“Life is a balance between holding on and letting go.” - Rumi
Without question, from the day we are born until the day that we die, life is a continuing balance between holding on and letting go. What often works for us at one stage of life no longer works at the next stage of life. It’s sad to see a teenager acting like a 5-year-old, and even sadder to see a 50-year-old acting like a teenager. Understanding what to hold on to and what to let go demands not only knowledge but also wisdom. Only with wisdom are we able to maintain the balance necessary for continued stability as we age. Each day take care of your intellect by reading worthwhile and useful information; your body paying attention to diet, sleep, and exercise; your emotions by handling stress and relationships constructively; your spirituality by seeking to appreciate the gift of life living in harmony with why we are here.
See you at the August club meeting at the Charleston City Park on Thursday, August 14, 2025. Our presentation will be Enhancing the Camping/Hiking Experience presented by Jack Callahan.
The 150-mile bicycle ride along the Great Allegheny Passage could not have been better. Jerry Schneider’s attention to detail in the planning of this outing for our club certainly paid off with a wonderful 5-day trip that was enjoyable for all. Thank you, Jerry. A special thanks also goes out to Margaret and Jack Callahan who carried needed supplies in their car each day from one destination to another.
Like hiking, bicycling provides a lot of time to think. As I pedaled along, especially as we made our 130-mile gradual ascent from Pittsburgh, one question recurred a number of times: “Why am I doing this?” Obviously, there certainly are easier ways to get from Pennsylvania to Maryland. Many answers to this question come to mind including taking the time to slow down, absorb the beauty of one’s surroundings, explore sites both on and off the path, push the limits of our physical abilities, test our mental endurance, to reach the finish line and celebrate the accomplishment.
Mostly, I believe we hike or bicycle or kayak because it is a vivid reminder of the lives we live. With every step on a path or rotation of a pedal or stroke of a paddle there is a potential for beauty, for injury, for feelings of peace, for unpredictability, for inspiration, for pain, for joy, for failure, for frustration, and for success. Our outdoor activities serve to remind us both how fragile and how challenging our everyday lives are. By facing both the threats and challenges on a trail, or a path, or a waterway, we gain both understanding and confidence of our abilities to face the ongoing threats and challenges of the everyday lives we live.
See you at the July club meeting at the Etowah Senior Center on Thursday, July 10, 2025. Our presentation will be The Great Allegheny Passage Trail presented by James Anderson, Otis Pannel, and Rob Coombs.
Rob Coombs, Club PresidentWelcome to the website for the Cherokee Hiking Club. Our club sponsors frequent hikes and occasional backpacking trips into the areas of southeast Tennessee, northern Georgia, and southwestern North Carolina -- the former homeland of the Cherokee Indian Nation. If you are an avid hiker and live in this area, consider joining us on our hikes. You may join for $15 by filling out the application and mailing it to the address above. You may want to attend a hike or two before deciding to join, but once you start coming, you almost certainly will continue and will want to join. Below is a list of upcoming hikes. We ask that you contact the person in charge of the hike by email or phone a few days in advance to allow us to appropriately plan shuttles and to give you the most up-to-date plans for the hike. When deciding on a hike to take, please refer to our trail difficulty rating system.
Direct Link to Cherokee
Hiking Club events for this year
Printable Hike Schedule for 2025
This trail from Waucheesi Bald to Old Furnace Road, was build by Boy Scouts from Knoxville back in the 60s. The trail was popular for hikes and backpacks in the couple of decades afterwards as Scouts hiked and backpacked the trail and earned patches. Then wild fires destroyed much of the route of the trail and the trail fell into disuse. The trail was rehabed and reopened about 8 years ago, in part by members of our club, and now the Scouts are interested in reopening the trail to Scout Troops for hiking and backpacking. We are supporting the Scouts in this endeavor. Soon Scout Troops will be able to again hike and backback this trail and earn a patch while learning the extensive history of the region. The Scout Troops will register for their adventures through our help. We will be working with Scout Troops in repairing the tread in some areas along the trail and possibly building some much needed reroutes in the future years. Follow the link and read the history of the trail as written by Jim Wright, one of the original organizers of the trail back in the 60s. He is now in his 70s and still helping in this endeavor.
For more information on the Warriors Passage Trail or to sign up your Scout Unit or other Youth Organization to hike or backpack the trail, or to order patches, go to www.warriorspassage.org
Cherokee Hiking Club Continuous Loop Presentation
Warning -- huge 18 MB PowerPoint file
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