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APPALACHIAN TRAIL
"To walk. To see. And to see what you
see," said Appalachian Trail founder Benton McKaye of his 1921 creation. The trail's 2,015-mile footpath spans 8 states from Maine to Georgia and is the world's largest marked trail.
Though few possess the fortitude to make the complete journey, a trip on the Appalachian Trail through the Great Smoky Mountains provides an excellent back country experience. Even a brief
walk on the trail where it crosses Newfound Gap conveys the breathless feeling of adventure.
THE LOGGING YEARS
As the turn of the century approached, logging companies had discovered the rich southern Appalachian forests and set about
harvesting them. The fact that much of the timber from the Smokies was felled makes the mountains an even more interesting ecological study; of
the park's land, over 80 percent was once cleared of all trees, everything else is re-growth forest.
If the mountains' logging could be attributed to one man, it might be Col. Wilson R. Townsend.
Townsend, a successful Pennsylvania logger, was invited to the mountains by John W. Fisher, founder
of the Schlosser Tannery in nearby Walland, to supply a steady stream of tan bark. Townsend purchased nearly 80,000 acres of forest for logging by his Little River Lumber Company and set up
camps throughout the mountains. His base of operations was the town that carries his name today, Townsend, located on the northern border of the park.
Loggers followed the rivers and streams that mapped the area like veins. Moving upstream along the Little River from Townsend, they founded camps like Elkmont and Tremont, creating roads and railways as they went. From these camps, the
loggers spread outward in search of timber. In the industry's early days, logs were simply rolled down cleared hillsides to the river where they were floated
downstream to Townsend. In later days, locomotives hauled the logs more efficiently. Skidders, transported via rail, followed the loggers, collecting clusters of
logs for transport. Due to the Smokies' rough terrain, a complex system of hooks, pulleys and cables was created to haul the logs through the air, placing them right
beside the railroad tracks.
In its day, the sawmill at Townsend cut over half a billion board feet of timber
despite being destroyed by fire three times. The creation of the national park put an end to logging in
the 1930s, giving the exhausted mountains respite. But by then, logging companies were already on the move to the Pacific Northwest's verdant forests.
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 Smoky Mountain Scavenger Hike Adventure - Enjoy adventure travel in the Smokies to the fullest extent by planning a hiking vacation or just an
afternoon of family fun! This great hiking adventure book will lead you on easy, moderate, and strenuous hikes through the Great Smoky
Mountain National Park, with the added twist of a scavenger hunt. Authors John & Kat LaFevre have compiled directions, history, and
little known facts about each trail to help you enjoy the splendor of the Smoky Mountains! www.smokymountainscavengerhike.com
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