You are invited to attend the 2011 BCHET Fall Roundup
Sept 30 – Oct 2
Meadow Creek Mountain Resort
http://www.meadowcreekmountain.com/
There have been more Improvements made to the camping areas
BCHET membership meeting to be held Saturday night
Barn and cabins also available
Meals will be available at the restaurant
For reservations, call 423-623-7543
Join Larry Jeffers and other BCHET Members for a Meet the Trails ride on April 22, 2011 (Good Friday) Larry and the crew will be meeting at 10 AM at the Limestone Cove Trailhead Parking Area. For directions to this parking area, visit BCHET Trail Info Page for Washington and Unicoi Counties.
Plan on riding the Limestone Cove / Stamping Ground Ridge Loop with maybe a side trip to the Unaka Mountain Overlook. The entire ride would take 6 hours, if you ride only the loop, it will be 4 1/2 hours. Bring your lunch, and join us as we stop along the Stamping Ground Trail to enjoy the views, and get to know others.
Those interested in riding should email Larry Jeffers, or call him at 423-213-0021
This ride has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 25th, 2011, at 10 AM
On 3/23/11, Back Country Horsemen East Tennessee Volunteers Herb Heinz, “Anney”, the canine trail mascot, Dianne Noyes, Robert Schlagel and Barkley Wallace formed up for a trail work day at the southwest end of Meadow Creek Trail in the Cherokee National Forest, Cocke County, Tennessee. The weather was 60 degrees, cloudy, with a stiff wind beginning to pick up. A couple of members let their pups frolic close to the trucks for a few minutes while washing down hot coffee and discussing the plan of trail attack for the day. Our fearless leader, Cherokee National Forest Trail Specialist Gray Buckles was sidelined for the day at a working forest fire in the Cherokee. The BCHET volunteers have been working on this end of the trail for two months now. The volunteers commented on the diverse number of flowering plants blooming along Long Creek this week. White bloodwort, purple violets, and trilliam were spotted along with a number of unidentified flowering plants . Armed with chain saws and gasoline, the volunteers hiked out to clear downed trees and finish this end of this 16 mile long trail. The controlled burn of this week provided some excitement on the trail as some of the larger older trees were still smoldering. This end of the trail is essentially finished and the volunteers will clear the middle of the 16 mile long trail next Wednesday, March 30. Volunteers can call or contact Tom Connors at 423-552-3767 or TJConnor@hotmail.com or Herb Heinze at 423-741-3012. A substantial lunch is supplied to each volunteer for enjoyment on the trail.
The trail is blazed and deadfalls removed. Marilyn Bennett, my wife Cathy and I spent seven long hours Friday working and riding Unaka Mountain’s Dark Hollow / Dick’s Creek trail loop. Winter left its mark on the trail which was evident by the number of down trees and the low hanging brush. John Morrison had planned to attend but another one of Winters gifts, the FLU, changed his plans.
We began our riding work day at 11:00 AM. The first mile was trouble free but as we began the blazing or painting of the trail markers, trouble did appear. The paint can’s screw on lid had no intention of being removed. We tried several times to remove the cap. Marilyn even rode back to retrieve some pliers from her truck but there was no pliers to be had. Not to be stopped by a sticking lid I used the Leatherman tool to poke my way into the can. We transferred the paint to a plastic bottle and we were on our way.
A short time later we came upon our first down tree and soon thereafter our second tree then the third, fourth, etc. I know we dismounted to cut, pull, tug, and paint over 100 times that day. After seven long hours we had worked our way around the loop and made it back to that stubborn paint can that we had left behind that morning. I was never so glad to pick up a can. We got back to the trucks about 6:00PM.
Well the good news is, the trail is now well blazed in bright yellow at all intersections. This should make it easy to find your way and thus the ride should be more enjoyable. This is about a 4 hour ride.
Have a great ride!
On Wednesday, February 2, 2011, nine volunteers met at Burnett Gap over hot coffee for the first trail clearing session this year. It was 37 degrees, overcast, and windy, but dry. Forest Trails Specialist Gray Buckles led the charge as the group convoyed in 4WD trucks ten miles out into the back country to work.
Our first project is the relocation of the western end of the Meadow Creek Mountain Trail in Cocke County, Tennessee. This section of the trail has been rerouted around a very steep section of switchbacks on the mountain side.that was no fun to hike, mountain bike or horseback ride. The volunteers chainsawed downed trees and lopped brush along their way to open the new section of trail.
A couple of bear dens were spotted along the trail. Salamanders were carefully relocated after their hidey holes under rocks were moved off the trail by the volunteers. The troops trekked back to the trailhead for a substantial lunch of sandwiches washed down with hot coffee and then headed back out into the forest.
BCHET Volunteers ~ Front to Back ~ Tom Conner, Don Hart, Michelle Steiner, Robert, Gray Buckles, Connie and Kim (Not Pictured were Dianne Noyes, and Herb Hienze)
The next session to finish this part of the trail is scheduled for Wednesday, February 9 at 8:30am at the Long Creek portion of this trail. If you would like to volunteer to help in this relocation contact Tom Connors at 423-552-3767 or TJConnor@hotmail.com or Herb Heinze at 423-741-3012.
We are only a few hours away from completing a great Loop Trail! The loop trail begins at the Limestone Cove Trail Head and continues out Rocky Branch Rd. About .25 miles beyond the forestry service gate you have the choice of turning left onto the Limestone Cove Trail which is 3.5 miles of switch backs which connects to the Rattle Snake Ridge Trail. Take a left. The trail slowly descends the mountain providing some very nice views. This section of the trail is approximately 4.5 miles. The next section of the trail begins the connector. A portion of the connector trail was a logging road at one time and is in pretty good shape. However, there is a section which joins the old logging road to an existing Forestry Service Rd. This is the section we will work on Saturday. We will take 4×4 trucks to within .5 miles of the work site. If only 10 people volunteer we can knock this one out. Please give us a helping hand.
Where: Limestone Cove / Rattle Snake Ridge Connector
When: Saturday Feb 5, 2011 at 9:00AM
Meeting Place: Limestone Cove Trail Head
Directions: Take I26 East to Exit 32. Take Exit 32 to the Stop Sign. Turn left at the Stop Sign. Travel a short distance to another Stop Sign. Take a Right at the Stop Sign on to Highway 173. Travel .7 miles and then take a left on to Highway 107. Continue traveling on Highway 107 for 3.8 miles. There will be a Limestone Cove Picnic Area/Trail Head sign on the right side of the road. Just past this sign turn right on Rocky Branch Rd.. The parking area is immediately on the right. FOR SAFETY: When leaving please exit the parking area to the rear and turn right onto the loop road. This is a much safer exit point as you can see traffic in both directions. There is also additional parking alongside the loop road.
Volunteers needed for the following:
Chainsaw operation (must have FS certification)
Lopper Operators
Handsaw Operators
People to remove cut brush from the trail.
Contact Information:
Larry Jeffers 423-213-0021
Jeffers.larry@yahoo.com
Over Veterans Day weekend, riders camped at the Canebrake Horse Camp in Uwharrie National Forest in Troy, North Carolina.
The Canebrake Camp offers camping on 29 large sites with five double sites. Each site is fully equipped with electric hookups, a large picnic table or two, grill, large fire ring, tack tables, lantern and hitching posts. Heated showers, flush toilets, wash racks, and garbage pickup are available.
Riders can choose from 24 trails on 40 miles of nearby horse trails. The camp is open year round. Uwharrie Stables, 4-B Ranch and a local trail riding group were sponsors of an “Adopt A Trail” program.
Trail names, mileages, and ratings are listed on a trail map. Fees are $12 per site, per night. Canebrake Camp was completely booked three months in advance, the two over flow areas for horses and horse trailers were full as well as the surrounding commercial stables. Each overflow area had over 50 trailers. Easter 2011 is already completely booked.
Make reservations early by calling 1-877-444-6777. Reservations can be made up to 240 days in advance or no later then 3 days before arrival.
Information sent in by Dianne Noyes
