Appalachian Hiker - Tidewater Appalachian Trail Club

Tidewater Appalachian Trail Club
Appalachian Hiker
www.tidewateratc.com
June 2016 - July 2016
Prez Sez
AT Hike 100 Challenge
TATC has sailed through another Spring Mainte-
Celebrate the centennial of the National Park Service
all year long, with the A.T. Hike 100 Challenge! In
honor of the 100th birthday the NPS invites everyone
to get outside and hike 100 miles during the year
2016.
nance! We had another great turn out! Nearly 80
people ventured out to Sherando Lake to work on the Appalachian Trail. It makes me proud to see so many smiling
faces and willing hands. Many thanks for all your efforts!
You might have noticed some new faces at Sherando this
year. We were joined by a writer and some photographers
The Challenge:
Get ready to hike! The A.T. Hike100 Challenge invites everyone, regardless of skill level, to complete
100 miles of hiking - with at least one hike being on
the Appalachian Trail. Hike solo or in a group; make
a trip out of it or take it one mile at a time. However
you choose to complete your 100 mile challenge, just
get outside and have fun!
Get started by going to: http://www.nps.gov/appa/
planyourvisit/hike-100.html
from Distinction Magazine, a doing research for an August
edition of the publication. Their tag line states “Distinction
uncovers the very best of what our region has to offer”. I
can safely say any one of TATC’s Maintenance Trips easily live up to that claim! I, for one, cannot wait to read the
article & see all the photos! How about you?
While we wait, I’d like to turn your thoughts to another
matter. Along with the AT, in the Three Ridges Wilderness, TATC also maintains the St. Mary’s Wilderness.
This area often gets overshadowed and downplayed, yet
St. Mary’s is 16 years older, over twice as big, and has
Publication Information
more miles of trail to maintain! Once mined for iron ore
Tidewater Appalachian Trail Club Appalachian Hiker
Issue Date: June 2016 - July 2016
Frequency: Bimonthly
43rd Edition, 3rd Issue
Price: Free
Address:
Tidewater Appalachian Trail Club,
P. O. Box 8246
Norfolk, VA 23503-0246
and manganese, this area was granted Wilderness status
in 1984. It has some tough terrain, in need of some TLC,
and features the popular St. Mary’s Falls. Hurricane Isabel
and many a spring flood have severely damaged the water
crossings, and most trails are no longer even blazed.
After the recent fire, the Forest Service is taking a hard
look at the area. It is my hope that the Trail Club, with the
guidance and direction of our partners in the Forest Service, can put some much needed muscle into this area.
Please join us on one of the soon to be scheduled mainte-
(banner photo by Mark Ferguson)
nance trips to the St. Mary’s Wilderness!
Happy Trails,
Juliet Stephenson
TATC President
[email protected]
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Table of Contents
Title:
Author/Provided By:
Prez Sez
AT Hike 100 Challenge
Table of Contents
TATC Club Officers and Committees
Minute for Maintenance
Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame Banquet
Directions to TATC Meetings
Grandma Gatewood
MCAFEE KNOB IN APRIL
Activities Schedule
How to Feed 80 Hungry Hikers
BUILDING A BETTER BRIDGE IN VIRGINIA
HUMPBACK ROCKS TO REID’S GAP
TRAIL MAINTENANCE AT SHERANDO
Book Club Notice
ALL KINDS OF LOST
PHOTOLOGS
Juliet Stephenson
n/a
n/a
n/a
Jim Newman
Appalachian Trail Museum
TATC
Bill Leber
Mal Higgins
n/a
Stephanie Stringer
Bob Adkisson
Mal Higgins
Mal Higgins
Evelyn Adkisson
Bob Adkisson
Various Photographers
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Page(s):
1
1
2
3
4
5
5
6
7-8
9-11
12
13-14
15
16-17
17
18-19
20-31
TATC Board
Positions
Names
Phone #’s
Forwarding E-Mail Address
President
Juliet Stephenson
468-3137
[email protected]
Vice President
Greg Seid
636-3877
[email protected]
Treasurer
Ed Welp
409-2251
[email protected]
Secretary
Judy Welp
409-0178
[email protected]
Trail Supervisor
Jim Newman
867-6688
[email protected]
Assistant Trail Supervisor
Mark Connolly
623-0764
[email protected]
Counselor
Michael Horrell
804-815-7972
[email protected]
Counselor
Stephanie Stringer
228-5704
[email protected]
Counselor
Phyllis Neumann
566-4584
[email protected]
ATC RPC Representative
Ned Kuhns
552-0292
[email protected]
ATC RPC Representative
Bill Leber
969-2404
[email protected]
Cabin Committee
Greg Hodges
439-1552
[email protected]
Cabin Committee
Bob Adkisson
627-5514
[email protected]
Calendar Committee
Kevin DuBois
621-2564
[email protected]
Calendar Committee
Tony Phelps
703-297-1594
[email protected]
Education Committee
Bill Rogers
484-6001
[email protected]
Email Notices
Steve Ralph
not listed
[email protected]
Hikemaster
Greg Seid
636-3877
[email protected]
Historical Committee
Bob Adkisson
627-5514
[email protected]
Land Management Committee
Bob Giffin
495-7002
[email protected]
Local Trails
Diane Leber
617-0842
[email protected]
Membership
Joe Turlo
618-9046
[email protected]
Merchandise
Margaret & Bruce Julian
495-7002
[email protected]
Newsletter
Jim Sexton
484-2828
[email protected]
Outreach
Mark Wenger
253-0056
[email protected]
Past President
Mark Wenger
253-0056
[email protected]
Programs
Dottie Abbott
639-1504
[email protected]
Timekeeper
TBD
TBD
[email protected]
Tool Boss
Bruce Julian
484-0975
[email protected]
Webmaster
Jim Sexton
484-2828
[email protected]
Club Officers
Counselors
ATC RPC Representative
Committee Chairs
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Minute for Maintenance
Thanks to seventy-three dedicated people, most of which traveled approximately four hundred round-trip
miles, our Spring Maintenance 2016 was a success. The usual blow downs were cleared, the silted spring at
Maupin Shelter was uncovered and improved, the Mau-Har trail was blazed, shelters and privies were
cleaned, garlic mustard was pulled, trash was collected all around, water bars and sidehills were rehabbed,
vegetation was trimmed, and at 6:00PM sharp we were treated to a scrumptious meal by Stephanie and her
crew—a perfect ending to a work day free of injuries.
But there is more: Among the seventy-three participants were 10 U.S. Navy members, and several firsttime-to-maintenance civilians. Other guests were two writers and a photographer from Distinction magazine
who were excited to be doing a story about the Appalachian Trail and how a volunteer club keeps its designated section forever-open to hikers. The article will appear in the August edition that will be available at Kroger
and various other outlets in Hampton Roads. The pictures should be special, as the photographer insisted on
being present on both sides of Three Ridges to catch special effects/moments: first, the early morning light at
Hanging Rock on the north followed by the coup de grace saw cuts of a large tree blocking the trail about ¼
mile above Tye River on the south. Accomplishing this ambitious mission required guide Bob Adkisson and the
media folks to arise at 5:00AM, leave Sherando for Maupin Shelter via the fire road, hike two miles to Hanging
Rock, get those special pictures in the misty light, hike back to Maupin, get some shots there of just-arriving
work crews, drive to the highway 56 trailhead & hike the quarter mile to the big tree being managed by Jim
Sexton’s crew of four certified sawyers. The visitors were delighted to witness sawyers using a vintage crosscut saw and see a freed chunk of tree trunk roll down the mountainside! You just gotta see those pictures! A
mere $5.95 will secure your personal copy of this slick, professionally edited magazine. Pencil a reminder on
your August calendar.
On a somber note, we have the matter of hazard trees. On March 15, 2015 an AT hiker was killed by a
falling tree near the Ed Garvey Shelter in southern Maryland, causing special attention to such danger. TATC
has completed its duty of reporting suspicious trees in places of congregation in our section. This information
in the form of sketches, photos and GPS data has been sent to the VARO office of ATC and the U.S. Forest
Service that is responsible for certifying and removing hazard trees. Special thanks to John Pessagno for his
meticulous documentation during our recent walk-through. The obvious lesson here is to thoroughly inspect
surroundings before pitching a tent. There are lots of dead and dying trees out there!
Finally, a few words about future needs: Expect increased attention to trails in St. Mary’s Wilderness.
Mark Ferguson is being joined by Jim Sexton, Milton Beale and Michael Horrell in doing or planning work trips.
Before summer heat, a multi-day work trip will be organized, and come fall, Dave Whitmore of the U.S. Forest
Service will send a work crew into the area. TATC will coordinate with this effort. And lastly, considerable
sidehill work needs doing on the Mar-Har south of the waterfall.
See nearby articles about spring maintenance by Stephanie Springer and Mal Higgins. Happy and safe hiking
to all.
Jim Newman
TATC Trail Supervisor
[email protected]
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Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame Banquet
The Sixth Annual Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame Banquet will be held on Friday, June 3, at the Allenberry Resort. The Banquet is conducted each year by the Appalachian Trail Museum. The highlight of the Banquet will be
the induction of the 2016 class of the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame. This year we will honor four trail legends, Maurice Forrester, Horace Kephart, Larry Luxenberg and Arch Nichols. The banquet will be again held
at the famous Allenberry Resort Inn and Playhouse, located just a few steps from the Appalachian Trail in Boiling
Springs, PA.
The banquet will begin at 7 p.m. A reception will precede the banquet, starting at 6 p.m. Cindy Adams Dunn, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources (DCNR) will serve as Master of Ceremonies. Music will be provided during the reception by Randy "Windtalker" Motz.
The keynote of the evening will be the celebration of the 2016 class of the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame. Tickets
have sold fast for the first five Hall of Fame Banquets, and we expect the same to happen this year. Order your tickets soon!!
To purchase discounted tickets, you may EITHER
- Follow THIS LINK to the special eventbrite ticketing site we have established:
OR
- Mail your ticket request and payment check to this address:
Appalachian Trail Museum
Hall of Fame Tickets
1120 Pine Grove Road
Gardners, PA 17324
We have established a special email address for questions concerning the Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame Banquet: [email protected]
Directions to TATC Meetings
TATC Meetings are held at the Pretlow Library, 111 West Ocean View Ave, Norfolk, VA
From Peninsula: Take 64 East to 4th View Exit 273. At bottom of ramp, turn left at stop
sign, turn right onto Ocean View Ave and follow over Tidewater Drive for 1.1 miles and
turn right into the Library parking lot, meeting is held in Meeting Room #2
From Norfolk and Virginia Beach: Take 64 West toward Hampton/Richmond. Take the
Chesapeake Blvd. exit. Go to end of Chesapeake Blvd., then turn left onto Ocean View
Ave. Continue for 0.8 miles and turn left onto Granby St. and then directly right into the
Library parking lot, meeting is held in Meeting Room # 2
Visit our website at
www.tidewateratc.com
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Grandma Gatewood is coming to our area via TATC! We will be sponsoring a screening of this 1 hr long movie
hosted by its Director Peter Huston. Peter will also conduct a Q&A about Grandma Gatewood and the movie along with
a few of our members who have thru hiked the entire Appalachian Trail. So far ODU has agreed to hold a showing at
4PM on September 25 and we plan to also have 1 or 2 other presentation times over that weekend. Stay tuned for
more information.
Emma “Grandma” Gatewood’s story speaks to the courageous, undaunted spirit of Appalachian people every-
where. Emma, born in 1887 at Raccoon Creek Gallia County Ohio, was one of 15 children. At 19 she married Perry
Clayton Gatewood. After raising 11 children and enduring 32 years of spousal abuse, Emma divorced Perry.
Emma decided she needed another challenge. After reading about the Appalachian Trail in National Geographic she
discovered that no woman had ever hiked the entire trail alone so she decided to BE that woman.
In 1955, at 67 Emma was the first woman to solo hike the AT, without any of the modern trail equipment of today.
She used a pack she sewed together herself which slung over one shoulder, had no tent and went through 4 pairs of
Converse ‘Chuck Taylor All Star’ high-top sneakers to complete her thru hike. She became known as “Grandma”
Gatewood. Sports Illustrated, “NBC Today” and Groucho Marx’ Show featured her story. She raised the veil on societal
barriers including cultural, age and sex discrimination.
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MCAFEE KNOB IN APRIL: BRING YOUR GORETEX, IT’S A POLAR VORTEX
By Mal Higgins
TATC backpackers, responding to the call of spring, joined hike leaders Juliet Stephenson and Greg Seid, on a
23 mile, three day backpacking trip April 8-10, 2016. We hiked the beautiful Appalachian Trail from Virginia Route
311 northbound up and over McAfee Knob, Tinker Mountain and high above the Carvins Cove Reservoir to end at
U.S. Route 220, Daleville.
The ten of us were Juliet, Greg, Jim Newman, Keith Forbes, Suzanne Luna, Michelle
Cobb, Michelle Mikulski, Victoria Cielo, Diane Auringer, and me. The section we hiked is maintained by our fellow
club, the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club. The pretrip weather forecasts suggested cool overnight temperatures, a
20% chance of overnight rain, and at least one forecast even playfully said possible snow showers. Nah, we all
thought. Not in April.
Driving Friday, we enjoyed the beauty of fully flowering redbud all along I-64 and I-81 as we reached our start
and shuttled cars. We began the hike on a pleasantly sunny afternoon, with temperatures in the mid 50sF, opting to
adjust our bodies to our packs on a fireroad to Catawba Mountain Shelter. Arriving well before dark, we erected tents,
filled our water bottles at the creek near the shelter, and enjoyed an evening campfire. Bear bags went up into the
trees, and night arrived. Dawn Saturday morning showed a smattering of snow pellets on the ground, and the temperature had sunk to the high 20s. The wind was blowing a steady 20+ to 30 mph, and suddenly it no longer felt like
spring. Though slightly surprised, we all broke camp and proceeded up the A.T. toward our first major, beautiful goal
of McAfee Knob.
Surely, the sun would come out. Winding through large and scattered boulders, we climbed steadily the 1000
feet of elevation gain from Catawba Mountain Shelter at 2145 feet elevation to McAfee Knob at 3197 feet elevation,
our highest elevation of the weekend. Winter and wind climbed with us. Snow pellets were flying sideways, coating
the ground, and the wind was gaining strength. When we reached McAfee Knob, we were on one of the best known
and photographed sites on the entire 2180 mile trail.
It’s on our Virginia A.T. license plates. It was featured in the
book and movie, “A Walk in the Woods.” We braced against the stinging snow, and we had all of our long sleeve
coats, fleeces, windbreakers, and hats and gloves on. Surprisingly, the view to the valley below was there, and after
enjoying McAfee all by ourselves, we pushed northward when another group arrived.
As the morning wore on, the goretex for the polar vortex stayed on. When we checked a wind chill factor chart,
we calculated the wind chill at an invigorating +3 F. Suzanne started wearing a bandana over her face to cut the wind,
and looked like she wanted to rob a stage coach. Others, including me, were just getting wind burn. We discussed
the fact that we were ambushed by the weatherman, one of my favorite rants. But we also enjoyed the novelty of
such weird cold. I hadn’t felt this cold since New Hampshire back in February’s Freezeree hike. We descended past
the Pig Farm campsite and stopped for a snack break at Campbell Shelter. We found a pitiful attempt at trail magic:
some prior hiker had left an apple. The ground was covered with a thin skim of snow.
We moved on and wonder of wonders, a little after noon, the snow stopped and the sun came out, warming us
and brightening our prospects. Brickey’s Gap presents a choice for the purist hiker; as one walks down to it, the A.T.
veers significantly upward and a nice fire road veers off to the right on a level route. Well, now, that level looked good.
But by now we were into our hike and we stayed true to the A.T. and hiked resolutely up the A. T. on our way to
Scorched Earth Gap and its intersection with the Andy Lane Trail. Andy was a former T.A.T.C. member, who I knew
back in the 1980s, and who moved to the Roanoke area and became one of its beloved members.
(Continued … on Page 8)
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(Continued … from Page 7)
We then climbed through Brickey’s Gap on our way to Tinker Cliffs. What a beautiful series of big cliffs, sheer
drop offs, and magnificent views it presents. This is one of Juliet’s favorite stretches. Someone in the R.A.T.C. has a
sense of humor, as a white A.T. blaze is painted on a large flat cliff summit about 12 inches from a deadly drop off—a
misstep on that version of the A.T. would not be pretty. Jim, Keith, and I took turns leading, and kept everyone in sight
or shouting distance as we moved. Juliet kept the sag secure, so no one was left behind.
We arrived at Lamberts Meadow Shelter, and most of the ladies set up tents, or in Suzanne’s case, a Hennessy Hammock. The two Michelles and Suzanne saw the potential snoring problem and went for tents and the hammock. The rest of us spread out in the shelter. We were joined by two other section hikers from Allentown, PA, and by
a friendly through hiker, “Giggles”, a 20 year old woman from Texas. Giggles was quite self-possessed, mature, and
true to her trail handle, smiled and laughed a lot. All of us enjoyed her tales of life on the trail, and marveled at her ability to cover so much mileage in a day—15 to 20 miles routinely. A nearby creek allowed us to refill our water, the first
of the day. Again, we had a nice campfire and as night fell, it was pleasant to fall asleep seeing the flickering firelight.
Snoring was subdued.
The TATC tent annex (the two Michelles) reported frozen condensation on the inside walls of their tents, which
drifted down on them as they stirred, an unwelcome reprise of the polar vortex, day two. Temperatures had dipped
below 30 overnight, and the water drawn from the creek the previous night and left in the MSR pot was frozen.
Michelle Cobb reports a temporary caffeine crisis as she thawed her water. Suzanne emerged or rolled out (I’m not
quite sure how one gets in or out) from her Hennessy Hammock next to the annex. The rest of us noted a bit of wooden shelter floor stiffness.
Sunday morning saw the usual oatmeal and Starbucks Via coffee for me. We had ten more miles to cover.
What a glorious spring day! No more polar vortex. Giggles pulled out early, as through hikers do. We got underway
around 9:00 a.m. and made good time up over Angel’s Gap and to Hay Rock. This is a weird slab extending over the
trail—a crusher if it ever collapsed. We had continuous beautiful views of Carvins Cove Reservoir. Carvins Cove was
a community in both Botetourt and Roanoke County that was abandoned and subsequently inundated in order to create the Carvins Cove Reservoir by the City of Roanoke in the mid–1940s. Surprisingly, there were hardly any wild
flowers at this elevation of 1900 feet.
After crossing under some buzzing power lines, and being educated by Keith, an electrical engineer, about
voltage and amps, we proceeded. We noticed we were growing a third arm out of our shoulders, but didn’t relate this
to the voltage. The ladies reported a strange sensation of wanting to stop and communicate with the mother ship. Finally we had some downhill A.T. and descended into a lush, green meadow for the last mile or so to Daleville. Redbud
was there. Jim educated us along the way on interesting civil war history involving the split between Virginia and West
Virginia during the civil war. Go Yankee. Then he identified and pulled some garlic mustard to show his Renaissance
side. We emerged from the woods after ten miles and we were back at our cars at Route 220, Daleville. Nothing says
a hike is over like pizza and beer, so we adjourned to the Pizza Hut, and Giggles showed up to join us in a nice reunion. It was a hike to treasure in our memories. We wish her well as she heads to Katahdin.
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PLEASE NOTE: Most hikes are limited in the number of participants. The hike leader will take reservations on a first
-come, first-served basis. You can include your name on the sign up sheets available at each meeting or call the
hike leader. If you sign up for an activity and then decide not to participate, please contact the leader in advance.
Thursday-Monday, June 2-6, 2016
Walk Across Maryland on the Appalachian Trail
Contact: Joe Turlo (757.618.9046 or mailto:[email protected])
Where: Complete length of the AT in Maryland
Description: 40 mile supported hike on the Maryland section of the AT. We will drive to Hagerstown MD on
Thursday. Hike on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and drive back on Monday. Plans are flexible. Partial trip
can be arranged. Overnight camping is available but optional. Support cars will meet us each day and we
will shuttle vehicles to camp sites each evening. No need to carry overnight gear while hiking each day. Hike
is strenuous. Ten to seventeen miles each day. Contact Joe for complete information.
Friday-Sunday, June 3-5, 2016
TATC Cabin Maintenance / Orientation Trip
Contact: Bob Adkisson, [email protected])
Where: TATC Cabin off of Blue Ridge Parkway
Description: Come and enjoy an early spring work trip to the club cabin, do some easy work on the cabin access trail or the nearby White Rock Falls Trail, and some light housekeeping work inside the cabin itself. Stay
inside the cabin or tent out nearby; half mile walk to the cabin from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Possible community meal Saturday night. You must call or email me to get on the list and get a spot. More info to follow for
those who are interested. Call or email if you have questions. Greg Hodges (757.439.1552 or [email protected])
Saturday-Sunday, June 4-5, 2016
Disaster-Travel-Wilderness First Aid Certification Course
Contact: Matt at 434.465.8733
Where: Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad. 3769 East Stratford Rd, Virginia Beach, VA
Description: 8:30 am – 6:30 pm each day. Open to the general community, adults & youths 12+. Practical
training to learn how to save life & limb, when mired in the wilderness or an urban disaster zone, travel or
rural area far from a hospital, or natural area miles from an access point. Blend of classroom instruction and
practical problem solving rescue scenario practice. Learn actual do-it-yourself care-giving skills and build confidence. No prerequisites. Cost is $185. Location is Ocean Park Volunteer Rescue Squad, 3769 East Stratford Rd, Virginia Beach. Limited spaces and your space is not reserved until you’ve completely registered at
www.solowfa.com or by calling the coordinator, Matt at 434.465.8733. The course flyer can be located at
http://www.solowfa.com/forms/dwfa-flyer.pdf NOTE: This is NOT a TATC sponsored event.
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
TATC General Membership Meeting
Contact: Juliet Stephenson, [email protected]
Where: Public Library: Mary D Pretlow Anchor Branch, 111 W Ocean View Ave, Norfolk, VA 23503
Description: TATC General Membership Meeting, Guests Are Always Welcome! Come a little early to socialize, purchase new TATC merchandise, and buy your 50/50 raffle tickets! General Business and Program to
be announced.
Friday-Sunday, June 10-12, 2016
Water Bars Above the Tye River - Workshop and Work Trip
Contact: Jim Sexton (484-2827)
Where: TATC’s Section of the AT, North of the Tye River
Description: Learn how to build log and rock water bars - combined workshop and work trip. We will be working on TATC’s Section of the AT on the uphill climb just North of the Swinging Bridge over the Tye River.
Please contact Jim Sexton at 484-2827 for more information.
Information for Hike & Activities Schedule, TATC website listings and Meet up postings are
collected & edited by the Hikemaster. Contact Juliet Stephenson at [email protected]
for publication.
(Continued on Page 10…)
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Saturday, June 11, 2016
Beginning Hiking - Backpacking Seminar
Contact: Bill Rogers, 757 . 484 . 6001 or [email protected]
Where: Contact Bill Rogers for location
Description: All day 9:55 to 4:30 or thereabouts. Information from your hat on top of your head to the footwear on
your feet, and everything in between. Food, stoves, filters, flashlights, tents, and all that assorted gear. By the way –
why do you buy a flashlight?? Things the books and magazines don’t tell you. Bring lunch, a beverage, and a sense
of humor. Participation limited – first contacts first served. To sign up and find out location contact Bill Rogers
757.484.6001 ([email protected]). No last minute walk-ins.
Friday-Sunday, June 17-19, 2016
Kid-Friendly Camping and Tubing on the Shenandoah River
Contact: Call Rosanne (757.773.0859)
Where: Low Water Bridge Campground, 192 Panhandle Rd, Bentonville, VA 22610
Description: Bring the kids (or the kid in you) out for a campout and tubing down the Shenandoah River. We’ll camp
at Low Water Bridge Campground, located in the scenic Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Tubes are available to rent
at the campground; the shuttle ride to the put-in site is included in the rental fee. Or, you may bring your own tube &
pay a shuttle fee only. Everyone is free to do whatever they wish for the weekend, however the plan for tubing is to
put in on Saturday morning and float back to the campground. For anyone interested in an outing, there are two
caverns nearby, Skyline and Luray. The campground has a small store with limited items, bath house with hot
showers, and picnic tables and fire rings at the campsites. We will share space among a couple of sites (nonelectric). The campground is rural; there are stores and restaurants available within about a 40 minute drive, so plan
on bringing everything you need for camping & meals to avoid driving into town. Since this is car camping, bring
what you need to be comfortable & happy – chairs, pillows, coolers, etc. Water cannons ARE allowed! Cost: $10
per person, kids under 10 are free. They are under new management and the website is under construction; however they have a Facebook page, so if you are active on Facebook you can find them through a search. Tubing is $15
per person for tube and shuttle. Call Rosanne (757.773.0859) for further details and to sign up.
Friday-Sunday, June 17-19, 2016
Overnight Kayaking on Back Bay
Contact: Bruce Julian (757.604.3099)
Where: Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Description: We will meet at 2 pm at Little Island City Park in Virginia Beach. You will need your own kayak and
gear. To secure your space, call Bruce Julian (757.604.3099)
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Happy Hiking Hour at the Bier Garden
Contact: Faye Bailey ([email protected])
Where: Bier Garden at 438 High Street, Portsmouth, VA
Description: Join us for good conversation, fun and relaxation at a local German restaurant. They are eager to host
our “hiker” event and have the 6-8 pm timeframe reserved for us. While they don’t brew their own beer, they have
over 400 choices available on their nationally recognized menu. They have a full menu of bratwurst, schnitzel and
Sauerbraten as well as non-German fare.
Tuesday-Monday, July 5-11, 2016
Service Project to Kallipata, Peru, Inca Trail Porter Village
Contact: Jacquie Whitt ([email protected])
Where: Paucartambo, Peru
Description: Eco-volunteer trip to build livestock shelters with optional 4 –day extention to hike Inca Trail or take
train to Machu Picchu. Cost: $1082 USD pp Includes materials for project (based on double/triple hotel occupancy)
Includes: airport transfers, 3 nights hotel (with private bath),local tradesmen, English-speaking guides, tents, mattresses, basic meals in camp, all ground transportation, building supplies (concrete, nails, tin roof) tools, drinking
water in the village, oxygen tank. Not included: flights, work gloves, sleeping bags, meals/bottled water in the city,
tips, travel insurance (suggested budget $25 pp per day for meals/water). No experience necessary. Work will be
supervised by local tradesmen. Tools to bring (and leave behind when finished): work gloves, line levels/string, mason’s trowel. 4-Day Inca Trail Hike Extension 10-17 July: $991 USD pp (It is possible for travelers to arrive in Peru
on July 10 & meetup with the group to go to Machu Picchu if they don’t want to go to the village.) Permits are required to hike Inca Trail. They go on sale 2nd week in January. First-come, first-serve. Once they sell out, it is not
possible to hike Inca Trail. Contact Jacquie Whitt for full details.
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(Continued on Page 11…)
Service Project to Kallipata, Peru, Inca Trail Porter Village - continued ...
Proposed itinerary:
Day 1 - July 5 - Depart US - Arrive Lima, Peru / overnight in hotel
Day 2 - Fly to Cusco/ transfer to hotel for overnight (B)
Day 3 - 4-hour drive to Kallipata - set up camp/begin working on livestock shelters (BLD)
Day 4 - Continue working on shelters (BLD)
Day 5 - Work half day/drive back to Cusco / overnight in hotel (BL)
Day 6 - Transfer to airport for departure (B) (or stay overnight for Inca Trail hike ext.)
Day 7 - July 11 - Arrive US
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
TATC General Membership Meeting
Contact: Juliet Stephenson, [email protected]
Where: Public Library: Mary D Pretlow Anchor Branch, 111 W Ocean View Ave, Norfolk, VA 23503
Description: 7 pm - 8:30 pm. Guests Are Always Welcome so join us for our monthly meeting and see what we’re all
about! This is a great opportunity to socialize, network and just plain have some fun with folks who love to work and
play in the outdoors. You don’t have to be a member to attend our meetings or events so no worries. Many join the
club as a way of “giving back” in one form or another and we hope you’ll be a part of that too. The work we do on the
Appalachian Trail and many other trails in the Hampton Roads area comes from a heartfelt desire to be good caretakers of nature. Even if you’re not able to physically work the trail, your membership helps to purchase tools and other
necessities for this non-profit club to operate. Our club also has a cabin on the Blue Ridge Parkway which is open for
rent by club members so that’s another great reason to join. Check out our Tidewater Appalachian Trail Club website
for a full listing of events, Facebook, and YouTube sites as well. See you there! Juliet Stephenson ([email protected])
Thursday, July 21, 2016
First Landing State Park Trail Maintenance
Contact: Ellis at [email protected]
Where: First Landing State Park, 2500 Shore Dr., Virginia Beach, VA 23451
Description: Meet 9:00 am for check-in with a 9:15 departure. Duration of work is 9:00 – 12:00. We’ll be working on
the Live Oak Trail and other areas that need work. Bring drinking water, hand clippers, trash grabbers, work gloves,
etc. If needed we can borrow other needed items from the park garden shed. From Shore Drive Eastbound Turn
RIGHT on the Park Road at the stoplight. Just after the pay booth turn RIGHT into the Picnic Area where we will
park. Advise the attendant at the gate that you will be performing maintenance and will be provided a parking pass.
Lunch Option CP Shuckers: 3232 Shore Drive. Free volunteer parking pass for the day will be provided for those
who sign up. To sign up please contact Ellis at
[email protected]
Friday-Sunday, August 19-21, 2016
Overnight Kayaking on Back Bay
Contact: Bruce Julian (757.604.3099)
Where: Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Description: We will meet at 2 pm at Little Island City Park in Virginia Beach. You will need your own kayak and gear.
To secure your space, call Bruce Julian (757.604.3099)
Friday-Sunday, September 16-18, 2016
TATC Cabin Maintenance / Orientation Trip
Contact: Bob Adkisson, [email protected])
Where: TATC Cabin off of Blue Ridge Parkway
Description: Come and enjoy an early spring work trip to the club cabin, do some easy work on the cabin access trail
or the nearby White Rock Falls Trail, and some light housekeeping work inside the cabin itself. Stay inside the cabin
or tent out nearby; half mile walk to the cabin from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Possible community meal Saturday night.
You must call or email me to get on the list and get a spot. More info to follow for those who are interested. Call or
email if you have questions. Greg Hodges (757.439.1552 or [email protected])
Information for Hike & Activities Schedule, TATC website listings and Meet up postings are collected & edited
by the Hikemaster. Contact Juliet Stephenson at [email protected] for publication.
11
Sherando: How to Feed 80 Hungry Hikers
By Stephanie Stringer
I get so many wonderful compliments on the food served, I think I’m going to start taking full credit for the tastiness of our Sherando meals—even though it’s the Waynesboro Kroger’s deli manager Cindy Bradley that’s been doing
all the work. Every year I thank her for doing such a great job and making my job only to call in the order and pick it
up. The biggest challenge is deciding what to order and more importantly, how much to order. This year I ordered
creamy chicken and rice for 80ish, grilled veggies for 60, and vegetarian rice and beans for 20—and toppings of shredded cheese and fried onion rings. And while I think we had about 80 total hungry hikers eating dinner, we had enough
leftovers to give away several meals at the end of the evening—surprisingly, the vegetarian rice and beans was totally
consumed!
We usually pick up the several trays of food in my trusty Subaru. But after last year when the very full trays of
baked beans tilted and the sauce spilled all over my hatchback floor of my then brand new car (which despite several
cleanings, that mishap still emits a not-so-great aroma on hot days when the car is closed up), this time I casually eyeballed and admired Phyllis Neumann’s flat bed truck and exclaimed how perfect it would be to pick up the food. So
even though it took her away from happy hour (sorry Phyllis), she agreed to do the food run with me.
We did pretty well on costs—only about $3.75 per person, and there was plenty of delicious food! Our total food
bill was about $300 and included salad, the Kroger vittles, and toppings. We also bought a few supplies, (sterno,
plastic bags, oven mitts) which will last us for several more events. As a group, we did pretty well on bringing our own
dishes, drinks and cups, cutlery and napkins, but please remember to do that for next time. The least impact we have
on the environment, the better.
Our main volunteers were Judy Welp, Chris Sexton and Dottie Abbot. They are veteran meal supporters over
the years and their help is invaluable. Judy (who couldn’t make it to Sherando this year) helped with some of the prework—inventorying all our TATC supplies, listing what we needed this year and then helping with the shopping. On
maintenance Saturday when just about everyone was out on the trail, Chris and I cleaned and set up the picnic shelter
and tables (OK, OK—so we had some strong muscular types help move the tables before they headed out). We then
took our routine trip to The Cheese Shop in Stuarts Draft—a bonus of Chuck Wagon duty—you do your job well before
Sherando, then set up early in the day on Saturday, and then late in the afternoon become available again for final dinner arrangements. Open time during the day has allowed us to explore the area with side trips and stops at a local
farmer’s market and to an apple festival last fall!
Dottie brought all the salad fixings and after she returned from some tough maintenance work, put the salads
together—and they were spectacular!
Jim Newman used his truck to bring all our supplies to and from the event, and Joe Turlo brought our burners
and propane tanks.
We had several people volunteer to help serve—one through hiker who gave his name as River—I’m not sure if
that is the name he was born with or if it was his trail name. But he was pleased and honored to be invited to dine with
us, and felt the least he could do was to help us serve. He told me he was nearly a local (although I don’t remember
where he’s from) and would plan to join TATC once he finished his AT hike. Other servers included Bob Mooney, Cindy Wong, Evelyn Adkisson, Jane Martin, and a young man in an orange jacket whose name I did not learn. Clean up
is always a breeze with the many spontaneous volunteers we get. And with Jim and Chris Sexton taking care of all the
recycling and Dottie packing up the few items that needed to be run through her dishwasher at home, we quickly had a
clean shelter—a place no self-respecting bear would even bother to visit looking for leftovers.
As usual, our dessert table runneth over. If you brought a homemade goodie, we’d love to have your recipe!
Many people ask me who brought this sweet treat or that sweet treat, but I often don’t know—people just drop it off
and head out. Please send your recipes to [email protected] and I’ll see if I can convince Jim Sexton to
find some space in our newsletter for these.
12
RELOCATIONS AND BRIDGES-- SOME A.T. AND TRAIL CLUB HISTORY
By Bob Adkisson
The article re-printed below, written by retired Forester Dave Benavitch, appeared in the May / June, 1993 issue of
the Appalachian Trailway News (this is the official newsletter of the A.T.C., based in Harper’s Ferry, W.Va.). The
article tells the story of the rebuilding of the footbridge over the Tye River, on our club’s section of the trail.
* BUILDING A BETTER BRIDGE IN VIRGINIA-- ALL 148 FEEET OF IT IN TWO WEEKS
By Dave Benavitch
If you have the occasion to hike the Appalachian Trail in the George Washington National Forest in Virginia, between The Priest and Three Ridges, you will notice that the bridge over the Tye River has a new look.
The 148-foot suspension span, or ‘swinging’ bridge, was completely reconstructed in two weeks last summer. The
original bridge was built in 1974 by the U.S. Forest Service. The bridge had served well, but, during the past few
years, Forest Service inspectors and volunteer Trail maintainers noted accelerated rust in the cables and rot in the
wooden decking.
Representatives of the Tidewater A.T. Club (TATC), which maintains that section of the Trail, the Appalachian Trail
Conference, and the Forest Service had agreed in late 1991 to redo the bridge under a “Challenge Cost-Share’
agreement. The program allows the Forest Service to match resources with an outside partner to accomplish a project in the public interest. The resources can be labor, supplies, or money.
Trail-club members, with the ATC summer volunteer Trail crew known as the Konnarock Crew, would handle the
construction; the Forest Service would provide an estimated $9,000 worth of materials and the design and coordination necessary to do the job.
The project was scheduled for July 1992. Forest Service engineers redesigned the original bridge plans. Pedlar
Ranger District personnel obtained materials, and participants in the district’s Senior Community Service program pre
-constructed the entire bridge in sections at the Forest Service work center in Buena Vista, Va. New cable was cut
and assembled there, also.
The Konnarock Crew and TATC members set up a work camp at the construction site in Nelson County. In just two
weeks, volunteers removed the old bridge and installed the new one. While the bridge was being replaced, hikers
could either ford the river or take a short detour to a state highway bridge. Without exception, the hikers opted to ford
the river. A heavy hemp rope was stretched across the river to provide a handhold.
The project was completed without any accidents or major mishaps. The success of the project strengthened the
bonds of our partnership and engendered a new respect for each other’s abilities.
After you see the bridge, and particularly if you were familiar with the old one, you will know why all of us who participated in the project are very proud of it.
Plan a hike, or even a drive (Va. 56 passes right by the bridge), to view or use this new addition to the A.T.
Dave Benavitch is a forester with the Pedlar District of the George Washington National Forest and a veteran Trailmaintainer. Mr Benavitch, his wife, Claudette, and the couple’s children, Amy and Laura, are family members of the
Natural Bridge A.T. Club. *
I was a member of TATC in the summer of 1992, when the bridge was re-built, but, because of my work schedule, I
wasn’t able to assist in the club’s efforts. Sometime during that 2 week period I know at least a dozen or so club
members helped out with the work, but the only name I am sure of is (the late) Otey Shelton. If you were there, if
you helped out with the reconstruction of the bridge, maybe you’d like to share your memories in a newsletter article
sometime soon.
Recently stumbling upon this article in an old issue of the Trailway News got me to wondering about the original
bridge, built in 1974. As I’ve mentioned before, in a long ago newsletter article, I have some slight history concerning
the first bridge, and the re-routed trail that leads to it:
I first hiked ‘our’ section of the A.T. in October of 1974, walking from just north of Reid’s Gap to Route 56 and the
Tye River; in my 2nd year of college, I was fairly new to backpacking and the Trail. I spent my one night out at what is
now called Hanging Rock Overlook, and I awoke to the mountaintops being completely lost inside a thick cloud-- visibility was about 50 feet. So much for the great views!
Following the blazes, I climbed over Three Ridges Mountain in the damp, colorless fog, descended a few miles of
rocky slope and then alongside Harpers Creek, to where it left the forest and entered a cow pasture. Wending my
way through the cows and cow pies, here I finally escaped the fog, got below the clouds, was able to enjoy modest
views of the base of some nearby mountains. But my clothes, pack, and plans were all dampened by the weather,
and from Route 56 I decided not to continue south on the trail (3,000 feet up and over The Priest). Instead, I cut the
trip short and hitch-hiked back to VCU in Richmond.
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The following spring, in May of 1975, I was back, on a week-long A.T. adventure, walking from Rockfish Gap south
to the James River. I again spent a night on ‘our’ section of the Trail (our club had taken responsibility for maintaining the 10 mile stretch over Three Ridges Mountain sometime in 1973, but I was unaware of the club and any of
that)-- this time I camped out at what is now called Flat Rock Overlook. Just after sunset a thunderstorm chased
me down from this exposed site, and I wound up sleeping about a quarter of a mile to the south, right on the trail itself (there being no other flat ground). Next morning, with the sun out and the promise of a nice day, I aimed to
have my breakfast down where the A.T. crossed Harpers Creek. Only….. surprise! I found that in the 7 months
since I’d last hiked in the area, the trail had been relocated—now it crossed Harpers Creek just below the shelter
and immediately started climbing a ridge.
Boy was I peeved.
The guidebooks and maps meant next to nothing when the trail (especially in the 1970’s) was relocated seemingly
every week. I was so miffed at being what I called lost on the Appalachian Trail that I didn’t stop to eat breakfast
until I was about a third of the way up the Priest (being ‘lost on the Appalachian Trail’ means you know you are on
the trail, because you can see the blazes and the pathway, but you are on a section that has been recently relocated, one that doesn’t show up on the map you are carrying, one whose route isn’t described in the latest edition of the
guidebook you have, and so you really have no idea where you are, how far it is to the next water source, road, or
shelter-- you are on the trail but, for all intents and purposes, you are as lost as you are clueless; instead of being a
mile to the next stream, it could be 3 miles; instead of 2 miles to the next shelter, it could be 5 miles, all uphill).
And so I wondered, reading Dave’s article, about the original footbridge over the Tye River, and the 2 plus mile
relocation that, from the north, leads to it. Did the TATC, newly taking over this section from the Natural Bridge Club,
help to build the first bridge, and were they also responsible for the major re-location of the trail onto the ridge crest?
(If so, what a major project for our small, young club to have taken on, or had thrust upon them) Had the Natural
Bridge Club done any of the preliminary planning and work; did they assist in any of the bridge construction and trail
building?
So I wrote to Dave Benavitch and asked several questions. He was kind and responsive enough to immediately
write back, with the answers.
As he mentions in the article, and reinforced in his response to my questions, a dedicated National Forest Service
work crew was entirely responsible for building the original footbridge over the Tye River (in the summer of 1974).
As a personal aside, Dave noted that just months before (in January) he had graduated from college, and the Forest
Service offered him a temporary job to help build the bridge. Having already accepted an alternate job offer though,
he had to take a pass.
The re-location of the trail, from the new bridge to Harpers Creek Shelter, was also done exclusively by a National
Forest work crew, this after several tracts of private land had been purchased by the government to secure the route
(this was before the A.T.C.’s special Konnarock work crew program had been developed, and when the Forest Service had actual trail building crews of their own).
The re-location of the trail onto the ridge and over the river on a footbridge was a good thing—no matter how much
I might have grumbled that morning as I made the unexpected ascent of the ridge above Harpers Creek Shelter.
The re-location meant the trail no longer had to follow narrow county road 682 for nearly a mile, or state road 56 for
nearly half a mile— no more road walking, now it could stay in the woods, away from traffic, roadside houses, and
barking dogs. The best thing of all though was the swinging bridge-- there are only a handful of such bridges along
the A.T. (actually, I can only think of one other, the one in Vermont, over Claredon Gorge). It is special to have such
a thing on ‘our’ section of the trail, and we should celebrate it.
Depending on when you joined the club, you may not be aware that about 7 years ago part of the A.T. route between the swinging bridge and Harpers Creek Shelter was relocated yet again, by members of our club (with the
assistance and guidance of the Konnarock Crew). The reasons for this relocation of the relocation were several:
turns out a small part of the route built by the Forest Service in 1974 was on private land, but the main thing was that
nearby landowners had clear cut their hillside right up to the boundary line and intruded on the trail (they planted an
apple orchard, and their warehouse in the valley was both visible and audible). Also, some parts of the original route
followed an old jeep road, which was overly steep.
The new relocation was situated on the side of the ridge opposite the clear cut, laid out to have an even gradient
throughout its slow climb to a minor gap, where it meets up with the Mau-Har Trail. This new relocation was beautifully engineered and is a joy to walk.
The A.T. is now at a point where relocations will be rare events, not everyday occurrences. There are only about 3
or 4 miles of the actual route that aren’t in public ownership, and clubs are, or soon will be, done with things like adding switchbacks to overly steep sections of trail. The A.T. is all but complete and protected, and for that we can all
rejoice!
14
TATC HIKES HUMPBACK ROCKS TO REID’S GAP
By Mal Higgins
It was a perfect hiking day—sunny, blue skies, and in the 50’s ºF. On Sunday, May 15, 2016, twelve
TATCers completed approximately 9.5 miles southbound from the Humpback Rocks parking lot, up a steep elevation gain on the blue blaze trail to the 3605' Rocks summit, and then along the A.T. to the Three Ridges overlook parking area on the Blue Ridge Parkway, just north of Reid’s Gap. The intrepid twelve were Bruce & Margaret Julian, Judith Doty, Nancy Clemen, Ed Freytogle, Dawn Weideman, Bob Mooney, Andy Grayson, Sandra
Canepa, Jim Newman, Svetlana Kononov and me.
The day after the Sherando Lake gathering for TATC’s semi- annual “all hands, all trails” maintenance
effort, we gathered at 8:00 a.m. at the Williams Branch shelter to organize our hike. Tents were down and
packed, breakfast done, and it was time to hike the A.T. from Humpback Rocks parking lot at roughly Milepost 6
on the Blue Ridge Parkway south to Reid’s Gap. As we began our hike about 9:15 a.m., a fresh and cool zephyr
in the Humpback Rocks parking lot made us head to the woods quickly to get out of the wind. I elected to have
us do our elevation gain immediately, and we hiked the broad, well maintained blue blaze trail about 8/10ths of a
mile to the Rocks summit. After some photos and enjoying the view, we got on the A.T. and continued south.
The A.T. (maintained by our sister club, Old Dominion ATC) was freshly blazed and in great shape. Several spots on the trail provided terrific viewsheds of Rockfish Valley and views southwest to Sherando. Gurgling
creeks, especially later when the trail crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway and is on the west side of the BRP, were
frequent. Tiny purple flowers were everywhere. Wild azalea, cancer root, toadstools, and even a trillium or two
were growing.
We met lots of through hikers all day, including Tripper and Slipper (a Georgia pair who Joe Turlo had
brought to the Sherando Saturday night group supper), Behind Me (from Newport News), BHiker (a German
woman speaking with a British accent), Who Dat (hiking in a kilt), Slide, Matt, Ralphie (both who had not yet acquired trail handles), and Chaser (a trail “flip flopper” who got on the trail in Virginia, heading to Katahdin, and will
reverse in the fall and hike from Virginia to Springer Mountain, Georgia).
We had a nice lunch break in the woods just north of the cliffs looking across Rockfish Valley at the Wintergreen Resort condos. After resuming our hike, we traversed the cliffs, enjoying a few rhododendrons, but no-
ticing that the mountain laurel was not yet in bloom. The A.T. then winds down to a crossing with the Blue Ridge
Parkway, and descends a bit more to get on the west side of the BRP and out of ear shot. The A.T. here is very
rocky and we stayed on rocks and rock slide crossings for miles.
Our last through hiker encountered on this leg was the colorful German, Uncle Bob, who told us he was
on a five year odyssey. Our group of twelve was strung out, and as I came along as the “sweep” we met Uncle
Bob coming northbound with hands full of snacks, which our leading hikers had given him. Uncle Bob was a
character, regaling us with tales of trekking the Himalayas, heading to Canada to stay with relatives for the winter after reaching Katahdin, and then with plans to hike across Canada next year. Soon thereafter, we ascended
back up to the BRP and reached our shuttle cars. We drove back to the Humpback parking lot, assembled for a
group photo, and the weekend was over. I took satisfaction in fulfilling my “No Bears Guarantee”!
15
TATC TRAIL MAINTENANCE AT SHERANDO LAKE MAY 2016
By Mal Higgins
On a fine spring weekend May 14-15, 2016, some sixty plus TATC members and friends assembled at the
Williams Branch campground at Sherando Lake Recreation Area in Augusta County for the club’s semi-annual
major maintenance effort on its 11 miles of the Appalachian Trail. The Williams Branch camping area is made
available at no cost to TATC by the USFS managers as part of the USFS’s recognition of the club’s maintenance
efforts on the Appalachian Trail.
Most folks arrived Friday evening preceding the Saturday work day, set up their tents, or established a
parking spot to sleep in the back of their trucks and cars. The weather forecast was a bit problematic for the week-
end, but the rain on Friday had cleared early enough in the day that the ground was not too wet. I established my
tent site about 6:00 p.m. It was pleasantly cool, but not cold. I visited with others who were there already, including
this year’s Ridge Runner, “JR”, who was at Williams getting to know us and explaining his role as a seasonal employee of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. JR has responsibility, he said, for about 100 miles of the A.T. in
central Virginia.
We were graced with a team of journalists for a local Tidewater magazine, Distinction Magazine, here to
cover the club’s work. Bob Adkisson volunteered to be their guide and led them to various spots throughout the
day where our crews were working, including at both the Reid’s Gap end and the Tye River end of the A.T. Apparently, they will produce a story to run later in the year in the magazine.
Saturday morning after a safety briefing by Jim Newman at 7:30, using a collection of cue cards to drive
home the safety points, the groups headed out to a variety of trail destinations. Jim Newman reports on these
efforts in more detail in another article in this issue of the newsletter. Of major importance to all, Culinary Queen,
Stephanie Stringer, assisted by Dottie Abbott, Bryant Blount, Chris Sexton, and husband Steve, coordinated the
procurement and set up of the evening’s group meal Saturday night. Stephanie provides details in another article
in this issue of the newsletter.
A total of three crews—led by Milton Beale, Jim Newman, and me—went to the MauHar Trail, the trail built
by TATC back in the early 1980s that connects Maupin Field Shelter with a beautiful route along Campbell’s Creek
and up a steep climb to intersect the A.T. about ¾ mile south of Harpers Creek Shelter. Milton Beale led his crew
to remove several “duck under” blowdowns and do maintenance southbound on the MauHar.
The other two MauHar crews tackled reblazing the blue blazes of the MauHar. I had noted the blazes
were in sorry shape when we did our October 2015 maintenance trip. Bruce Julian, the “Tool Boss”, has always
done a superlative job for the Club by sharpening and hauling all the tools over to Sherando in a towed trailer. This
time he had stirred the heck out of a gallon of solidified, separated oil based blue paint left over for several years
in the TATC storage shed. We gathered our brushes, some templates cut out by Bruce and Jim Newman, and
toting a half gallon of blue paint, I led a crew consisting of Michelle Cobb, Sandra Canepa, Bruce Davidson, and
Svetlana Kononov, on a blue paint blazing mission heading south on the MauHar. Jim led a crew coming northbound on the MauHar with their own blue paint supply. Although our two crews did not see each other in the mid-
dle, Jim and I later established that the two crews completely refurbished the blue blazes on the entire MauHar
Trail.
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Our crew developed a technique created by Svetlana of folding a large leaf beneath the template to catch and
stop any drips from running below the template. In addition to adding blazes in critical spots, such as the campsite area by the big falls, we marked a variety of places on either side of the five or six stream crossings of Campbell’s Creek
to indicate to the hiker on one side where the trail resumed on the other side. Michelle, a graphic artist, had such a
steady hand and good eye that she simply free-handed the blazes. The predicted rain finally began “on schedule”
about 1:45 p.m. and we completed the last of our blazes before hiking out to Maupin Field in a drizzle. We took a
break there to talk to two through hikers setting up for the night, Allegedly and Mismatch (who was from Wales). We
then drove back out the fireroad, yelling a hello to Bill Rogers, who was relaxing sight unseen under the canopy of his
truck.
The rain subsided in late afternoon, and the sun poked through. That evening, following a pre-dinner social
gathering, the crowd had swollen to maybe 80 folks, including through hikers “Tripper” and “Slipper”, who Joe Turlo met
on the trail and brought to dinner. We had a feast of chicken rice casserole, salad, and multiple deserts brought by
members at the picnic shelter. This was maybe the fourth time Stephanie and her crews have produced an eating extravaganza that has become one of the highlights of the weekend.
Later, Bruce Julian, switched hats from “Tool Boss”, and became “Lounge Crooner” as the evening entertainment with a fine karaoke performance at the lower lake pavilion. With a large repertoire of songs, he sang a number
of country ballads from the 50s, 60s and later, including Marty Robbins’ “El Paso” and the Righteous Brothers
“Unchained Melody”). The thirty or so TATCers at the pavilion twisted Phyllis Neumann’s arm to join Bruce in a raucous rendition of Johnny Cash and June Carter’s “Jackson”. Phyllis says she is not thinking of quitting her day job.
By 9:45 p.m. it was time to wrap it up at the pavilion and people drifted back to their tents and cars. No rain fell
Saturday night, and Sunday morning dawned clear and sunny, just right for folks to spend the day on any of four hikes
being led by various hike leaders.
Book Club Notice
A new book club is being organized focusing on environmental topics and will meet once a month in Norfolk. The Ewill
hold it’s 1st meeting at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, June 16th, at the Slover Public Library
(Main Library Downtown)
No book is assigned for the first meeting.
If people would like to go, they should e-mail the organizer, Tom Ellis, [email protected] so the library will know what
size room will be needed. They can check Tom's facebook group, too, for information.
Evelyn Adkisson
17
ALL KINDS OF LOST
By Bob Adkisson
I will be writing a series of articles for the Newsletter about the broad subject of being lost, or maybe they will be
more about staying found, or more likely something delicious and intriguing in between the two.
Nothing too profound or technical-- no checklists of things to always have with you, no instructions on how to use a
compass, no recommendations for what type of GPS device to buy, not even the names of some good guidebooks to
carry. Mostly some of the experiences I have had over the years, some of the lessons I’ve learned or the tricks I’ve
discovered. I mean, really, if eagles can find their way back to the same nest year after year, if salmon can swim
from the ocean to the exact stream where they were born, if monarch butterflies can find one grove of trees in Mexico, can’t people summon up their native talents and instincts and get themselves from point A to B?
I will start off though with examples I’ve seen firsthand (or heard about from others) concerning the White Rock
Falls Trail-- how so many hikers can’t seem to find it, and how they too often wind up at the TATC Putman Cabin instead.
In 1998 Steve Babor and I decided to move the northern end of the cabin access trail onto an old roadway I’d found
(‘jeep trail’ they are sometimes called on maps, though more likely they were old farm roads, or logging roads) that
came out onto the Blue Ridge Parkway about 100 yards north of the original route. We made this change for several reasons: part of the original route often flooded and was muddy in the springtime; the original route passed thru a
small meadow which had heavy, hard to cut growth in the summer; one steep section of the original route was a natural gully and it was hard to run water off of it. But the main reason for the move was this: the original old roadway
to the cabin was very close to the large wooden trailhead sign for the White Rock Falls Trail, and clueless trail hikers
often wound up walking the half mile to the cabin thinking they were on this popular trail.
It is hard to see how anyone could make this mistake, as the trail is blazed and obvious. Also, about a ¼ mile
along, when the cabin road reached Trail Club property, there was a sign saying, ‘Private, Dead End Road’.
Some people, no doubt, simply saw a cleared pathway and walked it to see where it went, all the time knowing it
wasn’t the White Rock Falls Trail.
Before we made the change, I was staying at the cabin one summer day, in mid-week, and had an encounter with
two lost hikers. I was swing-blading an area between the front porch and the outhouse when I heard voices approaching from the direction of the Parkway. I wasn’t expecting any visitors and wondered who it might be. First
came a medium sized dog, which stopped at the fork in the trails, by the Putman Cabin sign, and stared at me a couple of seconds. Somehow I passed muster with it, and for some reason it chose to take the trail that stayed level,
heading past the outhouse and towards the old campsite area. It trotted past me without another look. A few seconds later came a middle aged couple, talking a mile a minute. I didn’t recognize them, figured they were hikers who
thought they were on the White Rock Falls Trail. Barely slowing, they glanced up at the cabin once, said hello to me,
and followed right along after their dog, taking the trail down to where it would dead end at the campsites.
I smiled and said hello back to them of course, but didn’t ask them where they thought they were going, where they
thought they were—they’d just walked half a mile without seeing a single blaze and yet seemed so sure of themselves, why puncture their bubble? Besides, they’d be back up in a few minutes to ask for directions, once the trail
ended 100 yards down the hillside.
The most surprising thing to me, once they returned and confessed they had no idea where they were, was that
they’d been on the White Rock Falls Trail before; the woman said she suspected they might not be on the right trail
when she looked up and saw the cabin-- she didn’t remember there being any cabin on her previous hike.
A few years before this an older couple made the same mistake. They were from the Lynchburg area and had, a
few years earlier, thru-hiked the entire A.T. together. I found that doubly hard to believe, how someone so experienced could be so far off course. But then, I know of very experienced club members, who’ve been to the cabin before, who did just the opposite—they walked 1/3 of a mile or more down the White Rock Falls Trail thinking that was
the way to the cabin—before remembering and realizing, and trudging back up the trail.
Once a small work crew opened up the new route (and covered over the original one), the number of people showing up uninvited at the cabin, by accident or by design, dropped off to nearly zero. But always, people will find a
way…..
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This last April there was someone staying at the cabin while I was off for the day, visiting a friend. When I returned
at dusk I was told of a wayward walker who’d shown up there, a woman out for a solo hike on the White Rock Falls
Trail: at the parking area in White Rock Gap she didn’t see the trailhead or the sign, or the bright yellow blaze on a
tree beside the Parkway. Apparently, like so many hikers I’ve encountered there, she had no map or guidebook, no
clue as to where the trail was. She did notice 2 men in their 20’s who confidently walked into the woods carrying
some kind of packs on their backs. She assumed they were on the trail she was looking for and so just naturally followed them.
She followed them for a few hundred yards along the cabin access road, but then they veered off into the woods
(they were rock climbers, using part of our road to get to some large boulders along the streambed, on National Forest land; the strange ‘packs’ they wore were really fold-up pads to protect them from falls). Essentially, this woman
had just followed 2 strange men into the woods, men with mattresses on their backs.
She continued to follow the nice roadway, past the ‘private, dead end road’ sign (which she may or may not have
seen), right to the cabin—a half mile of walking without a single blaze. The club member sent her back out to the
Parkway to try again. Seems to me it is dangerous to be that clueless, that type of lost.
Several times I’ve exited the woods from our unmarked cabin trail and seen hikers looking for the White Rock Falls
Trailhead; seeing me, they’d immediately head in my direction, sure that I must have just come off the trail they were
looking for. We now tell cabin renters it is best to wait in the woods, out of sight, until the people find the trail for
themselves— to not reveal the route to the cabin by exiting in sight of them.
Two weeks ago, during the Sherando work trip weekend, I led a small group on a loop hike of the Slacks and
White Rock Falls Trails. Arriving on foot at the Slacks Overlook we were immediately accosted by two men and their
10 year old sons; they had no idea, apparently, of how to find the upper end of the White Rock Falls Trail. I am always glad to be of help to people, but at the same time I wonder about them, so many of them without a clue as to
where they are or where they are going, or how to get there.
About 50 yards down the trail we encountered a mountain biker (mountain bikes are NOT allowed on the White
Rock Falls Trail, and this was about the 3rd hike in a row I’d met riders on the trail) who was unaware of the rules and,
as it turned out, on the wrong trail anyway—he’d missed a vital side trail about 3 miles back, had taken the wrong
fork, even with a sign there to guide him.
So many lost people, so little time. There were two other occasions this spring, at other trailheads, where I was
asked for directions, people not knowing where the trail they wanted was located. It almost seems like an epidemic.
Do I have any fast and easy (or even slow and painful) solutions or recommendations to help solve the problem?
NO, not in the least! I am totally flummoxed and amazed, perhaps because I have, since about the 5 th grade, always
been attracted to maps and the study of geography, where places are and how to get to them. I think it is fascinating.
For years, one of my favorite things to do has been to spread out a map and just look at it, follow the course of rivers
and roads and imagine being there, wondering what it would look and feel like. I don’t quite get people who don’t
have the slightest interest in ever really looking at a map, who don’t see it as both art and reality revealed.
And now….. people with their anti-maps, their GPS devices. There are no words!
In the past, at the cabin, I would sometimes go off on day long bushwhacking explorations, come back to the cabin
at dusk, look at the map there on the wall behind the side door and try to figure out where I’d just been, which hollow
I’d seen the waterfall in, which ridge crest had held the small cemetery, which hilltop was the abandoned cabin on?
I’d never felt lost all day walking, not when I could look around and identify this mountain or that, see the Parkway
high on a ridge, knew that it was the North Fork of the Tye River in the big valley below me.
One last example, of what I am not sure: I can think of a couple of times someone, maybe at a club meeting, would
strike up a conversation with me about the out of doors, great places and memories they had from past trips. Then
they’d remember a certain time, back in college maybe, when they visited a friend of theirs, and been taken to what
they remember as the most beautiful waterfall they’d ever seen. But they couldn’t remember what it was called or
where it was…. That, to me, seemed incredibly sad—the ‘most beautiful place they’d ever been’ and yet they didn’t
know how to find it again, could never go back. Something so memorable-- lost to them.
It immediately piqued my interest because hey, they said it was such an impressive place-- if I hadn’t already been
there, I wanted to know where it was so I could go and see it! And so I’d ask them questions like, what college did
your friend go to when you went to visit him, was the waterfall a fairly short drive from there, how long of a walk was it
from the car to the falls, what did the falls look like, etc. A couple of times I was able to name the falls or the place
the person had been to, and it usually wasn’t all that hard, just a matter of remembering what is important to you,
what is memorable and beautiful, and how to get there to see it again.
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Dan Stranigan and Maya
Dottie Abbot
Patrick Landis
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Sherando Lake
May 2016
21
Windsor Castle Walk - Chris Sexton
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False Cape State Park - Bruce Julian
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False Cape State Park—Bruce Julian
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Back Bay - August 2015 - Bruce Julian
Harpers Creek Shelter - May 2016
John Pessagno
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Humpback Rocks - May 2016
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Humpback Rocks - May 2016
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Mau-Har Trail Blazing
May 2016
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Adirondaks 2015
Robert Adkisson
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McAfee Knob & Tinker Cliffs
Mal Higgins
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McAfee Knob & Tinker Cliffs
Mal Higgins
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