My family watched the movie National Treasure the other night, in preparation for Tuesday’s historic inauguration ceremony swearing in Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.

The film stars Nicholas Cage as the last in a long family line of treasure hunters seeking the fabled treasure of the Knights Templar-turned-Freemasons, said to have been brought to this country before its beginnings and carefully hidden by the Founding Fathers beneath Trinity Church in New York and found only after following a trail of clues long thought to have been lost to time.

But there are other, less obscure treasures in our nation that we can proudly protect and gratefully enjoy. Some of them are included in Brainz’ scenic post about 16 Incredible North American National Parks, though most of those are out west or up north, including that ‘other’ North American nation, Canada. What was not included is North America’s most beloved, most visited National Park, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park which straddles the North Carolina-Tennessee border and includes some of the tallest peaks and most folded landscapes east of the mighty Mississippi.

Whether your family pitches a tent in one of the well-kept campgrounds, makes use of the rustic shelters along the park’s portion of the Appalachian Trail, stays in luxury hotel accommodations in one of the nearby towns or cities, or rents a cabin or chalet nearby or in the park, there’s plenty to see and do that keeps millions of visitors coming back year after year. 2009 is the year of the park’s 75th Anniversary, so be sure to make your plans well in advance if you’re planning to stay for awhile.

Hike some of the 800 maintained trails, take in some beautiful scenery along the Parkway, play some golf in a landscape that harkens back to the Scottish Highlands where the game first began. Take up mountain biking or engage in a leisurely horseback ride. Attend a festival in a nearby city or get good and wet at an area ski resort, most of which offer summer activities for the whole family. Take a tour of area organic farms or artists’ studios, hit some of the westernmost hotspots on the Mountain Music trail and get to know some of the best fiddlers, banjo pickers and washtub base pluckers anywhere!

You’ll love our beautiful National Treasure nearly as much as we who live here do, I promise. See you there during the Great Smoky Mountains National Park 75th Anniversary year!

Links:

North Carolina’s Smoky Mountains
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains Golf
16 Incredible North American National Parks

When my brother and I were children, we got to spend a couple of weeks every summer visiting our grandparents and aunt in Eastern Kentucky. They lived in town, but our aunt was a social worker who often traveled into the hollows and onto mountaintops to check on her clients, many of whom lived so far back in the woods there wasn’t an actual road into the homestead. Instead, there was often a mule path we’d follow, sometimes with fine limestone cliffs she’d let us climb just for fun. We learned about the plants, the animals, and had great fun helping at harvest, then got to sit at the crude picnic tables in these homestead yards and listen to the stories of the old folks.

A frequent topic for those old men was a legendary mountain man named Big Tom Wilson. He became a hero to my brother and I, and we often played in the woods pretending we were Big Tom-like mountain folk, seeking deer trails or following bear hollows through the rhododendrons to the mountain peaks, blazing trails and knowing everything about everything these abundant mountains have to offer.

Decades later my own family moved here to Western North Carolina where Big Tom is more than just a legend – he was a real man who played a significant role in the history of this region. He’s still got descendants here, I taught one of them in junior high a few years ago.

Big Tom was born Thomas David Wilson in 1825. He got his nickname by being a lanky six foot two in a time when most men were much smaller in stature. They say he killed 114 bears in his lifetime, and he knew the Black Mountains (the Seven Black Brothers) better than anyone alive. He married Niagra (Polly) Ray in 1852 and they lived in a 2-room cabin on the upper Cane River while he earned a living as a gameskeeper for a hunting preserve, as a farmer, hunter, fisherman and a mountain guide. It was as a guide that he played his strongest role in the history of the region.

Big Tom (right) at the waterfall pool where he discovered Elisha Mitchell’s body.

When Dr. Elisha Mitchell came to the area in the late 1830s to survey the Blacks for science, Big Tom was a young teen. He accompanied Mitchell on an 1844 ascent, one of the guides who crawled with him through bear hollows to the ridge to determine which of the ridgeline’s peaks was actually the tallest east of the Mississippi. In the 1850s, however, Senator Thomas Lanier Clingman made his own survey and designated a different peak (current Mt. Gibbs) to be the tallest. The disagreement evolved into the infamous Clingman-Mitchell controversy, and that ongoing fight sent Mitchell back to the Blacks in 1857 to restore his claim. He tried to descend by memory, but by then a man in his 60s, he got lost as night fell.

When Mitchell failed to return to the Cane Valley, Big Tom and other area guides and mountain men set out on a search. It was Big Tom who tracked Mitchell’s last movements from the ridge, and found him sitting upright at the bottom of a pool beneath a waterfall, where he’d fallen to his death. Mitchell was buried ceremoniously atop the mountain that still bears his name, and which was a few years later demonstrated to be the tallest mountain. Clingman, who had made the original claim, had to settle for a different mountain in his name.

Big Tom lived into his 80s, died in 1909. Today there is the Big Tom Wilson Preserve on the western slopes of Mount Mitchell, where a replica of his cabin and other historical artifacts are displayed inside the Mount Mitchell State Park.

No visit to Western North Carolina is complete without a stop at Mount Mitchell, a short climb up the observation tower, and a tour of the historical material kept so well by the dedicated Park Service guides. The entrance is off the Blue Ridge Parkway east of Asheville, and it’s open to visitors as long as the Parkway is open (closed occasionally during the winter). Bring a jacket, it gets cold at night. And the wind can blow strongly on the ridge, so be careful of your footing on the trails!

Links:

NC Parks: Welcome to Mount Mitchell
The Nature Conservancy: Mount Mitchell State Park
Hiking in Mount Mitchell State Park

Part 1: Reasons 1 – 5

1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The most visited of America’s National Parks, the Great Smoky Mountains hosts more than 9 million people a year on its Blue Ridge Parkway and in its forests, creeks, coves and hollows along 900 miles of trails. Straddling the Tennessee-North Carolina boarder, the park is home to one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is now an International Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage site.


2. Great Smoky Mountains Railroad

The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad between Bryson City and Dillsboro boasts over 53 miles of track, 2 tunnels and 25 bridges. Along with the regular tours there are gourmet dinner train packages on Saturday evenings, and the Mystery Theater Dinner Train on Friday evenings May through September.


3. Cherokee Indian Reservation, Cherokee

If the excitement of Harrah’s Casino and Cherokee Bingo doesn’t get your blood going, check out the native history drama “Unto These Hills” nightly during the summer. There is also the Museum of the Cherokee, Oconaluftee Village, many shops where Cherokee artists and craftmen sell their wares, and native dancing daily both downtown and at the community center on scheduled occasions.


4. Mount Mitchell State Park

Northeast of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park along the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway visitors encounter the loftiest mountain east of the Mississippi at Mount Mitchell State Park. Boasting some spectacular views, challenging trails for hiking and biking and an alpine environment with plants and animals native to Canada, the ‘J’-shaped ridge of peaks known as the Black Brothers contain six of the ten highest peaks in the eastern U.S.

5. Asheville – America’s Royal Retreat

Home to America’s finest castle at the Biltmore Estate and Gardens while concurrently claiming the distinction of being named America’s Premier New Age Haven, the city of Asheville offers an urban respite for travelers on the Parkway. There are fine restaurants and arcade shopping plazas downtown, art galleries, street performers, brewhouses and a rich live music scene with everything from rock to chamber music, bluegrass to Irish harps and fiddles.


Posts to This Series:
Part 1: Reasons 1 – 5
Part 2: Reasons 6 – 10
Part 3: Reasons 11 – 15
Part 4: Reasons 16 – 25

Having previously covered The Simple Joy of Hiking on one of Western North Carolina’s historic pioneer trails from the base of the continental divide to the top of Mount Mitchell, it’s only fitting to introduce the building of a new trail, this one traversing the entire width of the state from mountains to sea.

From the top of Clingman’s Dome near the Tennessee border in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park to the high dunes at Jockey’s Ridge State Park on the Atlantic coast, North Carolina’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail [MST] will be another gold doubloon in North Carolina’s full to bursting chest of treasures.

The 925-mile route is being blazed by the Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail [FMST], a non-profit organization that plans, organizes and oversees groups of volunteers who participate in task force construction and maintenance. At this point the ambitious project’s route links existing trails and footpaths, rural and fire service roads, and DoT bicycle routes. The trail meanders through three national parks, several state parks and three national forests across 37 counties. There are campgrounds, farms, small towns and cities along the way, the trail will offer hikers, bikers, canoers (and along many sections, horseback riders) a leisurely and healthy way to explore the full range of North Carolina’s natural beauty, friendly people and welcoming communities.

The Friends of the trail suggest that hiking the entire length without hurrying will take two or three months, though most users will prefer to take day-hikes or short weekend trips along sections. The first person to walk the entire length of the route is Allen de Hart, who accomplished the feat in 1997 and wrote a book about it, Hiking North Carolina’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Katie Nelson, a 79-year old great-grandmother, became the oldest person to hike the entire trail in 2003.

Many sections of the trail are still in planning and construction stages, and so far there are no camping shelters, hostels, shuttle services, stores or restaurants on the trail proper, though many such amenities are a short walk off the route in towns and villages along the way. FMST hosts task force work days for volunteers most times of year as well as group hikes along completed sections.

Those interested in volunteering themselves or their whole families for a fresh air exercise outing and some satisfying work can contact task force coordinators or their partners in the regions of interest to make arrangements. Wear your good hiking boots, don’t forget the first aid kit and plenty of water, pack a picnic lunch. FMST provides the tools, the plans and the leadership, volunteers provide the enthusiasm and the muscle.

Links:

About the MST

Across North Carolina on foot [mtnX]

Land for Tomorrow

American Hiking Society

First come the wannabe Leaf-Lookers. They start arriving in late September, inevitably disappointed by the lack of fall foliage anywhere but atop the highest portions of the Blue Ridge Parkway, but happy there are so many side excursions to engage, festivals to attend, and adventures to embark upon.

Then, about mid-October the real Leaf-Lookers arrive in droves. They can start at either end of North Carolina’s section of the Parkway, timing their stops along the way to the many events going on. Starting in the north, the Yadkin Valley Grape Festival is scheduled for Saturday, October 20 in downtown Yadkinville.

Food, live music, children’s events and a wine-tasting of exceptional vintages from Yadkin Valley wineries are the main events, along with the Ginny B. Motorcycle Ride to benefit Hospice. If you’re a motorcycle enthusiast this is a spectacular ride through the scenic countryside and vineyards of Yadkin.

Continuing down the Parkway south to catch the show as well as the expansive views, the crisp autumn air and deep blue skies set off the colorful display of leaves. The first to turn are dogwoods, sourwood and blackgum – turning deep red. The tulip poplars and birches then follow with their sunshine yellows, the sassafras and red maples donning a range of crimson to the most impossible flame orange you can’t believe unless you see it. Finally, the oaks turn russet and hold that pose well into November.

Along the way south, there are plenty of events just off the Parkway in towns like the Mountain Glory Festival in Marion, Old Fort Octoberfest and Mountain Music, and the Maggie Valley Fall Arts & Crafts Festival.

As you’re passing through Asheville on the Parkway, don’t neglect to drop in at the Folk Art Center, where there are crafts on display and usually some artisans present to demonstrate how it’s done. And for a really special treat, there is the famous Biltmore Estate and Winery, where descendants of the castle’s original owner George W. Vanderbilt still host guests touring the estate and the most-visited winery in the U.S.

Biltmore’s award winning wines can be purchased at the winery, and there are events every weekend through the fall. Biltmore Living offers some great wine suggestions for pairing with foods, some ideas on gracious entertaining even if you don’t live in a castle, and some wonderful recipes from famous chefs that will have your mouth watering well before dinner is served!

Plan to end the southward drive at Cherokee and Maggie Valley, turning off the Parkway at the south end of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There are events going in both towns all the way through October, offering music, dancing, displays of cider making and mountain crafts, award-winning BBQ, fresh rainbow trout, guided nature hikes and even canoe trips on the river.

By November, the tourists still coming into the mountains but missing the peak of fall color are known locally as Limb-Lookers. Not to worry, there are still plenty of things to do and see. Check out the links above and below for more information on events and recommendations, get planning!

Links:

Blue Ridge Parkway Calendar of Events

NC Arboretum Asheville

Great Smoky Mountains Railroad

Old Fort Mountain Music

Headwaters Outfitters