saw as much of the trail
as we can in one day. We need certified volunteers to bring
chainsaws and crosscut saws and to volunteer for segments of trail.
If you are not certified, we still need you to be a swamper (one who
throws branches and logs off the trail after they have been cut, a
noble job indeed). Please contact Rick Harris at 423-253-6358 (H) or 513-260-1184 (C)
or
HarrisRi@aol.com
to sign up. Also, if you want the best cinnamon roll around, join us
at 8:30 AM at Tellico Grains. And/or join us for supper at Tellico
Fish Camp or Tellico Outpost (beer).
Monday, April 4th - The work to move the picnic tables had to be cancelled due to rain this past Monday, so the trip has been rescheduled. We will be moving 4 picnic tables from the Ranger Station to the Baby Falls Day Use Area. We will also mount the tables to the concrete with bolts and brackets. These tables are heavy so we need a good crew of 4-6 people to help. Meet at the Ranger Station at 8 a.m.
We finally had a nice warm day to move and install picnic tables today. We loaded up four of the picnic tables (500# each) at the Ranger Station on Bobby's trailer and moved them to the Baby Falls Day Use Area. After working out the required placement, we fastened each table to the concrete with "L" brackets on two of the opposite legs. They all looked nice after we completed the installation. Shortly after we arrived at the picnic area we got to see a river otter making its way upstream on the opposite back of the Tellico. It is fun to watch how gracefully they move across the rocks and through the water. Here are our volunteer hours for the trip:
Name
Travel Hours
Work Hours
Totals
Ken Jones
1.5
4
5.5
Roger Taylor
1
4
5
Bill Hodge
1
4
5
Jim Sirmans
1
4
5
Bobby Mitchell
1.5
4
5.5
Totals
6
20
26
Thursday, April 7th - There will be a covered dish breakfast at 8 a.m. with the monthly safety meeting to follow. After the safety meeting we will be continuing our effort to reflag the proposed new horse trails. We will be working some small segments around Gold Cabin Branch Road for the day.
Thursday, April 14 - We will continue work on reflagging the proposed Little Citico Creek Horse Trails.
April 18 - BMT Sections 16c-d - Sledrunner Gap to Sugar Mtn - Members of the SABCH plan to log out the horse trail along this section of the BMT.
Thursday, April 21st - Warriors Passage Trail - We will be working with an Alternate Spring Breakaway Group sponsored by Ed and Arleen Decker next Thursday. Plans are to rework and widen the tread on the Warriors Passage Trail. Here are the details for this work trip: We will be reworking the tread as the trail climbs from Tobe Creek up to Mulepen Gap. We will begin working after a short 1/3 mile hike in from the Bald River Road and across Tobe Creek. Meet at the Ranger Station at 9:30 a.m. for an orientation to the Tellico District and safety discussion. We have a large group of 24 students that will be participating in this work trip, but we can certainly use other volunteers that can assist.
Saturday, April 24th - BMTA TN/NC Work Trip - Saw-A-Thon BMT Section 12 and BMT Section 13 - We will continue sawing out logs off the BMT from Kimsey Higway to Wildcat Creek on the John Muir Trail section. Contact Rick Harris at 423-253-6358 or HarrisRi@aol.com.
Thursday, April 26th - Proposed new Little Citico Horse Trails - We will continue our effort to reflag the new horse trail routes. This week we will be going to Farr Gap and flagging the route down Milligan Creek. This will be a brutal trip as we will be flagging through a mess of dead pines for about 1/2 mile, then at the end of the day we must make the climb back uphill to Farr Gap after flagging several more miles along the old jeep road. Come on this trip only if you are a glutton for punishment. Meet at the Ranger Station at 8 a.m. for this workout.
Thursday, May 5th - Little Citico Creek Horse Trails - We will tackle the proposed Milligan Creek Route. We will go in on the Mountain Settlement Road, park on Forest Service land in the middle of the route, and work east to connect to the flag line that Tazz and I did this week. This will be about a 2 mile bushwhack, with one stretch of about 100' where we will be crawling on hands and knees under Rhododendron. If you would like to go this trip, meet at the Ranger Station at 8 a.m.
Friday, May 6th - BMT Section 13e - Coker Creek to Wildcat Creek - we plan to log out this section which we hear has lots of recent blowdowns after the storms which hit East Tennessee.
Monday, May 9, 2011 - Unicoi Turnpike Trail and Coker Creek Falls Trail - Coker Creek Ruritan members plans to work on the trail.
May 14-16, 2011 - BMT Section 15a - Unicoi Gap to Tate Gap - Ernie Culpepper, section maintainer, plans to clear his section of blowdowns and brush this weekend.
May 16, 2011 - Jeffrey Hell, S Fk Citico, and Crowder Branch Trails - Bill Hodge and his SAWS crew worked on three trails in the Citico Creek Wilderness
May 20-21, 2011 - BMT Section 19b - Little T to Slickrock Creek - Ernie Engman and a friend plan to work on their section.
May 27, 2011 - BMT Section 19b - Little T to Slickrock Creek - Ernie Engman and others plan to return to cut out some big trees.
May 28, 2011 - Monthly TN/NC BMTA Work Trip - BMT Section 16b - Sledrunner Gap to Round Top - We plan to log and brush out at least part of this section.
May 29, 2011 - BMT Section 17c - Mud Gap to Whigg Meadow - Rick Harris plans to check out the condition of this section and do whatever work is needed in preparation for the hikes by the BMTA on Sat, June 4 for Trails Day and Sun, Jun 5 with the Cherokee Hiking Club.
May 30, 2011 - Falls Branch Trail - Trail maintainers Kent and Pam Mathews plan to maintain the Falls Branch Trail from the East Rattlesnake Overlook to the falls. Contact Rick Harris for information, 423-253-6358 or HarrisRi@aol.com. This trail will be hiked by the BMTA on Sat June 4 as part of their National Trails Day celebration and on June 4 by the Cherokee Hiking Club for their NTD celebration.
May 31, 2011 - BMT Section 12a-b - Kimsey Highway to Ocoee River - Dick Evans and two others scouted this section for an upcoming hike and ended up doing a lot of maintenance. Much more is needed so we will schedule a followup trip soon.
Thursday, June 2nd - Little Citico Horse Trails - This trip will wrap up the remaining portion of our reflagging effort for 17 miles of proposed new horse trails. We will be working a 3.4 mile segment that runs from Jake's Creek to the west to tie into Little Citico Trail #2. Thankfully most of this segment is routed on old roads that are relatively open, so that part will go quickly. Meet at the Tellico Ranger Station at 8 a.m. or at the Young Branch Horse Camp at 8:30 p.m.
Friday, June 3rd - BMT Section 16e - Sugar Mtn to Tellico River - Trail maintainers Betty Petty and Ralph Van Pelt plans to log and brush out their section. Contact Rick Harris for information, 423-253-6358 or HarrisRi@aol.com. . Plan is to meet at the Tellico Plains Hardee's at 10 AM.
Monday, June 6th - BMT Section 11c-d - FS 221 to intersection with Fork Ridge Trail - Rick Harris and James Anderson plan to log out this section, meeting at the FS 221 crossing of the BMT at 9 AM. Chainsaw and crosscut saw will be needed. Contact Rick Harris for information, 423-253-6358 or HarrisRi@aol.com.
Wednesday, June 8th - BMT Section 12b - Deep Gap to Drypond Lead Trail - We plan to get a big tree across the trail about a half mile to the southeast from the Deep Gap area. Meet at Deep Gap at 9AM. Afterwards, we may brush out the lower and upper powerline crossings. Contact Rick Harris for information, 423-253-6358 or HarrisRi@aol.com.
Thursday, June 9th - Pine Ridge Trail - We will begin the day with a pot luck breakfast to be followed immediately by the monthly safety meeting. We will all get a chance to meet the new Trails Tech. for the district. Following the meeting we plan to go up the Pine Ridge Trail from Wardens Field, logging out blow downs with the crosscut saws. We have had several reports of trees down on this trail near the Wardens Field end. Meet at the Ranger Station at 8 a.m. for breakfast.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - Crowder Branch Trail - Ken Jones hiked up to check on the SAWS crew and to help out
Thursday, June 16th - Crowder Branch Trail - We will be joining the SAWS crew doing tread repair work on the trail about a mile or so up from the trail head. Meet at the Tellico Ranger Station at 8 a.m. for this work trip.
Saturday, June 18th - BMT Section 17d - Mud Gap to Beech Gap - Steve Cartwright plans to brush out the BMT in the bad sections on his section of ttrail. Meet at the Unicoi Crest Parking Lot on the Cherohala Skyway at 9AM. Contact Rick Harris for information, 423-253-6358 or HarrisRi@aol.com.
Thursday, June 30th - Little Citico Horse Trails - We plan to clear as many of the Little Citico Trails as possible of blowdowns. Meet at the Tellico Ranger Station at 8 a.m. for this work trip. We will need certified chainsaw operators and swampers.
Thursday, June 30th - BMT Section 12e - Lost Creek Section - Tom Smith and Larry Dunn worked on their section.
Wednesday, July 6th - BMT Section 19b - Ernie Engman plans to work on his section near Slickrock Creek.
Thursday, July 7th - Bald River Trail Maintenance - We will be working to improve the switchback located about 1/2 mile in from the falls. We will need to build a rock retaining wall, fill in behind, and block off and naturalize both ends of an unauthorized trail. Meet at the Ranger Station at 8 a.m. for breakfast with the safety meeting to follow. Following the safety meeting we have scheduled a work project on the Bald River Trail at the first switchback inside the Wilderness, just as you begin to climb the first ridge. This has been a traditional problem spot with erosion of the switchback, unknown persons removing signs, and unknown persons maintaining an unauthorized trail straight ahead. Many first time hikers continue straight ahead and find themselves climbing a steep and dangerous side slope, when a much safer official trail is available.
Monday, July 11th - BMT Section 12c-d - Kimsey Hwy to Lost Creek Campground - Darcy Douglas plans tio paint blazes.
Thursday, July 14th - Bald River Trail Maintenance - We will be continuing our work to get this heavily used Wilderness Trail in good shape. We plan to work the entire trail doing some log out and brush out work. We will need one crosscut sawyer team working the bigger trees and the rest of the crew working on the small stuff hanging down in the trail corridor. We will be beginning work from the Cantrell Bridge on the Bald River Road and working toward the falls. Meet at the Tellico Ranger Station at 8 am for this work trip.
July 16-17 - BMT Section 19b - Ernie Engman and his son William plan to work more on their section as a campout.
July 19 - BMT Section 15c - Tate Gap to Six Mile Gap - Section maintainers plan a trip to weedwack.
Thursday, July 21st - Crowder Branch Trail - Mill Branch Trail - We will be continuing work started last month by the SAWS crew on this trail. The lower mile of the trail still needs logging out and brushing out to complete maintenance to Forest Service standards. The good news is that this work will start right at the trailhead, so we won't have to hike far to get started. Meet at the Tellico Ranger Station at 8 am for this work trip.
Thursday, July 28th - Falls Branch Falls Trail - We will be working on erosion control on the trail, so bring your favorite digging tool. Tools will also be available from the Ranger Station. Meet at the Tellico Ranger Station at 8 am for this work trip.
Friday, July 29th - Kirkland Creek Trail and BMT Section 15c - Plans are to log and brush out these two sections of trail. This is a SAWS project, led by Bill Hodge.
Thursday, August 4 - Citico Creek - Tellico's safety meeting next Thursday will be a combined safety/natural resource day. We will be in Citico Creek dismantling dams most of the day. Be prepared to get wet! Lunch will be served at Jake Best campground everyone is encouraged to bring a dish. Hamburgers and hot dogs will be provided by employee fund. We will have a safety briefing at 0800 at the office prior to leaving for the creek. We will leave the office around 0830 and head to Citico, break up into groups and get in the creek. Should be a fun and wet day!
We started off the day with attending the regular monthly safety meeting. The topic for the meeting was improving safety procedures for backing vehicles. After the meeting we all went to the middle portion of Citico Creek that serves as the habitat for three protected fish species. The project for the day was dismantling rock dams that had been constructed this summer by campers and visitors. These dams impede movement of the fish and reduce spawning opportunities, since they reduce the number of rocks that can be used as spawning sites. We had almost all of the Forest Service employees of the District helping on this project, so it was great to have everyone working together on a fun and worthwhile project. At lunch time we enjoyed a cookout and covered dish picnic at Jake Best Campground. If I counted correctly, I believe we dismantled 7 rock dams for the day. I think that I can safely say that a good time was had by one and all. Here are the volunteer hours for this special project
Name
Travel Hours
Work Hours
Totals
Ken Jones
1.5
6
7.5
Tazz Reid
1
6
7
Roger Taylor
1
6
7
Rick Harris
1
6
7
Kyle Atkins
1.5
6
7.5
Totals
6
30
36
Friday, August 5 - BMT Section 17a - Sycamore Creek Trail - Ken Jones and Rick Harris plan to log out the trees on the first two miles from the fish hatchery.
Monday, August 8th - Little Citico Horse Trails - Ken Jones and FS personnel plan to search out alternative routes for the horse trail system near Little Citico Creek. See map.
Wednesday, August 10th - Jeffrey Hell Trail - Bill Hodge knew he was not going to be able to work on Thursday, so he went out on Wednesday by himself to brush out part of the trail.
Thursday, August 11th - Jeffrey Hell Trail - We will be working primarily on brushing out the trail starting from the Cherohala Skyway. This work will mainly involve cutting back annual growth with sling blades. Meet at the Ranger Station at 8 am for this work trip.
Friday, August 12th - BMT Section 16d - Sugar Mtn to Brookshire Creek - Tom Smith and I plan to brush out (and log out if necessary) the BMT from the top of Sugar Mtn down to at least the junction with the Brookshire Creek Trail and maybe all the way to Bald River Road. We will pick up a key from the FS office to the road to the top of the BMT on Sugar Mtn on Thursday. We will leave one vehicle at the bottom of the Brookshire Creek Trail along Bald River Road, then drive up to the top. We will work our way downhill with swingblades, loppers and a crosscut saw. If we have enough other volunteers we should be able to clear it all the way to Bald River Road. Remember, this is a wilderness study area so we must use primitive tools. Also, this is a horse trail, so we would welcome some help from SABCH volunteers. We plan to meet at the Tellico Ranger Station at 8AM and carpool from there. Let me know if you can come. Rick Harris, 423-253-6358, 513-260-1184, HarrisRi@aol.com
Thursday, Aug. 18th - Jeffery Hell Trail - We have about 8 - 10 trees to log out of the trail. One of these will be a memorable 30" diameter hemlock that is really hard to climb over. This work will be all crosscut saw and traditional tools as the entire trail is in the Citico Wilderness. Meet at the Ranger Station at 8 am for this work trip.
Aug 21st - BMT Section 15a - Unicoi to Tate Gap - Ernie Culpepper and friends went out to clear their section of trail.
Saturday, August 27th - BMTA TN/NC Work Trip - BMT Section 16a-b - Heart of Darkness - We plan to meet behind the Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center at 9AM then carpool to Beaverdam Bald and Sandy Gap. From there we will work from each end clearing vegetation until we meet in the center, then we will return to our cars. This section should be mostly clear of downed trees but there is likely to be lots of heavy brush to clear with brushcutters, loppers and swingblades. After trip plans will include pizza at the Outpost in Tellico Plains. They may have a band that night there as well. Contact Rick Harris to sign up for this trip at HarrisRi@aol.com or 423-253-6358 home, 513-260-1184 cell. Those who want to eat breakfast at the Tellico Grains in Tellico Plains, meet there at 8:30 AM.
Sunday, August 28th - Panther Branch Trail - Rick Harris went out to brush and log out the lower part of this trail up to the 2nd creek crossing.
Tuesday, August 30th - Bob Stratton Bald Trails - the SAWS crew plans to brush and log out the trail from Cold Springs Gap to Bob Bald.
Wednesday, August 31st - Panther Branch Trail - Rick Harris went out to brush and log out the middle part of this trail up to the 3rd creek crossing.
Thursday, September 1 - Long Branch Trail - This week is the monthly safety meeting for the Tellico District. The meeting/breakfast starts at 8am and is pot-luck. Following the safety meeting we will be working on the Long Branch Trail. We will work in two different groups, with one group starting in from the FS Road crossing near the bottom and the other group starting down from the top. The trail has a great deal of annual brush that needs to be cleared so we need all the power trimmers we can get. The forecast says it should be a warm day (mid-90s) and this trail has several areas that are exposed. Bring lots of water!
Monday, September 5 - BMT Section 17a - Sycamore Creek Trail - Pam and Kent Mathews (section maintainers for BMT Section 17a-b) plan to brush out their section on Labor Day, Sept 5, and would like to have some help with brushcutters and maybe one chain saw (not sure how many trees are down on the upper section of the trail). For those without gas powered tools, we have plenty of swingblades and loppers available. As we did last year on October 18, we would plan on having people enter from the top and bottom, all exiting via the bottom then going back up to the top to retrieve cars. If you are available, please let me know. We will probably meet behind the visitor center at 8 AM or at the upper and lower trailheads at 9AM. HarrisRi@aol.com or 423-253-6358 home, 513-260-1184 cell.
Thursday, Sept 8th - Flats Mtn Trail & South Fork Citico Creek Trail - This weeks Tellico Work Day we had to change plans due to the weather. We cleared the Eagle Gap/Flats Mtn Trail parking log of weeds and trees and fixed a big hole in the access road. Then we went down to the S Fork Citico Creek Trail and removed a huge tree.
Friday, Sept 9th - Brookshire Creek Trail - SAWS plans a trip to log out the lower 2 miles of this trail, finishing up the work we did August 27th on the BMT and Brookshire Creek Trail. Contact Rick Harris for meeting location and time at HarrisRi@aol.com or 423-253-6358 (home) or 513-260-1184 (cell). We will be using crosscut saws, since this is in wilderness.
Saturday, Sept 10th - BMT Section 16e - Sugar Mtn to Tellico River - Betty Petty and Ralph Van Pelt went out today to maintain their section.
Thursday, Sept 15 - Hemlock Trail - Because of conditions last week the Tellico workday on the Tellico District shifted away from the planned Hemlock Trail project. That project has been rescheduled for this Thursday. The crew will be meeting at 8am at the Tellico Ranger Station on Thursday. We need certified sawyers with chainsaws, folks with power trimmers and a few others to help with trail clean up.
Thursday, Sept 22 - Hemlock Trail - This Thursday the Tellico Work Crew will return to the Hemlock Trail. The work will all be brushing so we need folks with power trimmers and loppers. The crew will meet at 8am at the Tellico Ranger Station.
Saturday, Sept 24th - Volunteer Appreciation Day - Come for a day of fun and food at the annual Cherokee National Forest - Southern Section Volunteer Appreciation Day.
Wednesday, Sept 28th - Tellico Ranger District Work Trip - This week the Tellico Workday will be Wednesday (the 28th). We will be assisting with a Brook Trout Restoration program. The Southern Appalachian Backcountry Horsemen will be bringing packstock to assist with transporting Brook Trout from Sycamore Creek to Pheasant Fields. If you want to participate in this project, we will be meeting in two locations. If you are bringing packstock, the plan is to meet at the Oosterneck Pull-off on the Cherohala Skyway at 8am (this pull off is right by the turn up the Tellico River). Those not bringing horses should meet at 8am at the Ranger Station. There will be no workday on Thursday.
Friday, Sept 30th - BMT Section 16a - Sandy Gap to Round Top - We plan to return to the Heart of Darkness to log out an brush out this section of the Benton MacKaye Trail. Meet behind the Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center at 8 AM or at Sandy Gap at 9 AM. We need chain sawyers (certified) and brush cutters and people to help the gas-powered folks with loppers and swingblades. For information, contact Rick Harris at HarrisRi@aol.com or 423-253-6358 (home) or 513-260-1184 (cell).
Sunday, October 2 - BMT Section 17a-b - Sycamore Creek Section - We plan to brush out the Sycamore Creek Section from the Whigg Meadow Road down to the lowermost switchback. Powered brush cutters, swing blades, loppers are the order of the day. We will probably take one chain saw, though we are not expecting many logs across the trail. For information, contact Rick Harris at HarrisRi@aol.com or 423-253-6358 (home) or 513-260-1184 (cell).
Wednesday, October 5 - Grassy Branch Trail - Pam and Kent Mathews plan to go out and work on their section of trail while camping this week at Indian Boundary.
Thursday, October 6 - McNabb Creek Trail - This week the Tellico District worktrip will be to log-out and brush-out the McNabb Creek Trail. We need certified sawyers and those with power trimmers and/or loppers. The crew will meet on Thursday at 8am at the Tellico Ranger Station.
Friday, October 7 - BMT Section 13c-d - Big Bend to Towee Creek on John Muir Trail - Plans are to log and brush out this section in preparation for work on the tread by the American Hiking Society Volunteer Vacation Group coming this next week.
Sunday, Oct 9 - Saturday, Oct 15: AHS TN/NC BMTA Volunteer Vacation. Summary of the week with pictures.
Monday, October 10 - BMT Section 18b - Fodderstack Trail - This was day 1 of the American Hiking Society Volunteer Vacation.
Tuesday, October 11 - BMT Section 19a - Stiffknee Trail - This was day 2 of the AHS Volunteer Vacation
Thursday, October 13 - BMT Section 11c-d - Big Frog Area - This was day 3 of the AHS Volunteer Vacation
Friday, October 14 - BMT Section 13c - John Muir TraIl Big Bend to Towee - This was day 4 of the AHS Volunteer Vacation
Friday, October 14 - South Fork Citico Creek Trail - SAWS plans to log out the lower section of this trail
Thursday, October 20 - Conasauga Falls Trail - This week we will be working on the Conasauga Falls Trail doing a little bit of tread work, some brushing work around the falls and picking up trash around the trail head. We will be meeting at the Tellico Ranger Station at 8 AM.
Wednesday, October 26 - Coker Creek Falls Trail - The Coker Creek Ruritan Club work crew plan to clear blowdowns off the trail.
Thursday, October 27th - Indian Boundary Lake Trail - The Tellico work day will be to spend some time on some bad tread areas of the Indian Boundary Lake Trail. We will be using equipment to move around materials to improve some low areas of the trail. Pay attention to the forecast as heavy thunderstorms could cause us to change plans or cancel the workday completely. The work day will be Thursday, and we will meet at the Tellico Ranger Station at 8am.
Wednesday, November 9 - BMT Section 12b - Dry Pond Lead to Kimsey Highway - Sul Sullivan worked on his section
Thursday, November 10 - BMT Section 12b - Dry Pond Lead to Kimsey Highway - Sul Sullivan worked on his section
Thursday, November 10 - North Fork Citico Creek Trail - This Thursday we will start the process of logging out the North Fork Citico Trail. We will meet at 8am on Thursday at the Tellico Ranger Station. This is cross-cut work, though we could also use folks with loppers and handsaws.
Thursday, November 17 - BMT Section 12c - McFarland Road to Kimsey Highway - Sul Sullivan worked on his section
Tuesday, November 22 - BMT Section 12c - McFarland Road to Kimsey Highway - Sul Sullivan worked on his section
Wednesday, November 23 - BMT Section 12c - McFarland Road to Kimsey Highway - Sul Sullivan worked on his section
Wednesday, November 30 - Coker Creek Falls Trail - As I [Bill Hodge] have mentioned to some of you before, there is a tree on the Coker Creek Falls trail (about a mile in from the bottom) that the local Coker Creek volunteers felt they could not handle. I am pulling together a trip for Wednesday to take care of this tree, and could use some "skilled" labor. We could have this finished in a hour or two or it could take a little bit. My guess is we should take in Pulaski or two, a come-along and some straps in case the root ball moves. Meet at parking area at bottom of Coker Creek Falls Trail at 9 AM. Contact Bill Hodge with SAWS to sign up, billhodge@trailcrews.org, 865-617-4804
Thursday, December 1 - Tellico Ranger District Safety Meeting - 8AM at the ranger station. Work Trip not yet decided upon but usually occurs after the safety meeting around 9 AM.
Friday, Dec 2 - BMT Section 12e - Lost Creek Section - Larry Dunn, section maintainer, plans to go out on this section and paint blazes.
Satruday, Dec 3 - Licklog Ridge Trail on Big Frog - The Licklog Ridge Trail has several trees that need to be cleared. We need sawyers and others willing to help with this trip. This is a six mile long trail that gains significant elevation. We may just work the bottom, in as far as we can, or if anyone is interested, we may make an overnight backpack trip. Contact Bill Hodge with SAWS to sign up, billhodge@trailcrews.org, 865-617-4804
Thursday, Dec 8 - Falls Branch Falls Trail - This week there will be a Tellico District Workday on Thursday. If weather conditions permit, we will be working on some blowdowns on the Falls Branch Falls Trail in the Citico Creek Wilderness. We will meet at 8am at the Tellico Ranger Station. This week is also the joint Tellico-Ocoee Ranger Districts Safety Meeting. This is being held at the Methodist Church in Etowah, starting at 10:30am. Volunteers are invited. There is a pot-luck lunch as part of this meeting, so bring a dish.
December 10th - BMT Section 19b - Little T to Slickrock Creek - Ernie Engman and his sons plan to go out and work on their section.
Thursday, Dec 15 - Falls Branch Falls Trail - The Tellico Crew this week. I just found out the district Christmas Party is Thursday night from 6pm to 9pm at the Tellico Community Center. All regular volunteers are invited to attend this pot-luck dinner and celebration. Also on Thursday this week you have a chance to volunteer with a couple of options. The SAWS program is leading a group of college students from Ohio on a work detail on the Slickrock Creek Trail in the Joyce Kilmer - Slickrock Wilderness. The hike in is about one mile, and we will be restoring failed trail tread. If you want to join us we are meeting at the Tellico Ranger Station at 7:45am Thursday, and then will make the trip across the Skyway. If enough other volunteers arrive that would rather not make the trip, there is still cross-cut saw work needed on the Falls Branch Falls Trail. The SAWS trip will return to the Tellico Ranger Station by 4:30 so members can attend the Christmas Party.
Thursday, Dec 22 - There will be no volunteer trips this week on the Tellico Ranger District.
Thursday, Dec 29 - We will get back to work Thursday the 29th with a trip on the Cold Springs Gap and North Fork Citico Trails weather permitting. If conditions are bad there, we will move down to the Bald River Gorge Trail or find other work. With weather conditions subject to drastic change this time of year I would ask everyone check e-mail up to the morning of scheduled work trips as conditions may call for changing plans or cancelling plans.
It looks like tomorrow will be a nice sunny day for a little trail work. We will be meeting at the Tellico Ranger Station at 8am. If road conditions permit, we will be working with cross-cut saws, loppers and sling-blades on the Cold Springs Gap Trail. If the Skyway and/or old Cold Springs Gap Road are snow covered we will move down and work on the Bald River Gorge Trail. Travis is checking road conditions today so we can go straight to our project in the morning.For those of you that might be interested, the week of January 9th, SAWS is hosting a group of 14 students from the University of Illinois for a week of trail work. We have several projects planned depending on trail/road conditions. We will be working every day that week. If you are interested in joining us for any of that week you would be welcome (but should let me know).
This trip was changed to a work trip on the Bald River Trail due to weather conditions.