Byron

Published
by
Jerry Span
on July 18, 2008
in General
. 0 Comments

I’m pulling the plug on Byron. He was our MOM for a few months. Here’s a little reminder…

 

Our previous MOM, Rick Sneden, enjoys the Fontana Hiking Club because of the camaraderie with other hikers. FHC’s new MOM has the same enjoyment from the organization. Through the club these men have made acquaintances and become friends hiking frequently, even during the week on undesignated FHC hikes. Both these members have continued coming every Saturday even when our numbers have dwindled to include just them on several hikes. This month’s MOM is Byron Housley.

 

Housley had his first hike while in the Boy Scouts back in Georgia, where he grew up bouncing around from Ball Ground and Marietta because of his father’s position as a Superintendent for a construction company. His first “serious hike” was after he retired in 2002 from America ENKA, a textile industry out of Auburn, which he worked for since he graduated from Auburn University. Like his commitment level to work, Byron seems to have transferred that commitment to hiking all the trails in our area.

 

Byron found this area in a quite interesting manner. His parents vacationed frequently in Florida. One of their vacation friends in Florida was a family who owned land on Sawyer Creek. The North Carolina friends decided they wanted to move from the mountains and mentioned this to Byron’s parents. They were interested in the property and bought the land in 1989. Five years later more land became available on Sawyer Creek and Byron snatched up the 27-acre lot. At that time he lived just outside of Asheville and would only come out on weekends to mow the large piece of lands. Once he retired he moved permanently to the area and took up the hobby of hiking.

 

I first met Byron during the Fall Hike Week at Fontana Village in 2007. The last day of the program I mentioned how the Village was playing with the idea of a hiking club. His interest was peaked and kept his eyes open for the club. Shortly after we began he showed up to a hike and has since missed only two hikes due to a brief unpleasant stint with Pneumonia. Byron is quite possibly the perfect hiking partner. He studies a map and memorizes it before each hike. He will know all the miles between trailheads and places of interest. He is so in tuned to the mileage and time that it takes for the group to hike in the first hour that he can predict what time we will be back to our vehicles. Once he has hiked an area he seems to know the names of each gap, trail, and stream he has encountered. It’s as if he absorbs the trail and become a hiking data book. Like I said, the perfect hiking partner.

 

For others who hike with Byron they can confirm his hiking genius. For this reason Byron is our “Member of the Months.”

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Success!

Published
by
Jerry Span
on June 13, 2008
in Appalachian Trail, General, Hike Reports, Nantahala National Forest and Photos
. 0 Comments

Last week we went on the Appalachia Trail in search of mysterious footprints embedded in stone. They are believed to be elk or bison who walked on the stone while it was soft. I am not sure I am convinced that is what it is, but it sure is interesting. If you know anyone who may have knowledge on what this could be, please have them contact me.
For those interested in finding the spot go on the A.T. from Yellow Creek Gap towards Stecoah Gap. I think it was about a mile and a half.  In a rocky area you will find a rock in the trail with an A.T. whiteblaze on it. The coords for that rock are N 35 23.112 W 083 45.488. The image here on the right shows what the rock looks like on the trail. Look uphill and you will see a large uproot of several trees. Climb up to the base of thatroots system (N 35 23.113 W083 45.487.) These unique markings resemble what it looks like when someone steps in wet cement.
Check out some of the photos!

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Leave No Trace with FHC

Published
by
Jerry Span
on June 5, 2008
in Appalachian Trail, General, Hike Reports and News
. 0 Comments

Back in April the Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers, Alexis and Topher, came out to Fontana for an FHC hike. We did a little hike on the old A.T. and some trail work.

 

During the hike the talked about Leave No Trace outdoor ethics. Check out their blog here.

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New MOM

Published
by
Jerry Span
on May 19, 2008
in General
. 0 Comments

Well, we have to say goodbye to out last Member of the Months, and bring on the new MOM.  Below is the article on Rick as our MOM.  For the current MOM click on the tab “MOM (Member of the Months.)“

    

 

Fontana Hiking Club is proud to announce its first member of the month. Since our existence this member has nearly participated in all of our hikes. Who is the FHC’s MOM? No other then Rick Sneden.

Rick was born and raised in Jacksonville, FL where he spent most of his time as a kid outside playing sandlot baseball, football, riding bikes, water skiing, and boxing, to name a few. As an adult he continued participating in outdoor sports but on a larger level. The sport he really took to was motorcycling, specifically motocross. When queried about how many accidents he had been in while biking, he didn’t even try to come up with an amount. His response was simply, “too many to even begin to count.” He then went on to clear up that he was a show off and dare devil during this time. Such little attention to consequences on his bike lead to one accident where he hit “dead air.” Not being familiar with cycling terms he explained that “dead air” is when you are launched so high and far on a bike that you lose forward momentum ending up falling straight down.

The dare devil antics became a little less frequent as he grew further in his career as a Third Level Operations Technical Consultant for Fidelity National Financial. After 16 years of dedicated work for this company he felt it was time to move from the job and Florida.

The first time Rick came to the Graham County area was the weekend of his birthday in 1995. He and a friend came to do some riding on the great roads that adventurous bikers like Rick look forward to experiencing. Instantly he felt a pull and interest in the area, specifically the Tuskegee Valley. Two years later he had a place in the area and found himself escaping Jacksonville more and more. In 2004 Rick decided his new home was to be in Robbinsville and made his way to the mountains. He substituted his high level corporate job for self-employed carpentry work. Rick has built and sold a home, as well as worked on countless other homes in the area, not too mention renovating his current home into a posh bachelor pad.

While our MOM Rick still rides motorcycles he also began mountain biking the trails of Tsali. This new hobby combined his dare devil blood with biking and the outdoors. The new element he was enjoying with his bike rides was being in the woods. He really liked the towering trees shading him while he road the ridges and hills near Fontana Lake. He began contemplating picking up a new hobby of hiking. His first hike was with a group of friends, who just so happen to be FHC members, to Mt. Le Conte and the breathtaking lodge secluded in the Park. Shortly after that hike the FHC was formed. He joined becoming one of the most dedicated hikers resulting in the first member to get our FHC sticker, and become our MOM.

Rick has enjoyed hiking the many trails in our area learning their history and meeting new people with similar interests. His favorite hike to date is along the Slickrock Creek Trail where we had magnificent cascading waterfalls and interesting trail terrain. There are many more trails he looks forward to hiking, with the highest on the list being Alum Cave Trail. He also has great expectations with the 75 on the 75th program and looks forward to 2009 to explore the many trails the Park has to offer. I have no doubt Rick will be a continuing supporter of the Fontana Hiking Club and will be seen on many of our hikes.

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BRO Mag

Published
by
Jerry Span
on May 2, 2008
in General and News
. 0 Comments

A little over a month ago I received a phone call from Blue Ridge outdoor Magazine asking if I knew of any good places to go hiking away from crowds. I told them I did and I would love to take them.

So a few weeks after that two of their staff, a friend of mine, and I went out into the Park for an intense three day two night hike. This month’s issue of BRO has the article and a little piece I wrote. Check it out in your local outfitter or go online to their featured article.

 

This last picture is to remind you that high water season is here. while you are in areas with creek crossing, please use extreme caution since the waters can be very dangerous.

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Shuckstack Redux

Published
by
Jerry Span
on April 9, 2008
in Appalachian Trail, General, Great Smoky Mountains and Hike Reports
. 0 Comments

Last Saturday we had a new comer dare to hike with us. Boy she did good! Welcome Margie

 

 

 

Our MOM, Rick, took a photo with Byron in Shuckstack Fire Tower. Notice the lack of view through the windows.

 

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April Schedule

Published
by
Jerry Span
on April 1, 2008
in General and News
. 0 Comments

The new schedule is out.  Sorry for the delay.  Click on the “Hike Schedule” tab for details.

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Our new MOM

Published
by
Jerry Span
on March 19, 2008
in General
. 0 Comments

There hasn’t been a post in a while because I’ve been out of town.  I am please to announce we have a new section of the website.  Check the tab above titled MOM.MOM is our “Member of the Month.”  April’s is no other then…  Well you have to click there to see who it is.

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Bone Valley

Published
by
Jerry Span
on March 2, 2008
in General, Great Smoky Mountains and Hike Reports
. 4 Comments

Seven of our die hard FHC members made it out to our Bone Valley hike last Saturday. After arriving at the Marina at 9:00 a.m., we took a nippy boat ride across the lake to Hazel Creek.

Once we took a brief stop at the 1st bridge and got a quick photo, we headed deep into the Park. The weather was perfect!

As we arrived further in and closer to the cabin, remains of the snow lay on the ground.

 

In this shot of Byron crossing one of the five fords you can make some out in the background. I’m sure all who went will agree that the water was extremely cold, except maybe one… This “one” played around as if the water was nothing, He splashed around as if showing off to all us other hikers with cold feet. This “one” however was an otter.

 

I just happened to be half way across the river when he stuck his head up right in front of me.

After a few more fords we came to the most secluded cabin in the Park, the Hall Cabin. We spent a little while here enjoying lunch in the rays of the unobstructed sun as the snow melted off the tin roof of the cabin.

 

It was a great trip, but I have to admit my legs are still sore.

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1st Slickrock Hike

Published
by
Jerry Span
on February 23, 2008
in General, Hike Reports and Slickrock Wilderness
. 3 Comments
Today was quite the hike.  From the Cheoah Dam the group head along Slickrock Creek Trail.

About a mile in FHC member Gary had a “water shoe” that jumped out of his pack, how on earth this happened I have no idea.  I guess they were good water shoes because they were headed down a very steep slop to the Little Tennessee River.  We all watched as the shoe tumbled down the cliff saying are good byes.   Just before reaching the last drop before the river a small tree caught the escaping shoe.  I headed down to get the little sucker.

You can kind of make me out holding the prodigal shoe above my head.
After taking break just before our first water crossing we strategically stared at the creek waiting for it to tell us how to get across without getting wet. Eventually shoes were switched out or taken off.

Byron and Rodger stood by the shore waiting to see who would fall in. Although no one did while Janene came close. The exciting part was when she threw her shoes to Byron to stay dry she misjudged the length of the throw causing the shoes to land in the water. It was a very entertaining hike!

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