THE $100 MILLION DOLLAR HIGHWAY
Last week I was scheduled to
work in Chattanooga. I was pretty
excited about the trip, even though the last time I was in Chattanooga I’d been
suffering from a severe hangover (Wohoo!
Appalachian State University Mountaineers, 2005 1-AA football National
Champions!) I was looking forward to going back, and seeing more of the city
than the football stadium. Plus, I
didn’t have to start the job until Tuesday.
That meant that I could make a leisurely drive there on Monday, and do a
hike somewhere along the way.
Originally I thought I’d
hike to Max Patch, since the trailhead isn’t far off of I-40 west of
Asheville. At the last minute though, I
changed plans. I’ve never hiked in the
Plott Balsams, and I knew if I took highway 74 through the mountains I’d be
nearby.
I left Charlotte early,
passed through Asheville, and reached the Parkway in less than 3 hours. From there, it was only a short drive up to
a developed overlook at Waterrock Knob.
My plan was to start with the short hike to Waterrock Knob. Then I’d continue on the ridge to Mount Lynn
Lowery and on to Plott Balsam.
It was a chilly, cloudy
Monday morning, and there was nobody in the parking lot when I arrived. I’m sure it’s a very different scene on a
pretty summer or fall weekend. From the
trailhead, I followed the path, which is initially paved. The climb was more difficult than I
expected, especially beyond the pavement.
It was a steady climb, and the rocky tread made the hike moderately
challenging. After 30 minutes or so, I
reached the summit. The view was nice,
but somewhat limited by clouds and haze.
At this point, most people have reached the climax of their hike. For me, the adventure had only begun.
I searched around the summit
for a trail, and eventually found a faint path heading down steeply towards
Mount Lynn Lowery. Calling it a path is
generous, and it got worse as I descended.
Weeds and fallen trees added to the challenge. Before long, I found myself above a slippery rock face. It looked like the route might continue
below the rock, but I couldn’t tell from my vantage point. Either way, I was having second
thoughts. I had planned on an 8 to 10
mile hike. I certainly wasn’t going to
make it anywhere near that far in these conditions. Plus, I was by myself. I
enjoy an adventurous bushwhack as much as anyone, but I don’t like to take
chances when I’m solo. I decided to
bail out on my original plan, and retreated to the summit. I decided I’d continue on towards
Chattanooga, and find another hike to do along the way.
Since I had time to kill, I
decided to take the scenic route. I
drove to Robbinsville, and continued on towards Tennessee on the Cherhola
Skyway. The Skyway was built about 10
years ago at a cost of $100 million to the taxpayers. All that money went towards building a crucial link between
Robbinsville and Tellico Plains, TN.
Well, unlike another proposed road nearby (the billion dollar highway?),
it least it goes somewhere. I’m sure
the residents of Robbinsville are thrilled to have easy access to the
metropolis of Tellico Plains, and vice versa.
I drove the road in a feeble
attempt to get my money’s worth out of it.
I’m not sure I succeeded. On the
upside, the drive was pleasant since the road wasn’t cluttered up with a bunch
of other cars. Along the way, I saw
only a handful of motorcycles and a few cars.
I followed the road along a
ridge that divides the Joyce Kilmer / Slickrock Wilderness Area from the
proposed Snowbird Wilderness Area.
Scenic drives usually don’t excite me much, so I decided to do a few
short hikes. First, I tackled the short
walk to Spirit Ridge. This trail is
paved, and it leads a ½ mile or so to a viewpoint that is virtually identical
to many of the roadside overlooks. I
could’ve skipped this one without missing anything.
I drove on, and stopped at
the trailhead for Huckleberry Knob.
This one looked more promising.
I followed a jeep road through the woods and up to the open meadows of
Oak Knob. From there, more forest
intervened before the final climb to Huckleberry. Huckleberry is a pleasant grassy bald, and the views are
nice. By the time I arrived, the clouds
had moved on. Unfortunately, the haze
did not. Because of the haze, the view
wasn’t nearly as expansive as it might’ve been. On the other hand, the warm, sunny, breezy mountaintop offered a
nice place for lunch.
I returned to the car, and
drove a short distance to the Hooper Bald trailhead. This was a hike I had to do.
Some 8-10 years earlier, I had backpacked in the Snowbird Wilderness
with some friends. That trip had
started deep in the valley, along Snowbird Creek. We had ended up near the creek’s headwaters, not far from Hooper
Bald. After a couple of days of
wandering around in the woods, the idea of a scenic bald was appealing. Ultimately though, we decided that Hooper
Bald was too far out of the way. We
skipped it, and I’d always wondered what we had missed. Today I’d find out.
I followed an easy trail a ½
mile or so to the bald. Hooper Bald
features a long narrow meadow surrounded by trees. As a result, views are very limited. It was a pleasant place to walk, but I concluded that we’d made
the correct decision skipping it that day so many years ago.
I returned to the car, and
headed down the mountain into Tennessee.
Chattanooga was waiting for me, but I had one more stop to make. A few miles outside of Tellico Plains, I
turned onto a paved forest service road towards Bald River Falls. This road leads along the lovely Tellico
River. Along the way, I spotted a
couple of kayakers. A few minutes
later, I crossed a bridge over the Bald River.
The bridge provides a prime view of the falls, which cascade over a high
ledge and into the Tellico River. Even
though it was a Monday, there were quite a few people around here. I’d hate to try to find a parking space here
on a summer weekend.
I parked and took in the
falls from the bridge and from below.
Bright sunlight and heavy spray made photography difficult, but that
didn’t stop me from trying. Afterwards,
I decided I had plenty of time, so I decided to take another short hike.
Just beyond the parking
area, the Bald River Gorge trail climbs steeply away from the road. I followed it up a couple of switchbacks to
the top of the falls. From there, I continued
upstream past more rapids and cascades.
At one point, I climbed away from the river to a rocky pinnacle high
above the stream. I then returned to
the creek, and reached a large cascade that could probably be called Upper Bald
River Falls. Beyond that cascade, the
river calms down. I passed some minor rapids and many pools before reaching my
turnaround time. The trail continues
another couple of miles, but I still had a ways to drive. I returned to the car by the same route, and
headed for Tellico Plains. I got lost
briefly there, before finally finding my way to I-75 and on to Chattanooga.
My stay in Chattanooga was
pleasant. Downtown Chattanooga has a
lot to offer, including some nice restaurants.
A greenway along the Tennessee River provided me with a nice place to
run. I enjoyed my visit there, even
though I completely failed to See Rock City.
The drive home on Friday was
less enjoyable. I got stuck in a
traffic jam leaving Chattanooga at 3:30.
By the time I escaped from that, I had no interest in driving through
Atlanta or Knoxville. Instead, I took
highway 64 east to Murphy and highway 74 through Andrews to Asheville. The area around Murphy is one of the few
parts of the North Carolina mountains I’d never seen. It was good to finally get there, although the peaks weren’t
terribly impressive, at least from the highway. The drive through the Nantahala River gorge was nice though, and
the remainder of the trip was smooth.
Once out of the Chattanooga traffic jam, the drive took under 6
hours. I’ll never drive through Atlanta
or Knoxville on the way to Chattanooga again!
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Please remember to Leave No Trace!