Team Green

Below is a description of your event. Please use the comment form to provide feedback or start a conversation with other interested event participants.

BEGINNER TO INTERMEDIATE BACKPACKING: CT SODDY GORGE

Details

When

January 17-18th

This event is currently BOOKED! Keep an eye out for February’s backpacking trip, to be posted soon!

Event Posting

Are you an avid hiker interested in enhancing the challenge through backpacking? Team Green now offers monthly backpacking trips along the Cumberland Trail, Tennessee’s first linear trail along the Cumberland Plateau. This trail, when completed, will extend over 300 miles from Chattanooga to Kentucky. For our first trip in 2009 we will begin with the Soddy Gorge section. This section of the trail consists of scenic rivers and mountain-scape with steep inclines. Please attend the Winter Backpacking 101 & 102 Clinic on Tuesday, January 18th if you have not backpacked before or would like a winter refresher. We will be sure to weight everyone’s packs and help you lighten your load if you over packed. This event is limited to 10 participants.

BACKPACKING STATS:
Meeting Time: Saturday, January 17th at 6:45 AM
Estimated Drive Time One Way: 2 hours
Hike Distance: About 10 miles a day, Saturday and Sunday
Difficulty: Moderate
Trip Leader: Keeley
Cost: Free
Deadline: January 10, 2009
Trip Leader Keeley

Children Policy: Participants must be 18 years or older
Dog Policy: Friendly dogs who have experience hiking over 8 miles and have camped overnight with strangers are permitted on this trip.

Don’t let the daily distance scare you. We regularly do 5-8 miles on a day hike. We will hike ten miles over a seven hour period. We can hike further if the group wishes to lessen the mileage on day two. Please check out the Backpacking Checklist available on the Resources Page.

Team Green practices Leave No Trace guidelines. Follow this link to see what you can do to keep our trails clean and safe.

Tentative Itinerary:
Saturday:
6:45 AM (Central): Arrive at carpool destination site to arrange carpools (information available upon registration)
10:00AM (Eastern): Arrive at trailhead, arrange shuttle, and begin hike
10:30AM-5:00PM: Hike, lunch and snacks throughout
5:00PM-7:00AM: Set camp, dinner, sleep.

Sunday:
7:00-8:00AM (Eastern): Wake up, take down camp, breakfast
9:00AM-3:00PM: Hike, lunch, return to cars.
4:00PM (Central): Arrive in Nashville. (Optional stop for dinner.)

The Big Picture

This weekend backpacking trip is part of a bigger picture. Team Green will hike 20-40 mile sections of the Cumberland Trail once a month until the Cumberland Trail is completed. Tentative completion date of the 300 mile linear trail is years away. Upon completion, Team Green will do a through hike of the trail, which will take approximately 21 days. People will be able to track the Team Green leader online and join up with the group at various trailheads for a day hike, weekend backpacking trip, week long backpacking trek or the full 3 week trek. Until then we intend to see as much of the trail as possible! Details to come.

Registration

This event is free for both Team Green Members and Non-Members. You must have experience hiking over ten miles and have attended the Winter Backpacking 101 & 102 Clinic before this trip if it is your first time backpacking. If you are inadequately prepared for this trip at the carpool site, the trip leader may dismiss you from the trip at their discretion.

Please contact the trip leader if you must cancel your reservation. This event is limited to 10 participants and there will be a waiting list.

Member Register
Non-Member Register

Children Policy: Participants must be 18 years or older
Dog Policy: Friendly dogs who have experience hiking over 8 miles and have camped overnight with strangers are permitted on this trip.

The Cumberland Trail 50 Miler Award

The Cumberland Trail Conference is an organization that has dedicated its time to constructing the Cumberland Trail purely on the efforts of volunteers like you. To encourage the use and support of this State Park, the Cumberland Trail Conference is offering an award to those who hike at least 50 miles of the trail (without repeating any sections) and donate 10 hours of their time to trail maintenance and construction.

Team Green is an avid supporter of the Cumberland Trail State Park. We will lead various day hikes and once a month offer a 20-40 mile backpacking trip along a section of the Cumberland Trail. That means you can earn your patch in only 2-20 hikes within your lifetime! That’s easy!

Award requirements:

This award is designed to promote the individual’s awareness of the Cumberland Trail and result in good personal fitness habits. The 50-miler award is presented to the individual who meets the following requirements:

• Hike 50 miles of the Cumberland Trail; hikes may be of any length, and there is no time limit to accumulating the 50 miles. However, no segment can be repeated.
• Record the hikes, hiking dates, mileage, and condition of trail.

• Complete a minimum of 10 hours of service work. This can include maintenance on trail, campsites, bridges, signing, or other approved projects by the Cumberland Trail Conference (CTC).

Upon completion of the requirements and receipt of the application and $3.00 fee, each participant will be awarded a 50-Miler Patch and a certificate. Please download, print out, and complete the Application and Log Sheet . Mail the completed application and log sheet to:

Attn: Tony Hook
Cumberland Trail Conference
19 East 4th St.
Crossville, TN 38555