Monday, May 29, 2023
Considering the prospect of dealing with a full day of holiday traffic, and the fact the nice weather looked like it was going to hold out, I decided to drive up to the Knoxville, Tennessee area and hit a few trails. I'd still have a long day's drive tomorrow, but it would be a little more reasonable.
Somehow, someway, I had breakfast cleaned up and the car packed by 5A. Since I learned a long time ago Sundays and holidays bring out the interstate amateurs, I decided it best to just go. The traffic sites all said clear sailing through midtown and it did feel weird driving through again. I had already made it as far as Resaca, GA when the sun finally peeked over the horizon.
My first scheduled stop for the day was the town of Tellico Plains, TN.
Tellico Plains was once an important Underhill Cherokee crossroads town named Great Tellico after the adjacent river. Settlers would eventually push them out and turn it into a lumber and farming community.
Noting the quality of the iron ore in the area, Elisha and Ebinezer Johnson moved here from Rochester, New York and started the Tellico Iron and Manufacturing Company in 1843. During the Civil War, the Confederates took over the iron works and used it to produce munitions for their army.
Knowing Elisha Johnson's loyalties were with the north, he and his workers were kept under strict watch. When Union General William T. Sherman brought his army into Knoxville, he heard about the iron works. He marched south to Tellico Plains and took it back, making Johnson's house his headquarters. Elisha Johnson was put on trial and acquitted for supporting the Confederacy. Due to his loyalties, his home was spared. But, the iron works were destroyed.
Tellico Plains is also the original eastern terminus of the TransAmerica Trail. The original trail was 4,253 miles from here to Oregon. Heading west, it starts with forest and farm roads, then it starts getting interesting. There's a reason it's only travelled by off road and 4WD vehicles.
Sam Correro is the man behind the trail. In 1984, he was looking for a way to explore his home state of Mississippi on his motorcycle while avoiding the main roads and bigger towns. Instead, he used off road trails and dirt roads. He would eventually map out a course from here to Oregon, then expanding it eastward to the Atlantic Coast. In a 2021 interview, he talked about his current project, a loop around the entire country.
When asked his overall view of his travels, he said, "It turned into a wonderful adventure. You see parts of this country that people never see, all the mom and pop convenience stores and little restaurants and motels, and you just get a feeling of what this country is all about."
David Scott of Rider Magazine made the attempt in November, 2021 and wrote about it. You can read the article here: Canadian cyclist Eric Anderson made an eleven minute video of his attempt from 2018. You can watch that here: If you're feeling ambitious, the folks at Overland Pioneers did an hour long video when they completed the western half of the trail. You can see that here:
On the drive into town I passed a sign for Lost Sea Caverns. The cavern contains the largest underground lake in the United States. Click the link and there's a CBS This Morning story on their website.
I also passed signs for the Monroe County Rodeo. It starts Friday.
The first trail of the day was supposed to be Turtletown Falls. The hiking guidebook described it as a 3.7 mile loop past two waterfalls. It seemed a perfect start . One thing I learned a long time ago, you also have to check on Alltrails.com. They'll tell you things the guidebooks don't. This includes recent conditions and how well the trail is marked. They'll also tell you about the road to the trailhead. When it says, "Users suggest having a 4WD vehicle in order to reach the trailhead due to rocky road conditions," I tend to look elsewhere.
Turtletown Falls and Conasauga Falls are both outside Tellico Plains. There were no road warnings on this one. It seemed like a perfect alternative. Forest Road 341 started out paved and in decent condition.
At about a quarter mile, the potholes had me slowing my pace. At .6 miles, the road was partially washed out. That's actually a hole in the middle of the road. I had a sinking suspicion I didn't want to take my CR-V over it. Since the roads was narrow with a steep dropoff to my right, I had no choice but to start backing down the road until it was safe to turn around. So far, 0-2 for waterfalls.
Since I was driving past the county visitor center anyway, I stopped in for a local map and to report the washed out road. The young woman working the information desk was just great and couldn't have been from anywhere else but Tennessee. When I asked about Bald River Falls, she gave me directions complete with landmarks. They were spot on.
Six miles down Forest Road 210, aka River Road, I'd find the falls and a place to park. As an added bonus, the road was paved the entire way! From the drive out...
Upper Bald River Falls from the road bridge.
There's also a .7 mile trail up to the Middle Falls. Not a bad trail, though of course it starts going up.
And eventually Middle Falls...
The trail does keep going, at least as far as this switchback. Beyond that tree, the trail is partially washed away. I took it as a sign and turned around.
Lunch was up the road in Knoxville at a place called the Smokey Mountain Brewery. The food was delicious, as was the beer. Kristin and her trainee couldn't have been nicer.
Seen on the walk back to the car...
It was still only mid-afternoon at this point. So, I punched in the address for Norris Dam State Park. There were plenty of short trails to keep me busy. Once again the GPS led me astray. In the end, no complaints. Passing two long abandoned railroad bridges definitely made up for it. The weird thing is, I couldn't find any information from the usual sources. The closest I found reference to is thirty miles away.
My home for the night was the Econolodge in the town of Rocky Top. The song "Rocky Top" isn't about the town. It's a song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant in 1967. The couple had been working on a series of slower songs for Archie Campbell and Chet Atkins. As a diversion, they started working on something upbeat on the side.
The Osbourne Brothers recorded the song and it went to #33 on the country music charts. Though you're probably more familiar with the Dolly Parton version. It's now one of many states songs of Tennessee. Seriously, there are ten of them.
The town that became Rocky Top was first named Coal Creek. In 1890, it was the site of an armed labor uprising in the mines. The owners had been replacing their paid workers with free prison labor. The now former workers rebelled. They burned mine property and released hundreds of convict laborers. The Tennessee State Militia was even called out to restore order. As a result, the state was forced to roll back its free convict labor laws.
As for the town, they changed their name to Lake City when the Tennessee Valley Authority build the Norris Dam and lake. Lake City only became Rocky Top in 2014, named after the song.
Driving through downtown was a bit depressing with quite a few businesses empty or boarded up.
Chapman's Restaurant
The only place open on this stretch of downtown was Coal Creek Coffee. They only opened last year. The coffee was excellent, as was the staff. Jesse, one of the owners, was in the shop. He's also a photographer. I should have asked if he knew anything about the abandoned rail line.
As the day waned, I took my camera and started looking for an open space to hopefully shoot sunset. This took me down a hill into a quiet neighborhood.
I found an open area and settled it, scrolling through my phone. I guy in an SUV pulled up and asked if I was from the county. Apparently, he's trying to open a campground and getting some grief. I told him I was staying at the motel and just looking for a place for sunset.
As for sunset...
And the EconoLodge, nothing special. But, no complaints.
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