NO DIABLO > GHOST TOWN
Lost
Cove has been on my “to-do” list for several years. Lost Cove is something of a modern ghost town
– it was an isolated community in the Nolichucky River Gorge near the NC / TN border until
the last residents left in the 1950’s.
No roads connected the community with the outside world, though the
Nolichucky River and the Clinchfield Railroad were
only about a mile away. Now, there is
nothing left there except for ruins and artifacts.
Brenda
has been to Lost Cove several times, and has become something of an expert on
the area. She offered to be our tour
guide for the weekend. Christy decided
to join us, along with Christy’s sister Megan, our nephew Nathan, their
exchange student from Germany, Jonas, and Bob from Team Waterfall. Of course the group wouldn’t be complete
without the dogs, Boone, Kona, and Bob’s dog, Sobey.
We
made the long drive from Charlotte up I-26 west of Asheville on Sunday
morning. Everyone met at the rest area
at the first exit off the freeway in Tennessee.
We took 3 vehicles from there to the trailhead at Devil’s Creek
Gap. Our plan was to hike an old forest
road, the Devil’s Creek Trail, and part of the Lost Cove Trail. That would mean a 12-mile hike. There is a shorter approach (about 8 miles
round trip), but that route is steeper.
Christy’s knee doesn’t do well with steep trails, so we chose the
longer, more gradual route.
We
managed to park all 3 cars at Devil’s Creek Gap without much trouble. The A.T. crosses the forest road here, and we
actually hiked down it very briefly.
From there, we followed a somewhat overgrown forest road for a mile and
a half. The road ends at an overgrown
field, where we picked up the Devil’s Creek Trail. Oddly, the Devil’s Creek Trail starts here,
in the middle of nowhere, rather than at a proper trailhead. Also, the trail starts high above the
headwaters of Devil’s Creek, and never goes anywhere near it. That was a little disappointing, since
Devil’s Creek is a significant tributary of the Nolichucky River and is
probably worth exploring.
The
Devil’s Creek Trail was rather dull and tedious. The trail stays in the woods the whole way,
and one lengthy rocky section has bad footing.
The good news is that the trail was recently extended to connect with
the Lost Cove Trail. The Lost Cove Trail
is wider, smoother, and more heavily traveled.
A short distance down it, Bob, Nathan, and Jonas discovered a hanging
vine that they took turns swinging on.
After
another mile we arrived at Lost Cove.
Our first stop was at the last remaining house. We explored around the outside, and peered in
the windows. We even went inside, but we
didn’t go far. The floor seemed
unstable, and we didn’t want to risk an accident.
Afterwards,
we headed to the east end of the cove.
We visited the old school house, which was partially crushed by a
falling tree a few years earlier. We
also found a stone staircase leading nowhere.
Apparently this was the site of the old church.
We
had lunch near the site of the church.
Then we doubled-back to the other end of the cove. There were found two chimneys, a barn, an old
stove, the remains of two trucks, and a small cemetery. Apparently the trucks were hauled in by
train.
After
exploring all of the ruins it was getting late, and
afternoon rain was in the forecast.
Brenda, Christy, Nathan, and Megan decided to start back towards the
cars. Meanwhile, Bob and Jonas joined me on an extension of the hike. We continued down the valley another mile,
before scrambling up a steep slope to the crest of a knife-edge ridge. There we had a nice view of the Nolichucky
River below, surrounding by the steep walls of the gorge.
We
returned to the cove an hour after we left.
Then we followed after Nathan and the women. Before long, Boone took off up the
trail. I was pretty sure he’d caught
Christy’s scent and was racing after her.
Still, it was a relief when we finally caught up to them and found Boone
walking by her side.
We
returned to the car after 6pm, more than 8 hours after starting the hike. Although the hiking had been fairly easy, it
had been a long day! We all rewarded
ourselves with burritos and cold beers and margaritas at the Lucky Otter in
Asheville.
Thanks
go out to Brenda for being an excellent tour guide for the day.
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