Virginia Creeper Trail

Podcast 001 History and Introduction

2010-08-13T11:48:00.001-04:00

Episode 1 of the VCTC Podcast is here.

Virginia bikers come to Alvarado

2008-06-24T20:14:00.007-04:00

The Bike Virginia Tour made its way to the Virginia Creeper Trail today and the Virginia Creeper Trail Club was ready. Between 1800 and 2000 cyclists arrived at Alvarado Station, the first around 7:30, only 30 minutes or so after our 20+ volunteers arrived to setup. And they kept coming all morning, pulling in from long climbs up the hills of southwest Virginia, but (most often) with a smile on their face. It was obvious that these riders were having a good time.

The club participated by holding a rest stop around mile 20 of the morning's ride. Some riders were planning to go for a 100 mile day, others chose to make today a light mileage 'recovery' day after some tough climbs yesterday. The Creeper Trail was a popular alternate route for many who had the right tires or had arranged with one of the many bike rental/shuttle companies in Abingdon or Damascus to rent a bike for the day.

Club members, led by our events committee chair Wayne Miller, pulled off quite a logistical operation to feed all these hungry riders. Peanut butter sandwiches, bagels, pretzels, homemade cookies, and fruit, as well as lots of water and two types of Gatorade were all available. Club member Dean McCall represented Mountain Sports Ltd in Bristol and set up a bike repair tent that. He looked to be busy all morning repairing all manner of tires, chains, and gear cables. Entertainment was provided by Ashton Blaylock, a very talented local teen guitarist with his eye on Nashville stardom one day (from the sound of his singing and playing today, it's his if he wants it).

Many riders made the short side trip to Abingdon Winery and then on to Damascus where they ate lunch. The routes diverged from there and many found their way back to the tent city in Abingdon via the Creeper Trail.

The Creeper Trail Club was thrilled to have the chance to help introduce our beloved trail to so many new riders today. We hope they enjoyed their brief visit and will come back again to ride the Creeper.

Update: More photos are available from yesterday's rest stop at Alvarado.

Expecting guests

2008-06-23T12:49:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow morning will be a big day. We're expecting between 1800 and 2000 bikers to visit Alvarado for a rest stop along the Virginia Creeper Trail as part of the Bike Virginia event. The Creeper Trail Club was invited to participate in this event as a way to highlight the Creeper Trail for the participants who are making the five-day bike tour of southwest Virginia's Crooked Road.

We'll have 25 plus club members out to greet the bikers as they arrive, get them fed and watered, and tell them a bit about the Creeper Trail. We hope that many of them will be intrigued enough to come back and ride the whole trail.

Since this is a tour of the Crooked Road, Virginia's Musical Heritage Trail, we've even booked a local performer, 15 year old Ashton Blaylock, who will entertain and amaze our guests with his musical talent.

We're looking forward to meeting our guests for the day. If you're around tomorrow morning, come on down to Alvarado and give us a hand.

Trestle Repair

2008-05-18T13:00:00.002-04:00

Beginning May 19, repair work will begin on trestles 19 and 20, near mile marker 18, just east of Damascus, on the Forest Service property. Repairs include decking and railings as well as to the structure of the trestle below. Trail riders may experience short delays as they cross these two trestles. For more information, contact the USFS office in Marion.

Going Wild for Wildflowers

2008-05-05T09:28:00.002-04:00

'Tis the season for viewing wildflowers along the Creeper. I was near Straight Branch parking area the other day and spotted some Fire Pink and others (my own identification skills are sorely lacking). The club has a number of wildflower experts. In fact, at our first meeting of the year, we had a photo presentation that featured flowers that a member had taken throughout the year along the trail. I'm told that a couple of current "hot spots" along the VCT for seeing flowers are the section from Drowning Ford Rd as you walk back toward Abingdon, and from Straight Branch as you go back toward Damascus.

If you're a wildflower watcher along the trail, please share your observations in the comments section.

Creeper Keepers

2008-04-23T08:22:00.003-04:00

Teachers and students at the Abingdon Child Development Center took to the trail yesterday to celebrate Earth Day. They picked up trash along the Abingdon section, near their school, which is heavily used. Even just one month after the club had done a cleanup day, they were able to accumulate a grocery bag full. That shows how much use (and misuse) the trail is getting. It's groups and individuals like these who keep the trail looking good for all of us. Earth Day is past but it's not too late for you to be a Creeper Keeper.

Fun and fungus on the VCT

2008-04-07T08:35:00.003-04:00

As we all know, there's more than just hiking, biking, and horseback riding to do on the Creeper Trail. Take a look at this enterprising grandma who wrote about her trip on the trail to hunt for tasty morel mushrooms.

http://peoplepowergranny.blogspot.com/2008/04/its-morel-hunting-time.html

New Year's in March

2008-03-27T09:15:00.004-04:00

The first general membership meeting of 2008 was held last night at the library. We had a good turnout and an excellent presentation by George Kelley of his photographs of wildflowers and other images of the Creeper Trail. George has promised to work on another presentation for later in the year or maybe next year called "Reverse Engineering the Creeper Trail." As a VDOT highway planner for his career (he's now retired), he's uniquely qualified to explain why the trail was constructed as we see it today.

Remember, the club meets the last Wednesday of each month, March-October, almost always at the public library in Abingdon (7:00). Both members and the public are invited to attend. Next month (April 30) our speaker will be Joe Tennis, author and columnist for the Bristol Herald-Courier newspaper.

26.2 or bust

2008-03-27T09:02:00.002-04:00

The 10th Annual Virginia Creeper Trail Marathon, hosted by the State of Franklin Track Club (Johnson City, TN) will be held this Sunday. Unfortunately, if you're thinking of joining in, you're too late to register as they limit the event to 100 runners. However, you can still turn out as a spectator to cheer on the participants. I know they'd really appreciate it. I enjoy being out there watching almost as much as running. The race begins at the Watauga trailhead at 8:00AM. The first couple of miles are on Watauga Road but then it's completely on the Creeper Trail in two out-and-back sections. You can hang out at the Watauga trailhead and see the runners as they pass by at miles 2, 9, 18, and 25 of the course.

Flickr group started

2008-03-25T19:55:00.003-04:00

I've created a group to share photos of the Creeper Trail on Flickr.com. If you're a Flickr user, you can upload your pictures to share with others.

The Travel Trade: Marketing the Mountain Empire

2008-03-02T08:57:00.006-05:00

Today's Bristol Herald-Courier newspaper has a special section about tourism in Southwest Virginia. There are several articles about the Virginia Creeper Trail, including one entitled "How do you define tourism success? Virginia Creeper Trail". They rank the top destinations in our area and the VCT is #4 (behind Bristol Motor Speedway, South Holston Lake, and Breaks Interstate Park). This is a real honor and a recognition of the impact, both in toursim dollars and local jobs that the trail has on our collective economic development. There's also an intangible, non-monetary benefit to being able to introduce new friends and visitors to the scenic showcase that the Creeper Trail offers. The Herald-Courier is worthy of praise for shining its spotlight on tourism for our area, and for the contribution made by the Virginia Creeper Trail.

I've listed below the others articles in the special section that mention the VCT:
Virginia Creeper Trail: Thousands Bike, Hike, Walk Where Trains Trod

Creeper Trail Tourism Is Golden Ticket for Damascus

Going Downhill Paid Big Dividends for Damascus

Historic Abingdon Still Drawing Tourists to Town

On the Trail of Tourism: Kilgore, Others Working to Establish Mountain Heritage Trail

On the Horizon: What Will Tourists Want: Tourism Pros Offer Insights Into Future Promotion Strategies

Patchwork of Tourism Marketing Options:Like a Quilt, Region's Promoters Piece Together Ways to Entice Tourists to Visit

Mapping project

2008-03-01T17:16:00.002-05:00

I started today on a project to map all the structures (benches, signs, bike racks, etc) along the Creeper Trail. I'm using the Trimble GPS system from the Town of Abingdon's GIS department. They will process the data and produce a layer on the GIS that shows where all of these things are. The GPS is quite advanced, more than the simple Garmin handheld units that I've used in the past. This one is a professional setup with an antenna backpack and data entry unit. Using the bike, I go from one structure to the next, taking notes, and a photo of everything that gets marked.

The impetus to do this is from the Creeper Trail Advisory Board, who makes decisions about new requests for memorial and honorary benches and other structures along the trail. The board is in the process of creating a master plan for new items but before that can happen, we needed a complete inventory of what is already out there. Hence, me with the yellow backpack and antenna getting lots of strange looks by other trail users.

Today I got from the Abingdon trailhead to the crossing at Meade Meadows. It took about an hour and a half. I would have kept going but was running out of daylight. Tomorrow, I hope to make it the rest of the way to Damascus if the weather is nice.

Mark Peacock photo

2008-02-26T13:08:00.002-05:00

A recent blog post by photographer Mark Peacock featured the "iron bridge" along the Creeper Trail as its subject. A lovely photo of a Creeper Trail icon, it's worth a look. His other work can be found at his online gallery, www.markwpeacock.com.

Paddlin' the Creeper

2008-02-03T13:18:00.000-05:00

We all know that the Creeper Trail is for biking, hiking, and horseback riding. Here's a review of yet another activity, paddling the water that runs alongside the trail, Whitetop Laurel Creek.

Doting on Mendota

2007-11-27T08:20:00.000-05:00

In 1999, noticing the economic success of the Creeper Trail for Damascus and Washington County, leaders in Bristol, VA decided to get into the act. They formed a plan to purchase and develop another rail bed, this one from Bristol to Mendota, about 12 miles in length. Almost immediately, opposition from nearby landowners brought development to a halt, claiming that when the railroad ceased to operate, the easement reverted to their control. For nearly eight years, their claim has been heard in court and last month the judge ruled against their claim, allowing the trail to go forward. With what can only be described as ironic timing, Bristol now has announced that they have run out of patience and money to develop the trail which they fought for in court for so long. It's not that they don't want the trail and its benefits, they just don't want to pay for them with what it would cost to develop the trail. They're hoping that a nonprofit group will step in to do what they are unwilling to do; put up the money and the effort to finish this project. Tonight's meeting of the city council will feature a discussion and there is popular support being mustered for residents to attend and speak in favor of the trail. Today's Bristol Herald Courier editorialized in favor of keeping the project alive. I agree with their opinion and reasons and will add one more thought. If indeed the people of Bristol support the trail, the city should not shirk its responsibility off onto a small private group like a nonprofit organization. If ever there was a true municipal project, which benefits the common good, this is it. The city started this project and it should be the one to finish it.

Southwest Virginia Gets Another Trail

2007-11-20T08:46:00.001-05:00

I was pleased to open the paper this morning and see an article about the Cranesnest Trail in Dickenson County. They broke ground yesterday on what will be a 23 mile multiuse trail, similar to the Creeper Trail. There is real excitement about the proliferation of trails in this area. The Salt Trail from Glade Spring to Saltville is well underway. Damascus, of course, has the Appalachian Trail in addition to the Creeper. The Mendota Trail, from Bristol to Mendota, is still delayed in court. Bristol, Mendota, and those in western Washington County are losing out on tourism revenue while the rest of the region has figured out the benefits of having such trails, both for locals to exercise on and for tourists to ride. Congratulations to Dickenson County on the Cranesnest Trail; to Rep. Boucher for locating much of the funding, and to the late Bill Wallace who worked for years to get the project going. The Creeper Trail Club wishes you much success.

Paid in full

2007-11-14T12:37:00.000-05:00

The Creeper Trail Club recently repaid a $21,000 loan from the Town of Abingdon, who had allocated the funds to underwrite work on the trail through a grant program from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Town Manager Greg Kelly noted the unusual nature of the repayment to the Town in this article from the Washington County News. We're proud of our relationship with the Town and hope that this continues to build as we move forward on future projects.

Appalachian Trekker blogs on the VCT

2007-11-12T19:47:00.001-05:00

Check out the Appalachian Treks blog for a nice entry and beautiful photograph of the Creeper Trail.

Photo blog

2007-10-24T11:31:00.000-04:00

Here's another recent trip made down the VCT with some nice photos of the turning leaves. I especially like the Picassa slideshow and may have to investigate that for the club site.

Martin Hassinger

2007-10-23T10:40:00.000-04:00

Martin Hassinger, whose family founded and ran the Hassinger Lumber Company in Konnarock, has died. His obituary appears in today's Bristol Herald-Courier. The Virginia Creeper Trail today lies partially on the rail bed built by the company to haul cut timber. The family has asked that memorial gifts in lieu of flowers be made to the Virginia Creeper Trail Club. We are grateful for their generosity and offer our condolences for their loss.

Martin Hassinger
Martin Asa Hassinger, philanthropist, civic leader and businessman, died peacefully on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2007, at Bristol Regional Medical Center.
Mr. Hassinger enjoyed robust good health and died after a brief illness. His life spanned a period of 100 years, during which he gave of himself and his resources in a never-ending effort to improve his community and the lives of the people around him.
Mr. Hassinger was born on June 3, 1907, in the community of Konnarock, Va., a village which his father carved from the virgin wilderness of Southwest Virginia. There he grew up surrounded by a warm and loving family and the sturdy and resourceful people of that region. The Hassinger Lumber Co. built a community church, a school and a store, provided health care for its employees and built a railroad, which is now part of the Virginia Creeper Trail. The company cut more than 400 million feet of timber and became the chief supplier of lumber for the European shipping industry.
Upon completion of his early education in Konnarock, Mr. Hassinger attended Emory & Henry College. At age 18, while at Syracuse University, he was called home to direct the family logging operation and sawmill. He left Syracuse so quickly, he never returned to his room for his books and coat! He ran the business the rest of his life. Even in later years, retirement was never an option.
In 1927, Mr. Hassinger married Caroline Marshall of Johnson City and they made their home in Konnarock. In 1929, as the Depression loomed, he came with his father, Luther Hassinger, and his brother, Bill Hassinger, to Bristol Virginia, where they purchased Bristol Builder's Supply Co., a retail lumber business. He joined the Kiwanis Club of Bristol and served actively for 78 years. In 2005, Kiwanis honored him as the member with the longest period of continuous service in the United States. These were years of remarkable challenge and growth for Mr. Hassinger, as the business flourished and children, Caroline and Ann, were born.
In 1940, Mr. Hassinger entered public service as a member of the Bristol Virginia School Board. During the next 30 years, under his visionary leadership, the City of Bristol enjoyed remarkable growth. When building materials were difficult to obtain after World War II, he often contributed his company's allotment of lumber, making possible the construction of Stonewall Jackson Elementary School and a high school gymnasium, the first of its kind in Southwest Virginia.
In 1948, Mr. Hassinger became a member of the Bristol Virginia City Council and served for 13 years, both as mayor and as a member of the council. His priorities included flood control dams, improving the city's water system and cleaning up Beaver Creek by creating a new sewer system. He acquired the land for the new high school, for Randolph Field, for VanPelt School, for Washington and Lee School and for Sugar Hollow Park. During the 1960s, as other cities experienced turmoil during the integration of schools and other facilities, Mr. Hassinger led other civic leaders in integrating Bristol peacefully and without tension. He served on the Bristol Virginia Welfare Board for 18 years. Through his leadership, Bristol became the first food stamp distributor in Southwest Virginia.
Soon after World War II, Mr. Hassinger expanded the Hassinger Organization, opening Central Warehouse in Bristol, one of the first wholesale building supply businesses in the nation. This was followed in subsequent years by the opening of Dealers Warehouse in Knoxville, Reserve Warehouse in Chattanooga and Hassinger Wholesale in Greensboro. Mr. Hassinger created one of the first employee profit sharing plans in the South. The development of this plan reveals his philosophy of generosity toward employees. A half century later, the profit sharing plan continues to benefit the employees of the company.
One of Mr. Hassinger's most compelling passions was his commitment to State Street United Methodist Church in Bristol. He was instrumental in the construction of the congregation's current building. He created and personally managed the ministers' pension fund for the Holston Methodist Conference. Mr. Hassinger was especially concerned with the needs of young people who could not afford a college education. He gave jobs to dozens of young people who needed an income for college purposes. He provided funds for scholarships for more than 250 young people.
He enjoyed a quality of life seldom experienced at his age. This was in large part due to his caregiver and friend, Robert Roberts. Mr. Roberts made it possible for him to travel, attend business meetings, visit his companies and to never miss a family event. Recently, he traveled to North Carolina to celebrate his 100th birthday, surrounded by his entire family. The family is deeply grateful to Mr. Roberts and his staff, Charles West and Renee Scott, for their excellent care.
Mr. Hassinger was predeceased by his wife of 54 years, Caroline, and his brothers, Glen, William and Robert.
He reserved his warmest and kindest moments for his children and grandchildren, and they devoted themselves to him in return.
Survivors include his two daughters, Caroline Lindsey and her husband Paul of Chapel Hill, N.C., and Ann Smith and her husband Wade of Raleigh, N.C.; six grandchildren, Mari Lindsay, Stephen Lindsay, Timothy Lindsay, Susan Lindsay, Karen Smith Linehan and Robyn Yigit Smith; nine great-grandchildren, Holly Lindsay-Miller, Nicholas Lindsay, Harper Lindsay, Carter Lindsay, Ella Lindsay, Kelsey Linehan, Dylan Linehan, Kenan Yigit and Aslan Yigit; one great-great-granddaughter, Adah Miller; a nephew, William Hassinger of Greensboro; a cousin, Margaret Louise Brown of Gate City; and a brother-in-law, Harrison Marshall of Cary, N.C.
The family will receive friends from 6 until 8 o'clock Tuesday evening, Oct. 23, 2007, at Oakley-Cook Funeral Home. The memorial service will be at 2 o'clock Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 24, 2007, at State Street United Methodist Church, with the Rev. Reed Shell officiating. The committal service and burial in Glenwood Cemetery will be private. Employees of the Hassinger Corp. will serve as honorary pallbearers.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to Virginia Creeper Trail Club, P.O. Box 2382, Abingdon, VA 24212; or to the Konnarock Community Center, c/o Lucy Huffman, 1028 Laurel Valley Road, Troutdale, VA 34378. Condolences and memories may be shared with the family and viewed by visiting www.oakley-cook.com or faxed to (423) 764-3770.
Mr. Hassinger and his family are in the care of Oakley-Cook Funeral Home, 2223 Volunteer Parkway, Bristol, Tenn.; (423) 764-7123.

Published in the Bristol Herald Courier from 10/22/2007 - 10/23/2007.

Return of the sled dogs

2007-10-13T18:44:00.000-04:00

Last year's inaugural sled dog run will return in January along the VCT. This year's event will be bigger and better with the addition of the Dryland Challenge and Winterfest in Damascus.

Another successful family outing on the VCT

2007-10-12T15:04:00.001-04:00

The Creeper Trail is a wonderful outing for families but don't take just my word for it. Here's a recent report from a family from Tennessee.

A YouTube ride

2007-10-04T13:24:00.000-04:00

YouTube Video

Trail report from a runner

2007-10-02T08:53:00.000-04:00

Diary of an amateur triathlete

Trail reports

2007-09-30T08:04:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of trail reports, fresh from the trail. If you know of other bloggers who have a new trail report, please let me know and I will post a link.

Tangential Thinking

Appalachian Trail Hike and Bike