Cherohala Skyway

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Grey J

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I convinced my wife to take this drive with me last week and we did a little hiking along the way. The Cherohala Skyway is like a mini-Blue Ridge Parkway, just 40 some miles long vs over 400 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It crosses the Unicoi Mts on the Tennessee/North Carolina border rising to an elevation of around 5400 feet. The name is a combination of Cherokee and Nantahala, the 2 National Forests that straddle the border. It's located just below the southern border of the Great Smoky Mt NP. There are some nice waterfalls to see, of which Bald River Falls on the Tennessee side is one of the highest. There are numerous short hikes that usually lead to rounded open summits often called "Balds" or "Knobs". At the eastern (NC) end of the Skyway is the Joyce Kilmer/Slickrock Wilderness with some virgin old growth forest and trees that are 400-450 years old. We did a number of short hikes, easy by rocky NH White Mt standards, but we walked about 15 miles in 3 days. The highest point is called Huckleberry Knob and sits at 5560 feet. There is a memorial on top to a couple of hunters who died there in December of 1899 after consuming an excess of whiskey. Temperature dropped and they froze to death. On our first hike, we walked up to an elevation of 5000 feet and ended up at a place called Whigg Meadow, a big grassy field. We met some volunteers who were banding migratory birds there. This trail is actually part of the Benton MacKaye Trail. Since we were relatively close by, we dropped down into NW Georgia and bagged Brasstown Bald, 4784 feet, the Georgia high point on the final day.
5 Bald River Falls TN.jpg 58 Huckleberry Knob 5560'.jpg 66 Joyce Kilmer Giant.jpg40.jpg
 
There are some incredible roads in that area south of the Smokies. Thru hiker miss out but section hikers get to enjoy them. I hope you visited Tail of the Dragon.
 
We have saved Tail of the Dragon for the next trip since we looped south from Robbinsville NC this time. The Tail of the Dragon is an 11 mile stretch of curving mountain road favored by motorcyclists and sports car enthusiasts for those who don't know. It begins just north of the Fontana dam on the NC/TN border.
 
We have saved Tail of the Dragon for the next trip since we looped south from Robbinsville NC this time. The Tail of the Dragon is an 11 mile stretch of curving mountain road favored by motorcyclists and sports car enthusiasts for those who don't know. It begins just north of the Fontana dam on the NC/TN border.

Great to see that you were down in my neck of the woods. When you went to Brasstown Bald you probably went through our town of Blairsville. One of the most interesting sites in that area are the very ancient Cherokee petroglyphs. They're located at the trailhead of the Arkaquah trail up Brasstown Bald.

The Cherohala Skyway cost over 100 million dollars to build. The, views as you stated are spectacular.

The Tail of the Dragon has 318 curves in eleven miles. It's fun to drive but be careful. There have been about 50 deaths on that eleven mile stretch since 1995. Google YouTube to see some spectacular accidents. When I hiked the Benton Mackaye trail there was actually a part of that road that had to be used as a road walk taking you into the Smokies. It has since be rerouted to keep the hikers off the road. The dam at the tail of the dragon is actually the Cheoah Dam. It's notable for the fact that it was used in the film Mission Impossible. It's the dam that Harison Ford supposedly jumped from.
 
Hey Ed, thanks for posting. I was thinking of you when we found ourselves on that section of the Benton MacKaye Trail. Didn't you do the entire length? With Lauky?
Yes we went through Blairsville on the way home and now I have a reason to go back to see the petroglyphs. Thanks for the correction on the proper dam. Fontana is the next one to the east, but I believe the film in which Harrison Ford's character jumps from there is The Fugitive.

I know you are familiar with Brasstown Bald so I have to ask, who decided it would be a good idea to pave the entire saddle between the main peak and Jack's Knob? There must be room for 300 cars and not a tree in site! A couple of acres of unrelieved blacktop. They just annihilated that spot. Probably the same person who decided to pave the .6 mile trail from the parking area to the summit. Just dreadful. Too bad they won't let you climb the old fire tower. Jack's Knob is a nice little side hike with no company that starts in a rhododendron forest.

89 Brasstown Bald summit.jpg82 Jacks Knob from Brasstown summit.jpg81 Jack's Knob from parking lot.jpg
 
Hey Ed, thanks for posting. I was thinking of you when we found ourselves on that section of the Benton MacKaye Trail. Didn't you do the entire length? With Lauky?
Yes we went through Blairsville on the way home and now I have a reason to go back to see the petroglyphs. Thanks for the correction on the proper dam. Fontana is the next one to the east, but I believe the film in which Harrison Ford's character jumps from there is The Fugitive.

I know you are familiar with Brasstown Bald so I have to ask, who decided it would be a good idea to pave the entire saddle between the main peak and Jack's Knob? There must be room for 300 cars and not a tree in site! A couple of acres of unrelieved blacktop. They just annihilated that spot. Probably the same person who decided to pave the .6 mile trail from the parking area to the summit. Just dreadful. Too bad they won't let you climb the old fire tower. Jack's Knob is a nice little side hike with no company that starts in a rhododendron forest.

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Yes indeed the film was The Fugitive. It was the Feds who paved the parking lot. I've never seen it full. I have no idea why the Georgia highpoint is a Federal Park and not a State Park but that's the way it is. As I think about it, it is situated on the edge of a wilderness area maybe that has something to do with it. I've never seen that parking lot anywhere near full. There are regularly folks who picnic at the Jack's Knob side of the parking lot because of the views. Lauky and I did hike the entire Benton Mackaye trail right up to the Smokies. The park officials told me he would be considered an illegal alien if he entered the park and would build a wall :) to keep him out so we ended our hike at Fontana Dam. As a side note it's interesting to note that while dogs are not permitted in the park it is possible to take a horse on the Benton Makaye trail in the park.
 
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