Marshall McClung
Travel on early roads in our mountains was a rugged experience.
Many locals will recall that a trip to Hooper Bald in the past meant creeping along at a slow crawl with a 4-wheel drive vehicle or dune buggy, with periodic stops to pile rocks in order to get over a boulder hoping you wouldn’t lose an oil pan or some other under part of your vehicle.
Now thanks to the Cherohala Skyway, you can make the trip in a short time on a paved road with no need for 4-wheel drive – except in winter snow and ice.
Buss Walker of East Tennessee told of a trip in 1964 over some of our higher mountains.
A friend – Hubert Fry – had recently bought a 4-wheel drive station wagon and had made a trip through the upper section of the Tellico Mountains in East Tennessee. On this trip, the group had encountered 14 inches of snow at Whig Meadows near the North Carolina line.
This venture brought on the idea of another trip into Graham County’s high mountain area.
On the first part of the trip, they encountered more deep snow, followed by three days of heavy rain. The temperature dropped to 24 degrees at night, resulting in ice covering the ground. This trip took in Hooper Bald, Big Huckleberry, Little Huckleberry and Haw Knob.
From Whig Meadows, they took the road around Little Haw Knob and Mud Gap, where they stopped for lunch. The road was so overgrown and deeply rutted that they had to do some clearing, in order to get the vehicle through.
Near Mud Gap they had seen the grave of a man killed by the Kirkland Bushwhackers. From there they continued to Stratton Meadows on the North Carolina/Tennessee state line.
At Beech Gap, they came upon more snow and ice. On a downgrade section of the road, the vehicle began slipping and sliding – even though the 4-wheel drive was engaged. There was little room on the narrow road for maneuvering, as there was a steep ridge on one side of the road and a drop off on the other side.
Soon, the vehicle slid more and came to a rest sideways on the road. After much forward and backward movement – gaining a few inches at a time – the vehicle was turned around and driven back the way they had come to the top of the hill.
At this point, the group decided they had had enough “fun” for one day and headed back to Whig Meadows.
Marshall McClung is the historical columnist for The Graham Star. He can be reached via email, mcclungs@email.com.