Cumberland Trail Conference's Spring Breakaway & Big Dig 2004

[MOWGLI]

The Cumberland Trail is a planned 300-mile long trail from Signal Mountain, Tennessee to Cumberland Gap State Park in the Kentucky border. About half of the trail is currently built, and the plan is to complete it by 2008. This trail is a key link in a planned Western Appalachian Alternative, which is a network of long distance hiking trails running parallel to the AT (to the west).

In March of this year, the Cumberland Trail Conference (CTC) will be holding their Spring Breakaway program. This is an alternative spring break program for students. For $90, students can help build the Cumberland Trail with other college students from across the country. In exchange for your $90, you are housed, fed, and entertained or a week. Wednesday is an off day, so it's not all work. Checkout the CTC's activities page or more info on Breakaway and other trail building opportunities;

http://www.cumberlandtrail.org/act.html

In May & June of this year, the Cumberland Trail Conference will be hosting their 2nd annual Big Dig, which is an effort to complete 30 miles of new trail in SE Tennessee. The work area is in (3) different gorges. Geologically, this area is completely different than anything you will find along the AT. This is the Cumberland Plateau which is apart from the Appalachians. It is stunningly beautiful.

If you volunteer to build trail, the CTC will house, feed & entertain you for a weekend, a week, or the entire 6 weeks. The camp is located on Lake Chickamauga, so opportunities to swim, canoe & fish in the evenings abound. It is loads of fun. Checkout the CTC's Big Dig webpage for more info;

http://www.cumberlandtrail.org/bigdig.html

Hope to see you on the Cumberland Trail.

[Bass]

Tennessee's Cumberland Trail website, http://www.cumberlandtrail.org, now has an online Big Dig signup form, http://www.cumberlandtrail.org/bigdig.html. Volunteers are encouraged to use the form so that transportation, meals, and lodging provided can be more efficiently planned. Several of the planned educational and evening entertainment programs will also involve transportion for trail volunteers.

This year's expanded BiG Dig program will be bigger and more spectacular than ever. Trail construction efforts will be concentrated again this year just north of Chattanooga, Tennessee in the beautiful Rock, Possum, and Soddy gorges. An average of 100 trail volunteers and staff from all over the US will bring the 30 miles of planned trail to 90% completion by June 26.

Volunteers are needed for a day, two days, a week, whatever you can give to help build the Cumberland Trail.

[papa john]

I think it would be a great idea to get a bunch of whiteblazers to volunteer for a week. We could all wear our WB coolmax T-Shirts!

I am seriously thinking about going up in May, anyone else?

John

[MOWGLI]

I think it would be a great idea to get a bunch of whiteblazers to volunteer for a week. We could all wear our WB coolmax T-Shirts!

I am seriously thinking about going up in May, anyone else?

John

I will be there on & off Papa John. On Wednesday May 19th and May 26th, I will be giving slideshows about my AT thru-hike from 2000 as part of the evening entertainment. I know I have a slide of you Papa John, so I'll dig it out, and include it in the program.

FYI, there are entertainment programs scheduled for many nights at the Big Dig. Music, nature programs, square dancing (with live music). It's loads of fun.

Jeffrey Hunter
aka Little Bear
GA-ME 2000

[Bass]

I think it would be a great idea to get a bunch of whiteblazers to volunteer for a week. We could all wear our WB coolmax T-Shirts!

I am seriously thinking about going up in May, anyone else?

John

You'll want to wear something long-sleeved over the WB coolmax T-shirts in the mornings, but will enjoy them in the afternoon. The mountain mornings in Mid-May are refreshingly brisk, low 50's. But the day warms up fast, highs in the mid 70's. Perfect weather to be outdoors! And almost no bugs on the trail. Mosquitos do come out at dusk at the lodge on the lake though.

Be sure to bring your camera. Mid-May is great for wildflowers. The eagles are often seen in the gorges too.

I'm looking forward to meeting ya'll. I'll be there pretty much the entire time. We plan to camp in our van in the camping area on the lake, and work on the trail every day we can. I'll drive the car into office whenever my presence is demanded.

Barry Spearman aka Bass

[papa john]

I am certainly looking forward to this event. Is there a place to hang a hammock in the camping area? Little Bear, I look forward to the slide shows. I'm all set for the week of 5/26, see you all there.

[Bass]

I am certainly looking forward to this event. Is there a place to hang a hammock in the camping area? Little Bear, I look forward to the slide shows. I'm all set for the week of 5/26, see you all there.

There are plenty of trees to hang a hammock between in the camping area. You'll need mosquito netting though. That's the only downside of the Dogwood Camp on Chickamauga Lake. The mosquitoes don't bother you during the day, but at dusk they start coming out.
The lodge is up the hill and away from the lake, and there are few mosquitoes there -- so you could hang your hammock there.

The nights are cool in May. In a hammock, you'll need a warm sleeping bag.

My camping van is already there for the Spring BreakAway Program. Approximately 60 collenge students on Spring Break and 15 volunteers got nearly a mile of trail built yesterday. But the trailbuilding will slow drastically once we start desending into Possum Gorge, probably Friday.

[Bass]

Last year's Big Dig was probably 50% people in their 20's. But 30-40% were in their 50's or older. There were several father/son and mother/daughter and families. There were very few children under 16, they must be accompanied by an adult.

You must be in good shape, the hikes in to the work area can be as much as 2 - 3 miles with 200 to 500 feet of elevation gain carrying heavy tools. You can pace yourself on the trailbuilding work. Some of the work is VERY easy, like lopping small branches and clipping roots. Other work, like sidehill cutting with a mattock, is physically demanding. People tend to rotate tasks during the day.

One of the great things about the work is that you get to work in teams of 5 to 10 and get to chat as you work. You learn a lot about other trails and meet some really
nice people. Teams are assigned each day, so you normally work with a different group each day.

Lunch presentations by Park Rangers are a nice change of pace too. The Rangers taylor their talks to the area you are working in. If you are working in an area of blooming rhododendron, Rangers will discuss different rhododendron varieties and perhaps other related species. I always welcome and enjoy the educational sessions.

[Bass]

Tennessee Tim sent word that he will be at the Big Dig. I'm looking forward to hearing about his hiking adventures out west too.

[MedicineMan]

we will be doing 2 days but dont know which ones yet, depends on when the oldest daughter gets out of school....she starts at Baylor School in Chattanooga this fall and we want to get her enlisted in her home state's trail. Seems like it is an excellent opportunity to learn and be able to look back one day at an accomplishment.

[papa john]

I am heading up there on 5/22 for the week of 5/23 to 5/29 (if I can afford to fill my van with gas). Looking forward to geting out in the woods and building a trail!

Papa John

[MedicineMan]

We are heading to Soddy Daisy Sunday afternoon to 'dig' on Mon and Tues. Hope to see some Whiteblazers there or hear of their efforts in this project.
I told Shannon we may get lucky and dig up a huge copperhead nest.