Newsletter of the Benton MacKaye Trail Association, Inc. Post Office Box 6 Cherry Log, GA 30522 Volume 28, Issue 10 October, 2011

“Leaving a footpath for generations to follow.”

Fall on the Benton MacKaye Trail DirectorsPresident Dick Evans

Vice President David Blount

Secretary Margaret Meadows

Treasurer Butch Horn

Georgia Maint/Past Pres. Ralph Heller

TN/NC Maint Rick Harris

Smokies Maint Ken Jones

Construction Open

Hiking Pam Sullivan

Membership Vic Fredlund

Publicity Marge Heller

Conservation Betty Petty

GA Rep Bob Ruby

Tn Rep Ernie Engman

NC Rep Kim Hainge

Newsletter Open

Happy Fall!We've had a lot of great hikes and work trips in the cooler temperatures. Here are some of the details._________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________October 6 & 7 – Smokies Campsite Cleanup.Ken Jones and Dick Evans did a backpack trip cleaning campsites along the BMT in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Jim Mize, AKA “Captain Catfish”, provided boat transportation, which sped up the process. They were able to complete the five campsites on the easternmost end of the trail through a combination of boat and backpacking access, spending a night at Campsite #74 Lower Forney Creek, and then hiking out, after being dropped at Kirkland Creek. From Ken's Report to the National Park Service:

I can provide some information about blowdowns on the trail sections that we hiked. On the trail section between Pilkey Creek and Campsite #81, there are two blowdowns across the trail, but they are both easy for hikers or horses to step over. About 1/4 mile east of Kirkland Creek is a large blowdown blocking the trail. There is a ride / hike around where people are going around upslope. The other large blowdowns are located about 3 miles east of Chambers Creek. There has been some maintenance done on each of these blowdowns. The first large blowdown has been sawed with a chainsaw to allow users to get through easily. A large tree remains that is about 7 -8 feet above the trail as shown here. The second blowdown would be dangerous to saw, and someone has begun tread work to construct a reroute around the upslope side of this mess.

We got to see a bear and cub just off the trail as we hiked between Chambers and Forney Creeks. The cub jumped down out of a tree and ran upslope away from us and out of site. The momma bear moved upslope about 100' feet and watched us to make sure we did not move toward the cub. During the night while we were camped at Forney Creek, we were visited by at least one wild hog. When we got up after daylight we could see the ground rooted up in our camp in a number of spots. One of these spots was only 10' away from where I was sleeping, but I managed to sleep through the entire visit. We had fantastic weather and I didn't even carry a tent and enjoyed sleeping under the stars.

Other comments from Dick: The NPS has treated some of the Hemlocks at some of the campsites here, and

results seem to be promising. We found healthy hemlocks at Kirkland Creek and Lower Forney Creek Sites. Lots of active hog damage in the entire hike area. Most of these trail blockages will remain until the Horsemen's Group clears trail this Spring, but hikers can get through the area.

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October 18 – Smokies Campsite Cleanup, Part 2.As part of Fontana Village Hike Week, a group of 43 folks were boated from Fontana Marina up Hazel Creek in the National Park to visit the old town of Proctor.Dick Evans led the group to the old Proctor Cemetery, and explained the issues involved in the “North Shore Road” controversy. After that, a hardy bunch of about 10 hiked further along the BMT to Campsite #88, Possum Hollow, and cleaned this seldom used, remote backcountry campsite. Again, trail blockages were noted, but it is passable to hikers, with determination.This group also checked the Proctor Campsite # 86, but this site is typically cleaned by the horse outfitters who make heavy use of the site, and everything looked great there.

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TN/NC BMTA American Hiking Society Volunteer VacationOctober 9-15, 2011

by Richard HarrisThis October, we hosted the first ever AHS Volunteer Vacation Crew in the Tellico and Hiwassee/Ocoee Ranger Districts. We planned for 8 volunteers but ended up with 9, coming from all areas of the Eastern US. Because we scheduled this week in October, we did not get the usual group of younger college-aged kids typical of summer work crews. We had 9 seasoned very dedicated and experienced crew members. Most had been on previous Volunteer Vacations or had prior trail work experience.

The crew stayed at the Ranger House in the Tellico Ranger Station complex with all the amenities of home, minus TV, radio, cell phone service, and an internet connection, which the crew all enjoyed the lack of immensely. They prepared their own meals under the tutelage of the crew chief, Tina Temple. Tina was quite

experienced at doing this, since this was her 11th time being responsible for such a crew.

The nine crew members were:• Tina Temple – crew chief – Owensboro, KY• Betty Gill – Columbus, MS• Bill Twitty – Greenville, SC• Eric Randall – Nashville, TN• John Carmichael – Brownsburg, IN• Kathy Stege – Macon, GA• Sarah Slover – Cary, NC• Tina Stambaugh – New Castle, KY• Mark Harrold – North Wales (Philadelphia), PA

The crew arrived on Sunday night, and after supper, Rick Harris gave the powerpoint presentation on the BMT, then discussed the schedule for the week.

On Monday morning we left for Farr Gap with a few local volunteers (Rick Harris, Ken Jones, Bobby Mitchell, Joanne Mitchell, Richard Sullivan, and Rick Foster) and cleared a few blowdowns out to the intersection with the Crowder Branch Trail. The main focus was creating water diversions along this section, especially the steep downhill section just before the Crowder Branch intersection. We then hiked out via the Crowder Branch Trail, which was partially rehabilitated last year by the SAWS BOOT Crew.

Monday night, Bobby and Joanne Mitchell (Southern Appalachian Back Country Horsemen – SABCH) gave a talk on how various user groups are cooperating in the local area to maintain trails, including hikers, horsemen, dirt bikers, and mountain bikers. They also gave several examples of projects accomplished in the local area in such cooperative efforts.

Tuesday we returned to Farr Gap and headed down Stiffknee Trail in the rain. We were planning on moving two large root balls off the trail, but this was not a safe undertaking, considering the rain. Thus we changed our plan to logging and brushing out this section and placing a new wilderness portal sign as well as a new BMTA sign down near Stiffknee Gap. Local volunteers were Rick Harris, Larry Dunn, Rick Foster, and Travis Schwarzer (Tellico Trails Tech).

Tuesday night, Leslie Morgan, Natural Resource Program Manager for the Tellico Ranger District, gave a presentation on how volunteers can work together with the local ranger district personnel to maintain the trails, as has occurred in the Tellico Ranger District. She finished with a very interesting presentation of a project she was involved with a few years ago on reintroducing bears onto the Cumberland Plateau.

Wednesday was a fun day. We first checked out Bald River Falls and Baby Falls, then drove up the Cherohala Skyway, stopping at some of the overlooks, then hiking the BMT out to Whigg Meadow from Mud Gap. We from there drove to the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, where Dick Evans took us on the trail through the forest, explaining about the forest, Joyce Kilmer, and the recent dynamiting of the dead old growth hemlocks.

Wednesday night we had wood-fired pizza at the Tellico Outpost and listened to music by Mike Rogers, a local

musician. He also described the origins of mountain and bluegrass music and of the various instruments used by these musicians.

Thursday, we headed down to the Ocoee/Hiwassee District and worked on the north side of Big Frog Mountain, putting up 5 new BMT trail signs and doing some treadwork on the West Fork section of the trail. Local volunteers were Rick Harris, Bob Ruby, David Blount, Larry Dunn, Jeff Hunter, Rick Foster, and Steve Biatowas

(Ocoee/Hiwassee Trails Tech).

Thursday night, Bill Hodge (Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards - SAWS) and Jeff Hunter (Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition – SAFC) gave talks focusing on the importance to mankind of wilderness and maintenance of trails in wilderness areas.

Friday morning we returned to the Ocoee/Hiwassee District, this time to the section along the Hiwassee River (John Muir Trail). We placed a new trail sign at Towee Creek and did a lot of tread work on the section from Towee Creek toward Big Bend. This was a somewhat dangerous section due to the narrowness of the trail and the steepness of the side slope. The trail is now much safer for hikers. Afterwards, we visited the powerhouse and the swinging bridge over the river and also the overlook at Big Bend. Local volunteers were Rick Harris, Bob Ruby, Dick Evans, Jim Bishop, and Steve Biatowas (Ocoee/Hiwassee Trails Tech).

Friday night Tina Temple read a poem she penned on our work week, which was quite entertaining. We gave out certificates and one year memberships to the volunteers and had a “Thorns, Roses, and Buds” debriefing, discussing what needed improvement, what went well, and what the group would like to see next year. This was very helpful in our planning for future AHS Volunteer Vacation work weeks. The comments were very positive overall. We received high marks for this year’s trip, our first ever.

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Jacks River Fall Color Hike In Glorious Sunshine By Tom Keene.

Participants in the third annual Jacks River Fall Color hike enjoyed perfect weather, dazzling fall color, and exhilaratingly cold water for the Jacks River crossing.

The group of ten assembled at BMTA’s New World Headquarters, the beautiful restored log cabin near the Sisson Company sales office. A quick tour of Tom Mitchell impressively tidy tool-room and we were on our way to Dally Gap. We hiked up to Spanish Oak Gap then cut back on the BMT to the Jack River Trail and then to the river.

The sourwoods were in their full crimson display as were the tips of the red maples. A nice sampling of pale purple fall asters brightened the trailside.

After lunch on the rocks by the Jacks River, most of the party braved the slippery stones and icy water to cross the river and hike down toward the falls, enjoying the cascades and colors along the way.

Right To Left: Jerry Bland, Margaret Meadows, Sara Brand, Roy Bennett, Jane Keene, Claudia Moore, Ken Cissna, Tom Keene

Great group, great day, glorious color! It was a treat. Join us next year!

Back row from left: Jane Keene, Margaret Meadows, Jerry Bland, Sarah Bland, Roy Bennett.

Front three: Claudia Moore, Debbie Tuten, Holly Beyersmith. Not shown: Ken Cissna and Tom Keene

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+Across the Wide TaccoaOctober 8th GA Worktrip

By Tom Keene

The October worktrip in Georgia was on the south side of Toccoa River, just across the BMTA’s iconic swing bridge. We cleared several chainsaw-worthy and both dug and refreshed numerous water diversions on the steep slope up from the river heading south toward Three Forks. Our group was small but exceptionally hard-working especially considering the temperature hit the 80’s and we spent most of the day digging dirt. Big thanks to Paula and Vic Fredlund, Gilbert Treadwell, Brock Birdsong, and George Owen. Well done, everybody.

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We'll do a special Newsletter with the results of the Election at the Annual Meeting and photos of those events. Hope you all can join us there!

See you on the Trail,

Dick EvansPresident, BMTA, Inc.