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.
