TATER HILL
by bill sharpe
— Photo by Hugh Morton.
Last August a year ago came a
letter from E. D. Stephens, publisher of
the Caswell Messenger. "For my mon¬
ey." wrote Fd. ‘Til take the view from
Tatcr Hill in May or October in pref¬
erence to views from Clingman's.
Mitchell or any number of other
places."
In Watauga County. Rich Moun¬
tain. 15 miles long and without
a break, bears down directly from the
north. About half way of its length,
the ridge begins to bend toward the
southeast, and then it terminates in a
prominence known as Howard’s Knob.
This is the peak you've seen rising
above Boone. It is crowned by a fire
tower, and it is the southernmost ele¬
vation of the miniature range.
At the other end is Tatcr Hill, a
5,194-foot mountain, and just beyond
it is the Bald of Rich Mountain. 5,369
feet, which is the northernmost post of
the ridge. Tatcr Hill. then, the next-
to-thc-last hump in this undulating
ridge, is our goal.
He Likes It, Too
I went there with S. C. Eggers.
whose enthusiasm for Tatcr Hill makes
A beautiful mountain
with a homely name
— .*>tli in a series.
Ed Stephens' endorsement seem luke¬
warm. This might be because Mr. Eg¬
gers owns the mountain, having
acquired it in 1938 from Frank
Linncy.
Near the top. the visitor emerges
from the hardwood forest into a grassy
meadow, which slopes steeply to the
peak. Here on the tip-top is that char¬
acteristic pinnacle of rock, an outcrop
of the mountain's skeleton, and at this
pinnacle is a sheer precipice. In the
granite bluff are ledges where eagles
nest.
Standing here, the mountaineer may
well pardon lid Stephens* favoritism.
Down in Cove Creek Valley you see a
large part of the Watauga country,
deep, broad, lush coves — cattle land
non-parcil. In the coves land is worth
SI. 000 an acre and cannot be had at
any price.
This is one of those mountains
which give you twice as much for your
money. Because beyond this entranc¬
ing foreground at your feel, you can
see Sugar Grove. Amantha. Zionvillc
and other villages, and beyond into
Tennessee and Kentucky. To the south
four of the greatest mountains in the
Appalachians are to be had for the
looking — Beech. Grandfather. Roan
and the lordly Blacks, including Mit¬
chell.
Boone Was Here
Ed Stephens says Daniel Boone
stood in Meat Camp Gap a mile
away, and picked out his trail to the
west, probably through Poplar Ridge
Gap (U.S. 421 ). Boone said that from
here the sound of stampeding buffalo
THE STATE, VoL XXI; No. 11. Entered ai »econd-ela»* matter, June I. 1931. at the I'oitollice at Ralelch. North Carolina, under the aft
оГ
Much J, ISIS. Published by Sharpe PublUhloj Co.. Inc., Lawyera Bid*. Ratelch, N.
С.
Copyright. 1953. by the Sharpe Publlihln* Co.. Inc.