Nantahala Hiking Club Newsletter

nantahalahikingclub.org

January/February 2020

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der Message from Victor Treutel Trail Ambassador Coordinator

After decades of vacations to the Great Smoky Mountains, my wife Gayle and I decided this

would be the perfect retirement spot. So, in 2015 we purchased a home on Cowee Mountain and then spent the following two years on a remodel project. We relocated from a lifetime in

Orlando, Florida, and surely haven’t missed the heat, humidity and mass of humanity for a minute. The slower and much quieter mountain lifestyle is suiting us just fine.

Gayle spent most of her career in management for the Walt Disney Company (28 years), fol-

lowed by a second career in Real Estate. I spent my career in Technology, mostly automating

people jobs. I like to say I was doing AI (artificial intelligence) before it was artificial and intel-ligent (which it’s still not).

I spent many years of my career on airplanes, and in an effort to find something entertaining to do while on the road (besides drink), I started writing a novel. It kept me out of trouble, and ensured that seatmates on airplanes didn’t

talk to me as immediately upon boarding I’d pull out an ink pen and a spiral notebook and spend the entire flight

writing like a crazed lunatic. Yes, I write with paper and ink, not on a computer. It keeps me from getting edit paral-ysis while I’m in the heat of the story.

My first novel, Deeper than the Ocean, was published in 2001. I then spent the next decade living my life and my

writing took a little bit of a detour. But, in 2013 and 2014 my trilogy was published; The Mansion, The Castle, and The Sea Grape. In 2015 Gayle and I collaborated on a relationship self-help book titled Soulmates My Ass: How to

Love a Hero and Leave a Zero.

Retirement has allowed me to get back into photography, and being that we are surrounded by amazing beauty it is

very rewarding. You can check out my photographs as www.victort.photography.

In August I started working on my next novel which will be titled When the Dogwoods Bloom. It will be set in the

Great Smoky Mountains and will weave two stories together. The first a present-day story about life, and love, and

loss. The second a historical tale of the Cherokee Indians that have lived in these mountains for over 12,000 years. The Appalachian Trail will make a cameo appearance as well. I hope to be completed with this project by the time

the A.T. thru-hike season begins.

Which brings me to my role with the NHC. In 2019 I took over the leadership of the Trail Ambassador program from Bill Van Horn. I will be continuing that role in 2020, and hopefully beyond. The Trail Ambassador program is

a wonderful experience. In 2019 we had twenty-five ambassadors, and I hope that in 2020 we have many more.

Training will be in February, as the thru-hiker season begins. Most of the involvement from Ambassadors is in March and April when we ask that you get out on the AT and meet as many hikers as possible. It’s fun, educational,

and motivational to meet the amazingly dedicated people who thru-hike the AT every year. If you are interested in

joining our Ambassador group, please send me an email at victor@victortreutel.com or call me at 407-341-6702.

Thanks and I look forward to seeing you all on the A.T. soon.

Victor Treutel

www.victortreutel.com

Victor and Gayle Treutel

HOW DO YOU GET 106 NEW PEOPLE INVOLVED IN HIKING? by Syndie Cassedy

You form a MeetUp group! Can you believe we have 106 folks on our MeetUp Nantahala Hiking Club page already! And... most of these folks are new to our Club. I personally have enjoyed meeting all the folks who have been coming on our hikes and look forward to a very active 2020. If you haven't gone in to join, please do so today - it is very easy - click on https://www.meetup.com/Nantahala-Hiking-Club-Meetup-Group/ and follow the instructions to join.

If you need assistance or if you are a hike leader and would like me to walk you through posting a hike, please call me at 850-384-1272 or email syndiecassedy1225@gmail.com

Town of Franklin Christmas Parade 2019 by Gail Lehman

Twenty-two folks turned out to participate in the Christmas parade. Melissa Myers, our

new Membership Chairman, provided the truck so we could display our Nantahala Hik-

ing Club logo signs and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy signs. It also supplied our

refills for our granola bar handouts. Pencils embossed with Nantahala Hiking Club were

also handed out during the parade. The rest of us hiked the parade route. Hikers were

festive in their Santa and elf hats, bells and one reindeer. Kay Coriell, Marsha Luczak,

Robert Barnable, David Lewis, Tom and Elena Marsh, Pauleah Tomlinson, a brand new

member, Ginny Eckardt, and Debra. Silver Striders joined us: Jack and Ann Blake, B J

Woodard, Nancy Brannon, Janeane Schultz, Jim and Bev Upson, Diane Mettin and Claire

Cooper, most of whom are Hiking Club members also! A great time was had by all!

Thank you for participating.

Parade participants Nancy Brannon and Diane Mettin, both are Silver Striders !

NHC’s Holiday Party 2019 by Mary Stone

A good time was had by all! Sixty plus NHC merry makers filled Celebration Hall of the Franklin Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on Friday the 13th of December to visit, enjoy food, live music and AT trivia. The answers to AT trivia are:

• 1. 165,000

• 2. Keds

• 3. Damascus, VA

• 4. Pine Grove Furnace State Park, PA

• 5. Orient

• 6. 2,175 +-

• 7. 2”x6”

• 8. 14

• 9. Maine AT Club 266.8 miles

• 10. NJ.

Can you figure out the questions? If not, talk to someone who attended the party. Thanks to all who set up, cleaned up, cooked, decorated and made arrangements for this fun event.

NHC's beloved Sally Kessler Passes Away, November 16, 2019 Remembrance by Gail Lehman

On November 16, Sally Kesler died at her home in Cartoogechaye. She was the last charter member of the Nantahala Hiking Club founded by Dr. Rufus Morgan. A graduate of Richmond Professional Institute (VCU), she came to Franklin to assist Dr. Morgan with a health center and to teach craft education. She had learned silkscreen painting at the Penland School and was an apprentice of Pauline Granichataden in Boston. She also taught weaving once a week at the Nonah Weavers for over 50 years. She became well known for design and skill in her silkscreen painting, and she added poetry and prose to her art. She was accepted into the Southern Highlands Guild. In 1955 the Noah Craft Center was also accepted into the Southern Highlands Handicraft Guild as an education center.

Sally was also a 4-H leader in the Cartoogechaye community and promoted community development. She was a knowledgeable botanist and naturalist and helped landscape the St. John's Episcopal Church grounds of which she was a member. She was instrumental in pub-lishing the “Cartooge-Jay-Bird” newsletter. In the May 1966 newsletter, Sally writes: “Nineteen young-uns took their first hike of the season on Saturday. Thanks to Mrs. Siler Slagle for launching them, Mrs. Claude Thomas for watering them and to Mr. & Mrs. Noblitt for shepherding them. All returned safely replete with ticks, chiggers, briar scratches, poison ivy and sunburn.”

For many years Sally went to Richmond for Christmas with her family and would bring the Christmas tree. One Christmas she arrived without the tree. When asked where the tree was, she replied, “the patrolman wouldn't let me cut it down.”

Sally drew the first design for the Club logo and the original map of our trail maintenance section that we use today in our brochure.

I was privileged to have had the opportunity to hike with Sally and Dr. Morgan several times. It was through Sally's teachings that I be-came knowledgeable of the wildflowers. On a hike with her to Siler Bald, I saw my first purple fringed orchid and trout lily. She loved to share her knowledge of the flowers. She will be greatly missed.

Trail Manager’s Report by Paul Dyer

Since the last newsletter, maintainers have worked on 36 miles of the AT, blue blaze and connecting trails. Seven of those miles were in the Southern Nantahala Wilderness where we are limited to loppers, swing blade, hand saw and crosscut saw. Two Wednesday Work Days were missed because of the weather.

In addition to routine maintenance, we have made a lot of progress on the new privy at Siler Bald Shelter. Maintainers contrib-uted ten workdays other than Wednesdays to work on privy construction. The Nantahala Ranger District provided space to pre-pare materials before construction began at the new privy site. Materials were cut to size, the privy was assembled with tempo-rary attachments, and all parts were numbered to be reassembled at the construction site.

Nantahala Ranger District provided a vehicle and staff to assist in transporting materials to the construction site at Siler Bald Shelter. Photos in this newsletter show the progress over 3 days of construction work. One more day of work should complete the project.

Christmas and New Year holidays fall on Wednesday this year and maintainers will not meet on those Wednesdays. Join us any Wednesday next year at 8:30 at the Clubhouse for a day of trail maintenance.

Help Needed with Hiker Shuttles 2020 by Kay Coriell

We would like to add to our special group of Club members that give FREE shuttles to AT hikers to and from Franklin. Trips are lim-ited to 25-30 miles from town and have been especially helpful to hikers on weekends when the Macon County Transit shuttle bus is

not in operation.

For those who have the time and inclination to meet folks from all over the country, nay, the world, and give them a helping hand in their quest to "do" the Appalachian Trail, give me a call and I'll give you further information on this vital project. Don't delay, I'm mak-

ing my list and checking it twice.

Kay Coriell, 369-6820

NANTAHALA HIKING CLUB

YEARLY WEBSITE REPORT FROM JANUARY 1,2019 Thru December 24, 2019

BASED ON GOOGLE ANALYTICS DATA

(Statistics listed below in Table Format)

By Karen Franks

The year 2019 has been another great year in growth, popularity and usage of the NHC Website. It is incredible that the site has been up and running and online 365 days/nights during this year. SiteDart Hosting in Franklin is still

handling our behind-the-scenes tasks such as hosting the site and running nightly backups.

During the year several new pages were added to the site: “NHC 50th Anniversary Celebration,” “History of the NHC,”

and “NHC Trail Crew Orientation.” The bylaws were updated also. There is a new link to our “Meetup” group page, designated with a red “M” icon, located in the green footer area along with the “Facebook” icon.

Below is a table showing the statistics for the year.

I am extremely fortunate to be able to maintain the NHC Website. It is such a pleasure to work with this fine Club!!

Thank you NHC!

Here are the statistics for 2019!

JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2020 HIKE SCHEDULE by Gail Lehman

SAT JAN 4 Ridge Trail at Coweeta Hydrological Lab. Start behind the wet lab and hike to Dyke Gap. Views of Albert Mountain fire tower. Come down Cunningham Branch to Shope Fork and return to the office complex. Total hike Distance: 7 miles Ratin g: M Elevation: 950' Meeting Place: WP Time: 10 am R/T Driving: 16 miles Leader: Gail Lehman Phone: 524-5298

SAT JAN 11 Waterfalls off Hwy. 281, includes White Owl Falls, Dew Falls, Johns Jump Falls and Whitewater Falls. We will drive to three trail-heads for four short strenuous hikes. Many rhododendron roots to walk over and hang onto. May want to wear water shoes, as the best view of White Owl Falls is across the creek. Total Hike Distance: 1.5 miles Rating: M -S Elevation: Several short steep in and outs. Parking fee at Whitewater Falls. Meeting Place: Cashiers Recreation Park Time:10 am R/T Driving: 26 miles Leaders: Mike and Susan Kettles Phone: 828-743-1079 SAT JAN 18 Rambling around Wallace Branch. Go up the Bartram Trail, take a FS Rd. back across a stream to a lovely trail through the pines and come back another FS Rd. Total Hike Distance: 4 miles Rating: M Elevation: 500' Meeting Place: WP R/T Driving: 6 miles Leader: Irene Brewi Phone: 772-263-3478 SAT JAN 25 Rabun Bald on the Georgia Bartram Trail. Beginning at Beegum Gap, hike to the summit (second highest point in Georgia) and to a platform with 360 views of the surrounding area. Total Hike Distance: 4 miles Rating: M -S Elevation: 900' Meet-ing Place: SMVC Time: 10 am R/T Driving: 40 miles Leader: Gail Lehman Phone: 524-5298 SAT FEB 1 Siler Bald on the Appalachian Trail. 360 degree views seeing Wayah Bald, Winesprings and a glimpse of Nantahala Lake. Total Hike Distance: 4 miles Rating: M Elevation: 700' Meeting Place: WP Time: 10 am. R/T Driving: 24 miles Leader: Robert Barnable Phone: 369-1565 SAT FEB 8 Long Branch to Rock Gap in the Standing Indian Recreational Area. Starting at the backcountry parking, hike up Long Branch to the AT at Glassmine Gap. Go north on the AT to Rock Gap and return by the FS Road. Dogs welcome on leash. Total Hike Distance: 7 miles Rating: M – S Elevation: 900' Meeting Place: WP Time: 11 am R/T Driving: 32 miles Leader: Katharine Brown Phone: 421-4178 SAT FEB15 Camp Branch to the Bartram Trail then down Locust Tree Branch. This will be a loop exploration of very old logging roads. Total Hike Distance: 8 miles Rating: S Elevation: 1100' Meeting Place: WP Time: 9 am R/T Driving: 16 miles Leader: Gail Lehman Phone: 524-5298 SUN FEB 23 Wallace Branch to William's Pulpit. Hike the Bartram Trail to a spur FS. Rd. and then bushwhack up to Gibson Ridge, scrambling over and through blow downs to the Bartram trail. Have lunch at William's Pulpit with a great view of Albert Mountain. Return by the Bartram Trail. Dogs welcome, but little water. Total Hike Distance: 6 miles Rating: S Elevation: 1000' Meeting Place: WP Time: 11 am R/T Driving: 6 miles Leader: Katharine Brown Phone: 421-4178 SUN FEB 23 Lakeside Trail. A leisurely hike around the Sheriff's department and a visit through the Environmental Resources Center to see if there are wildflowers beginning to appear. Dogs welcome. Total Hike Distance: 1.5 miles Rating: E Elevation: 200' Meeting Place: Health Dept on Lakeside Dr. Time: 2 pm Leader: Kathy Ratcliff Phone: 526-6480 SAT FEB 29 Sawmill Gap to Rocky Bald Ridge. Follow FS. Rd. 7134 to Rocky Bald Ridge to Wine Springs on the AT. Hike to the Bartram Trail and back down to Sawmill Gap. Total Hike Distance: 6 miles Rating: M Elevation: 800' Meeting Place: WP Time: 9 am R/T Driving: 40 miles Leader: Gail Lehman Phone: 524-5298

About Our Hikes

As you hike with the Nantahala Hiking Club certain people agree to drive to the trailhead, taking two to three hikers. It is a courtesy to the driver to chip in for gas after the hike. The NHC Board has suggested 10 cents a mile as a fair return. The round trip mileage is given in the description of each hike. Car pooling helps minimize traffic and reduce the carbon footprint. Also, some trailheads have limited parking. You

do not need to be a member to hike with our Club. Families and children are welcome! The hike leader will let you know if th eir hike is ap-propriate for children.

Difficulty Ratings:

E: Easy: Short hike, little change in elevation gain. M: Moderate: 4-6 mile hike, up to 1000’ elevation gain. S: Strenuous: 6 mile or more, over 1000’ elevation gain. VS: Very Strenuous

Meeting Point Abbreviations:

MP: Macon Plaza, Franklin

WP: Westgate Plaza, Franklin CBP: Ballpark near PO, Cashiers CH: NHC Clubhouse SMV: Smoky Mtn Visitor Center, Franklin

On all hiking trips, bring lunch and drink.

Hiking stick optional. Wear sturdy shoes or boots and bring rain gear.

Guests are always welcome.

Groups wait no longer than 5 minutes past the set meeting time.

Those car-pooling are asked to contribute 10 cents per mile to driver.

“R/T” = round trip.

Weather may cause changes to schedule.

All area codes are 828 unless noted.

Reservations required.

Hike limit: 20 people.

Please check with the hike leader if you want to bring your dog.

Cradle of Forestry Job Listing Submitted by Mary Bennett

It may seem a bit strange to post a job description for outside the NC area, but this is a great opportunity that I

wanted everyone to take a look at just in case.

We operate a day-use recreation area in north Georgia called Brasstown Bald (highest point in Georgia) that has so much potential for

new education opportunities both for the public and regional schools. Description is attached, and the basics for the job are below.

Georgia Program Manager:

Full-time, full benefits including health, dental, eye, paid sick leave, etc.

Stationed at Brasstown Bald three days and Anna Ruby Falls, GA for two days (split position)

Hiring Range: $35,000 - 38,000

Hours: Tuesday through Saturday. Nights, holidays and weekends are expected

Housing: NOT AVAILABLE

Closest town: Hiawassee, Georgia

Major Duties: Create and implement programs for the public, school groups, etc. and work with partners to offer pro-

gramming April - November. Supervise part-time seasonal education staff. Create school curriculum. Travel between Brasstown and Anna Ruby twice a week.

Thanks very much!

Adam DeWitte | Director of Education

Cradle of Forestry in America Interpretive Association Pisgah Field School | (828) 884-3443 49 Pisgah Hwy., Suite 4 | Pisgah Forest, NC 28768

(828) 884-5713 Ext. 224 | (828) 884-4671 FAX| (828) 553-4533 Cell www.cfaia.org<http://www.cfaia.org/> | ad-

am@cfaia.org<mailto:adam@cfaia.org>

See the job description for more info https://cfaia.org/employment-2/ or feel free to email (not call) as needed.

Program Report by Katharine Brown

At the last general meeting on November 8, over 50 attendees were educated and entertained by our own Olga Pader, Past President extraordinaire and adventure seeker. Her presentation on her trip to Nepal was full of knowledge and information as well as many delightful stories and wonderful pictures of her jour-ney. Thank you, Olga, for sharing this adventure with all who attended.

March 13 - This is the first general meeting for 2020. Jason Love, Associate Director of Highlands Biological Station, will

present "Microplastics in our Watersheds". His research began at Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory and his data will be ready to report in time for our March meeting.

We will resume general meetings and programs on March, 13, 2020. Programs take place during the general meetings at the Macon County Public Library at 7 p.m.

These programs are open to the public.

Members are invited to send names and contact information for future topics of interest to: kbtrailrunner@yahoo.com Thank You!

Message from the Editor by John Hagdorn

I am looking for a talented person wanting to help assemble our great newsletter. No prior experience necessary, just a desire to let your creativity flow and help the Club. For more information, please contact John Hagdorn at 828-631-1911 or nhceditor@frontier.com

Construction of Siler Bald Privy by Mary Stone

Don O’Neal, Charles Nuckolls, Bill Kane and Ken Westmoreland, senior NHC maintainers, have been hard at work build-

ing and installing a new privy at the Siler Bald shelter. The design is simply NHC-2. As a National Scenic Trail, the AT is a unit of the National Park System (NPS). With US Forest Service (USFS) approval, the Siler Bald AT privy qualified for and received funding for the materials from the NPS. The funds came through the AT Conserv-ancy. This project exemplifies the AT cooperative management system that includes NHC, NPS and USFS. Materials were ordered and delivered to a worksite at the Nantahala Ranger District Office. A pre -fab privy was built at the Dis-trict Office site, except for the roof. The privy was deconstructed with all parts labeled. All parts were loaded onto a large FS truck and Kane’s pick up and driven up a FS road toward the Siler Bald shelter. When the FS truck could go no farther because of the width and condition of the road, materials were off -loaded and loaded on Kane’s truck which made 3 more trips to the privy site. Other workers that came out additional days to build the privy were: Paul Dyer, Rich Corporon, and Tim Anderson. The privy is more than 95% complete and is expected to be finished soon. Work is still needed on the roof and ramp.

1) loading materials at Nantahala Ranger District Office, Paul Dyer in truck, l-r Tim

Anderson, Bill Kane, photo by Mary Stone.

2) leveling the footers, l-r Charles Nuckolls, Paul Dyer, Tim Anderson, photo by

Mary Stone.

3) installing hardware cloth inside the crib, l-r Rich Corporon, Tim Anderson,

Charles Nuckolls, photo by Paul Dyer.

4) digging hole for support post, l-r Rich Corporon, Tim Anderson, Char les Nuck-

olls, photo by Paul Dyer.

5) installing wall framing, l-r Don O'Neal, Rich

Corporon, Tim Anderson, photo by Paul Dyer.

6) installing the roof supports, Rich Corporon, Tim

Anderson, Charles Nuckolls, photo by Paul Dyer.

7) installing the roof supports, Rich Corporon, Tim

Anderson, Charles Nuckolls, photo by Paul Dyer.

8) waiting for delivery of roofing mater ials, photo

by Tim Anderson.

Special thanks to all who worked on this project!

When you hike up to Siler Bald, check out the new privy.

Hike along Park Creek at Standing Indian Campground 11/17/19 NHC’s Chris Shaw recognized by RPC 10/12/19

Betty Creek Gap to Timber Ridge - Cindy Rodinsky on the right and Barb Anderson on the left with the crosscut saw, our SUPERWOMEN! 12/20/19

Hikers at Black Rock Mountain, GA 10/10/19 Hikers on Bartram Trail from Warwoman Dell 12/7/19

Moonlight hike on Huckleberry Trail. Hikers saw the sun set in the west and the moon rising in the east at the same time. 10/12/19

NHC Board Members

President - Mary Stone - mary23stone@yahoo.com

Vice President - Gail Lehman - gaillehman@excite.com

Secretary - Debi Gedling - debigedling1227@gmail.com

Treasurer - Kathy Ratcliff- treasurer@nantahalahikingclub.org

Membership - Melissa Myers - philmelissa@earthlink.net

Trail Manager - Paul Dyer - paul.e.dyer@gmail.com

Members-at-Large

Katharine Brown John Hagdorn

Dee Kennedy David Lewis Tommy Smith

Other Contacts

Program Coordinator - Katharine Brown - kbtrailrunner@yahoo.com

Webmaster - Karen Franks - webmaster@nantahalahikingclub.org

Newsletter Editor - John Hagdorn - nhceditor@fromtier.com

New Members by Melissa Myers

Arnold, Mark and Cindy Franklin, NC Coleman, Jim and Bea Franklin, NC Williams, Ray and Laura Duluth, GA Wolf, Debra Franklin, NC

If you have questions about new membership or renewal,

please contact Melissa Myers at

philmelissa@earthlink.net .

Here are Kirk and Melissa Smith, NHC members who finished the AT in

2018. Their story follows!

My husband Kirk and I were fortunate enough to complete the Appalachian Trail in August, 2018. We have been hikers practically all our adult lives and decided to try to complete the AT a few years ago. When we began our journey, we were both still working, so we would do small section hikes whenever we could get the time off. We eventually retired and could devote longer stretches of time to the trail. We did a combination of day hikes, backpacking, and slack packing with our camper and an extra car. It was all wonderful! As we got further north, our time on the trail was longer, usually a month at a time. There is so much beauty in all the trail, but I will have to say Maine was especial-ly magical to us. But hey, our southern Appalachian mountains are magical as well! We are fortunate to live so close to the trail and enjoy it often. It seemed like an overwhelming task when we first decided to go for it, but we kept plugging and had so many incredible experiences.

Many thanks to all the volunteers who maintain the trail, and after having seen it all, no section is better maintained than that by the Nantahala Hiking Club.

Walking with Spring programming happens at the

Macon County Public Library during Franklin's

AT 110 Trail Days, every Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.

March 25 through April 22. Watch for details in your

March/April 2020 newsletter!

Don O’Neal working on the new Siler Bald privy

Charles Nuckolls working on the new Siler Bald privy

Ed Sams and San Ho Choi cutting a blowdown in the Nantahala wilderness

Photos by Rich Corporon