Trail to Raven Fork from Smokemont

[Speck Lover]

I think it was Hugh Hartsell who said, a few months back when the two of us and one or two others started waxing nostalgic, that we were sort of living history on this forum.
Maybe I've bored everyone by waxing philosophical, but if so, just give me thanks for providing a perfect antidote for insomnia.

Mr. Casada,

As an angler with a GREAT LOVE for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, I find all of your and Mr. Hartsell's nostalgic comments and writings highly enlightening, and really enjoy finding out "how it used to be". I am a fairly new member of this fine forum, but it hasn't taken me long to discover that you and Mr. Hartsell are among two of it's finest members. Please share as much nostalgia about the park as you deem to do so. I am pretty sure that I am not the only one who feels that way.

[fly fisherman DK]

I agree with speck lover, I love to hear all about the history of the park, and I would love to hear more.

[sammcdonald]

i'm the cemetery expert....where ya wanna go? i have sent pictures of 100+ cemeteries to a site called hands on history...susan sachs of purchse knob is in charge....look for them someday

[sammcdonald]

but as now, fewer and fewer will get there....and the wilderness will win...which is as it should be
20 years from now i can tell you how to get there, but the way will not be there any longer...i'e/ polls gap will be gone...still passable now, but by then...nope

[Speck Lover]

i'm the cemetery expert....where ya wanna go? i have sent pictures of 100+ cemeteries to a site called hands on history...susan sachs of purchse knob is in charge....look for them someday

Thank you for that information sir, I really appreciate it!

[Rog 1]

I will celebrate my 50th year of fishing for trout in the Park this year...while I have never been able to spend more than a few weeks a year at most in the Park I can relate to much of what Mr. Cassada has spoken of....I do remembe watching people fly fish with cane poles in the waters above Elkmont...these fishermen were mostly wearing overalls and work shoes and would carry their catch on sticks that they laid in the water while fishing....I can still remember crossing a wooden bridge to get to Fish Camp Prong before it was washed out later to replaced by the metal footbridge that is there now....I have burned coal at night in some back country sites left over from the logging trains and have seen old logging spurs used to come down from fishing that I can no longer find...my family has given names to pools and places on many of the streams that will never be known to others but certainly elicit sharp, fond memories to myself and other family members....last fall I had the good fortune to met an original member of the family that had settled in Greenbrier and heard stories about that area that I had never heard before....this came from merely saying hello to a kindly looking gentleman....such encounters are rare these days and should be treasured.

[Birdman]

Originally Posted by Jim Casada

13. How long do you suppose it has been since someone traveled the old manway from Cataloochee Ranch to Three Forks?

Does anyone have a map that shows this manway? It's not listed on any of my resources.

Birdman

[Crockett]

Hey Birdman I am from Rogersville! My dad Philip Beal runs wrgs am radio station there. My user name here is after Crockett Creek that runs through town haha.

I don't think there is a map of these manways but you can go here:

http://www.cs.utk.edu/~dunigan/gsmnp...&scale=14&mt=3

To see the campsite on raven fork and if you scroll up (click on the map and drag the mouse to move it) on the map you can see mcghee springs campsite and the three forks. If you use the dropdown selector and choose terrain/topo/mytopo you will see different views/overlays of different maps one of which (topo I think) shows the old manway from breakneck ridge that is pretty much gone or extremely difficult to follow now as I have heard.

- Adam

[Birdman]

Originally Posted by Crockett

Hey Birdman I am from Rogersville! My dad Philip Beal runs wrgs am radio station there. My user name here is after Crockett Creek that runs through town haha.

I don't think there is a map of these manways but you can go here:

http://www.cs.utk.edu/~dunigan/gsmnp...&scale=14&mt=3

To see the campsite on raven fork and if you scroll up (click on the map and drag the mouse to move it) on the map you can see mcghee springs campsite and the three forks. If you use the dropdown selector and choose terrain/topo/mytopo you will see different views/overlays of different maps one of which (topo I think) shows the old manway from breakneck ridge that is pretty much gone or extremely difficult to follow now as I have heard.

- Adam

Adam,
Hello to a fellow Rogersvillian! It's a small world. Crockett Creek is just down in front of my house. I wish there were trout in it Thanks for the link to the maps. I am just getting into trout fishing and one of my favorite things thus far is just getting "back of beyond", as Mr. Casada says. I am taking my first backpacking trip this spring to Hazel Creek and plan on my second one being to Raven Fork. I'm exploring all the options on getting back to the Three Forks area of Raven Fork. I would love to see a map with the manway from Cataloochee Ranch.

[Grannyknot]

Originally Posted by Jim Casada

13. How long do you suppose it has been since someone traveled the old manway from Cataloochee Ranch to Three Forks?

Jim Casada
www.jimcasadaoutdoors.com

Is this the old bridle trail that runs the ridgeline of Balsam Mountain?