New Info as of May 21. All state restrictions on travel have been
lifted and reservations have been made. This trip is on! In order to
go you must not be sick, have a fever, or been in the presence of
anyone known to have acquired COVID-19 during the last 14 days. You
must have practiced reasonable social distancing for the last two
weeks. With ONE NEEDED EXCEPTION, you must agree to observe proper
social distancing while on this trip. Here s the exception. You must
ride in a your vehicle, or in someone else s vehicle with one other
person for the approximately 15-minute drive from the ending trail
head to the starting trailhead and the reverse at the conclusion of
the hike. Bring a face mask for this part for what it s worth. Bring a
picnic lunch for the trip down. We ll stop somewhere with outdoor
picnic tables. Bring a lawn chair if you want to distance yourself
from the group even more for the picnic if you wish. We can talk about
what to do on the trip back. It will likely be carryout. If any of
this changes your RSVP, please let me know. Don t forget to bring a
rope and a bag to hang your food a the campsites.Multi-Day Backpack
Total hike mileage: 15 miles
Day 1: 3 miles>UP
Day 2: 6 miles + 3 mile day hike
Day 3: 3 miles Difficulty: STRENUOUS, MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN ON
ESTABLISHED TRAILS WITH A 1,750 foot climb on the first day and 2,000
decent on the last day.
Special Equipment: Rain gear. You should have the ability to treat
enough water for your own needs each day. Hiking poles extremely
recommended.
Hazards: Venemous snakes, ticks, hornets and various other critters.
This is NOT a beginner s hike. You must have reliable gear and be able
to hike up a mountain with a backpack, plus walk with said backpack 12
miles over a three-day weekend. There are infrequent water sources
along the route, so bring containers to carry at least 3-liters
between fill-ups. Our route begins at the Civic Park Trailhead near
Ewing, VA and ends at the new NPS Chadwell Gap Trailhead. Attractions
include White Rocks and Sand Cave a unique rock house with beach and a
waterfall. Highlights include a Sunday afternoon day hike to Hensley
Settlement. This is an area of old homesteads with fence-lined lanes,
a blacksmith s shop, a springhouse and one-room schoolhouse.
Day 1: We’ll organize our carpool from the Museum. We’ll eat a
picnic lunch along the way at a little park in Middlesboro (ADDED
5-28). We’ll drive to the ending trailhead at Chadwell Gap and leave
three vehicles there. It’s a quick shuttle from there to the
starting trailhead with three other vehicles. The first day’s hike
is the most strenuous of the trip. We’ll climb the Ewing Trail and
Ewing White Rocks Trail up 1,750 feet in 3 miles to the White Rocks
Camp. Once there, we ll set up camp and make a 1/2 mile side trip to
White Rocks in in time to catch the Earth’s shadow rising above the
eastern horizon just before sunset.
Day 2: Sunrise at White Rocks is a possibility on Sunday
(CHANGED:5/20) morning. We’ll break camp well after breakfast and
backpack at a leisurely pace west along the Ridge Trail, first making
a side trip to Sand Cave and then on to Hensley Camp. It’s only 5
miles from between our two campsites, so after we’ve established an
camp, we’ll day hike the 3 mile round trip to Hensley Settlement and
see what it was like to live on the Mountain 100 years ago. Water may
be scarce in this area and we will may have to beg for H2O at the
settlement, or carry extra water from wherever we can find it. We’ll
be back at the camp for the night.
Day 3: Our hike ends by backtracking along the Ridge Trail east to the
Chadwell Gap Trail. From there, we’ll descend 2,000 feet in just 2
miles to the ending trailhead. We’ll recover our vehicles and find a
place to eat lunch (probably carryout (ADDED 5-20) Back in Evansville
before sunset.
We ll hang all our food and smellable items on provided cable and
pulley system (CHANGED: 5?20). Leave-no-trace practices apply.
concerts
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02/06/2020 Last update