9/24/20: Asheville, NC to the End of the Blue Ridge Parkway!

Near the end of last September, Steven and I left the beautiful city of Asheville, North Carolina, for a long drive south on the Blue Ridge Parkway toward Cherokee, its southern terminus. At Milepost 393, just nine miles from Asheville was the French Broad River Overlook that marked the end of the Asheville valley and began the climb toward higher elevations. Even though the weather was pretty miserable, the mountains still looked heavenly with the clouds hovering as climbed higher and higher.

French Broad River played a major role in this region's early development. It was initially called the Broad River by the 18th-century French hunters and traders. The river's wide banks made a convenient passageway through Western Carolina's rugged mountains, so much so it was once the major thoroughfare between the Carolinas and Tennessee. 19th-century drovers, often with herds of thousands, moved cattle, horses, hogs, and other animals along this long route to southern markets. 

The day before Steven and I had read of the work performed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression included the building of many tunnels through the southern Appalachians.

There was also one overlook after another in quick succession at Mileposts 393, 403, 404, 407, 408, 409, etc - you get the idea. It was hard to know which one or ones to stop at as how different could they possibly be in this overcast weather?!

I don't know what a primeval forest would have looked like but Beaver Dam Gap Overlook is what I envisioned it to be! In a matter of just ten minutes, we'd gone through six tunnels!

We sure couldn't see a thing in Hominy Valley below from the lookout that was at an elevation of 3,980 feet!

The view was just as mystical a little further on at Mills River Valley Overlook at 4,085 feet elevation. This was a popular location for both sunrise and sunset views as the overlook spanned both sides of the road. Obviously, any sort of view that day would have to be left up to our imagination!

Another of the tunnels we drove through in just 15 minutes as we headed south along the Parkway:

The view on the other side of the tunnel at Buck Springs Gap Overlook was no less clear but the wildflowers brightened our stop.

It may not have been ideal weather for hiking but getting out of the car for more than a few minutes to gaze at almost non-existent views was a pleasant change. As we made our way to the former Buck Springs Lodge site, there was no need to wear masks as there was no one else around.

There was a welcome break in the clouds as we reached Funnel Top Overlook at almost 5,000 feet elevation. Thank goodness we had brought our cold weather jackets with us as it was only 49 degrees at that higher elevation.

It was fascinating to read that the Southern Appalachians had the richest diversity of native plants anywhere outside of the tropics. The huge variety of plants was due to the abundant rainfall, variety of soils, and range in elevation. These plants had been here for thousands of years and hadn't been introduced by people.

We detoured off the Parkway to tour the Biltmore Forestry School, the country's first forestry school. We hiked along the Biltmore Campus Trail as it wound through the campus, passing historic buildings along the way. We were curious to see if we could find out what campus life would have been like from 1898 to 1909.

Industrialist Cornelius Vanderbilt had brought in German forester, Dr. C. A. Schenk, to develop the program. He was depicted here on horseback in the camp.

Basic equipment for a forestry student in 1909 included a horse. As Dr. Schenk expected his students to arrive on time for classes, they often arrived in a gallop! After a morning of textbook learning, the students headed into the open for some practical, hands-on learning.

 The Schoolhouse: 

What amusing Covid-19 signs - how great to have a sense of humor in such tough times.

This was definitely our day for tunnels of all kinds!

The volunteer guide in the King House told us that it was an original building on the campus with the foundation and fireplace from that era. The large two-story home was constructed in 1882 by Hiram King and purchased by Vanderbilt to house his rangers. 

Ranger George Gillespie and his family boarded eight forestry students in upstairs rooms. Part of the gardens near the house became a seedling nursery for school projects.

I have rarely had the pleasure of meeting an individual quite like the guide at the King home. We got to chatting and he mentioned that he had been volunteering at the home three days a week from June through November since the previous year. He revealed that he lived nearby in a recreational vehicle. God love him is all I could say, living in the back of beyond with little contact with people.

Rope beds:

I wonder how many 'improvements' had been made to the property as it still had no running water! I had trouble imagining the ranger's wife cooking meals for six children and the forestry students in this fireplace.

We walked over next to Schenck's Office where he published his forestry notes as there were no English-language forestry texts before his arrival.

To the 'mountaineers' who lived around the Pisgah Forest, the lands were there to log, to pasture, and hunt on as they had for decades. Schenk installed paid rangers in lodges at fourteen strategic locations throughout the forest in an effort to convince the locals otherwise and protect the forest from 'thievery.'

The distinctive lodges were referred to as Black Forest Lodges to imitate the architecture used in his native Germany.

Two blacksmiths, each with their own business miles away, took turns working at the forestry school. The blacksmiths were responsible for keeping the horses and their equipment in top shape.

Dr. Schenk told the incoming forestry students to find 'yourself a place to stay.' Many did so in cabins left by settlers after Vanderbilt bought their property. The cabins were given fun names such as Gnat Hollow, Rest for the Wicked, or Hell Hole as this one was called.

The hitching post was a reminder of when horses had been a common conveyance.

The guide had told us that just 20 students studied at the school between 1898 and 1913.

After the delightful detour to the forestry school, we returned to the Parkway and stopped at Cherry Cove that would be visible in good weather 1,000 feet below. While at the lookout, we watched with surprise as the clouds moved before our eyes, revealing a different scene every minute or two.

IF we had been in this spot on a sunny day, we would have had a very good chance of spotting Looking Glass Rock, so named because it apparently reflects a "dazzle of sunlight when water collects on its granite face." Looking Glass Rock had been a landmark in the southern Appalachians for generations.

Your guess would be as good as mine as to which cloud was covering up Looking Glass Rock!

We had hoped to hike at the falls but decided against it after discovering the path was too slippery from all the moisture.

We sure couldn't resist stopping at Graveyard Fields located at Milepost 418 as we were so curious about the name. (We found out later that it arose from a terrible storm that came through and left only stumps.) The weather had cleared up somewhat, revealing a hint of fall and a tease of how outstanding the views would be along the Parkway in the full autumn splendor.

There were signs to be wary of bears when hiking in this area but luckily we didn't come across any!

This stream was near the headwaters of Yellowstone Prong and was one of many that flow from the high mountains. For generations, these waters have turned mill wheels to grind corns for mountain residents, and have provided critical habitat for mountain wildlife.

Another sign cautioned us to be aware of waterfall safety as each year mountain visitors are seriously hurt or killed at waterfalls.

I think the most glorious outlook all day was this one from Devil's Courthouse at almost 5,500 ft. elevation. Lucky visitors or perhaps those with a combination of endless patience, time, and binoculars, might have spotted the world's fastest animal, the peregrine falcon, from here but we didn't. I didn't have a clue they could reach speeds of 65 mph when flying after prey. That certainly seemed hugely impressive but was nothing compared to the 200 mph they can achieve when doing their spectacular hunting dives called stoops!

It was frightening to learn that there were no falcons left in the eastern United States in the 1960s due to pesticide poisoning. Peregrines are now back from the edge of extinction due to pesticide bans and extensive efforts to reestablish the birds.

I joked with Steven that I liked the short part of the hike but not the strenuous part in the rain! Looking at these images almost ten months later makes me think whatever effort it took was well worth it to capture these photos.

The views of Herrin Knob were anything but shabby, too!

The highest elevation on the Blue Ridge Parkway was at Richland Balsam at 6,035 ft. We were not surprised that the views weren't nearly as special as they had just been at a lower elevation and without as much cloud cover.

Roy Taylor Forest Overlook was one of the very few that had viewpoints on both sides of the road. My suggestion as a passenger if we were ever to do this journey again would be to drive from the south to the north as close to ninety percent of the views would then be on that side of the road.

Shots from the Waterrock Knob Visitors Center where we could almost feel the sun again as the weather cleared - hooray, hooray:

The ranger on duty inside the Visitors Center told me that he was often completely fogged in and a fire was necessary with the approaching fall weather.

I have rarely felt as one with nature or a higher being as I did here watching the clouds roll in and out and present different views every few minutes. I could have stayed glued to this spot all day long it was that mesmerizing for me.

In my opinion, the most spectacular views we'd experienced on our two days so far along the Blue Ridge Parkway were here at Cold Mountain and Lickstone Bald.

As Steven's father had been a mason in Cleveland, Ohio, we wanted to pay tribute to those fellow masons who had erected this marker in a cooperative effort by masons throughout the world. Its 687 stones had been sent by masons from 41 countries and from every continent, including Antarctica! There were even stones from Plymouth Rock, the Rock of Gibraltar, and the White House.

The last tunnel on the Parkway was called the Big Witch Tunnel for some reason!

Beyond the end of the Parkway was the town of Cherokee that was part of an Indigenous reservation and was where we stayed for the night. As it was so late in the day, we were very fortunate to see lots and lots of elk grazing in a pasture just outside of town. The magnificent animals capped what had been a perfect day.

It's more than a little strange to think that Steven and I will be back on the Blue Ridge Parkway in about a week's time when we drive from the northern terminus to where we started our drive last fall in the middle of one of this country's most spectacular and unheralded drives in my opinion. I look forward to discovering how the northern stretches of it compare to what we loved last fall in the mid to southern stretch. Stay tuned!

Next post: The Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

Posted on July 7th, 2021, from Hartford, the capital of the New England state of Connecticut. Steven and I remarked earlier today that though we'd whizzed through the state countless times before en route to or from New York, this was the first time the state had ever been a destination for us. It was also one of the very few if not only states we had never spent at least a night in apart from Alaska, of course, as that's still the final frontier for us!