Wolfe Cove Hike with Joette Carter

Cynthia Catalano reports that Joette  had 32 people show up for the hike. There were hikers from the Highland Rim Chapter, Cookeville and the Sierra Club. It was a cloudy but perfect day for hiking. Joette took us to some beautiful places. We saw several water falls and a few cave entrances. The first picture is of Nora hanging on for dear life because she may fall. HAHA.

Wolf Cove on Carter Mountain, south of Winchester in Franklin County. This was a rare opportunity to visit this privately owned scenic and geologically fascinating area, offering waterfalls, caves, and views. The hike was rated difficult because at least half of it is off trail, with significant elevation change, and is 7 to 9 miles in length.(oh yeah! - HTBIII)

ATC Specialty Tags Available

(KINGSPORT, Tenn, January 19, 2010)—A grant from the Eastman Chemical Company Foundation is allowing the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) to underwrite discounts on the fees for the next 500 people to apply for an Appalachian Trail license plate in Tennessee.

Once 1,000 applications are received and the state begins producing tags, ATC’s share of the renewal fees will serve as a permanent funding source for the organization's work to protect and maintain the 280 miles of the Appalachian Trail in the state. As a result of the grant, the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) license plates are now available for $15 instead of the usual $35 annual fee. Renewals will be at the standard $35 annual fee.
ATC is offering its own incentive as well, thanking people who sign up for the license plate with a one-time annual membership to the national nonprofit. Existing ATC members may give someone else the membership as a gift.

For more information and an application to take advantage of this offer, call ATC at (828) 254-3708 or go on line to www.appalachiantrail.org/tnlicenseplate.

Monthly Eat-Hike-Eat At Sewanee

We had a nice turnout with 15 folks from Highland Rim, Murfreesboro Chapter and Soddy Daisy Chapters being represented. The trip included the new Chapel at the School of Theology, complete with organ accompaniment. Marty McCullough  found the "hiker's passage in Isaiah 40."  We then hiked to Morgan's Steep, walked below the bluffs to the Memorial Cross and then back via the Mountain Goat Trail portion of the perimeter Trail.

Tony Jones has a bunch of pictures of the hike and you should be able to see them as well by clicking here. Some really good ones there. Robert Davis has a few as well, as did Nabil Wakid. I share but one of folks scaling the bluff to Proctor Hall. To many to share ... you might try placing them on either Facebook or Picasa, and sending a link.

There was a lot of ice, some of which was held in place by magic I think. The trip was about 4.5 miles total and even though we could loose one person under the Highland Rim Chapter 10% rule, all seemed to make it back to the Crust for a late lunch. Thanks all, you are a great group of folks to hike and and hang out with. The photographers are Peggy and Robert. They do appear in these photos.

Chilly Chili hike

On January 9,. the 9th annual Chilly Chili hike saw twenty two hikers from 4 different chapters brave snow, ice, and temperatures in the low teens to visit Sycamore Falls on the Fiery Gizzard Trail. This trail segment is a delight in any season, but was truly a winter wonderland on this day. Fresh snow in the woods, snow and ice crystals in the trees, ice stalagmites growing in the rock shelters, twisted ice formations of every form and shape in the creeks, frozen waterfalls, creeks frozen over, Black Canyon turned white with ice and roaring water, a frost wall towering above Sycamore Falls – all these were treats to behold. Afterward, the hikers were joined by 15 other folks to finish the day with hot chili and potluck sides at the Poteet home in Monteagle. Pictures thanks to Peggy Nundley