July 27, 1935
THE STATE
Page Nine
Taking Care of Mount Mitchell
IT'S boon exactly twonly-ono
years iitfo that tho stale look steps
to preserve tlie sconie beauties of
Mount Mitchell anil put a ball to
the extravagant ami wasteful lum¬
ber operations in that section.
Many fine results have been ac¬
complished since that time.
tty Ida ttriyys Henderson
★
TINS Mint i
не г
murks the tweiitv-
lirst anniversary of an event
which saved for posterity one of
tlie outstanding see i lie treasures of
North Carolina. Tlie IUN legislature
at Raleigh, responding to requests from
conservationists, enacted a law that
ended for all time the dreadful devas¬
tation of Mount Mitchell, the highest
peak in Eastern America.
For many years prior to that period.
Mount Mitchell, forty-odd miles north
of Asheville, was a scenic attraction
universally known. During those same
years, however, men with more appre¬
ciation of money than of beauty, were
busy cutting down towering spruce and
balsam trees that hud made the moun¬
tain sides conspicuous for their serried
ranks of majestic virgin limiter. To
those who loved the beauty of uaturc
aud appreciate the value of scenic
glories, this extravagant lumbering
was nothing short of desecration.
The Legislature Acts
I’rgcd hv the people who valued na¬
ture more than to merely place a mone¬
tary value on the splendid trees, the
legislature provided an appropriation
to make this region a mountain state
park and thus the glory of Mount
Mitchell was preserved for future gen¬
erations. A reforestation program was
begun to be carriisl out through suc¬
ceeding years, in an attempt to bring
hack the original glory of the region.
Then the building of good automo¬
bile roads almost to the actual lip-top
of Mitchell and creation of the Mount
Mitchell game refuge have combined
ill recent years to present a threefold
appeal t but has proved attractive to
tourists who roam through the high-
tops of Western North Carolina.
From this tallest peak in Kastem
America one may look into seven states:
Visitor» from every section of the
Г
lit ted State., ami from many foreign
countries have enjoyed the experience
of watching storm clouds far below
them, engulfing the Craggy Range, the
Three
Шаек
Brothers, ami totally ob¬
scuring valleys from sight by foamy
elands which gave a remarkable sea
. . «using tin- beholder to feel
that lu- is marooned on a tiny island
high up above the heaving cloud-waves
far below. Naturally, the clear days
afford equally lovely views of moun¬
tain ranges fading into the blue dis¬
tance.
Prior to I In- middle of the last cen¬
tury few peaks of tlie Southern Ap¬
palachian range had been naiiicd
still less had they been surveyed or
measured and their altitude deter¬
mined. Inaccessibility und poor trans¬
portation partly accounted for this
•eeuiiug lack of interest iu tiles., won¬
derful ranges. The mails through them
were only nominal; rough curt roads,
horseback trails and loot paths (wish'd
and curved among the mighty hills,
following the lines of least resistance.
No trail hail been made up the steep
side of Mount Mitchell until "Big
Tom” Wilson, tlie most noted guide
of the Appalachians, hewed his wav-
up through primeval forest and laugh'd
underbrush . . . throwing footings over
deep streams, going around huge
boulders . . . up and still up over seem¬
ingly impassable grades the fir-l trail
wandered.
Easily Accessible Now
Thousands have looked into that vast
country of |*-ak> and valleys to the
northwest side of Mitehell alld longed
to get in there, hut until within the
la-t few year* tie way has been barred
to all but the most hardy
и
or by
mule train. It i» o|m*u now to afford
delight tO the lover* of the majesty
and grandeur of nature.
К
lit i rely on lands owned or con¬
trolled by N.. Wilson family, descend
elite of “Big Tom.” tbf hardy folk
have built a motor road 101 - mil. -
up the Cam- River valley by -uvo •
sivc Steps from ridge to ridge to end
up in Stepp'* Cap two mile- from the
crest .,f Mitchell. Here is situated
Big Tom Wilson Camp.
3«м.
f.,-i |o*.r
in altitude than the tower which crown*
the peak, and two miles away ovet a
road huilr through the State (Same I're
serve and ending within an easy walk
to the summit of Mitchell.
From the -tart of the motor road
lo Stepp’s (iap it is about four miles
in an air line but the I"1., mile- of
n»ad necessary to gain the approxi-
matelv 4,000 feet iu allitinh from the
V >( II. . v
...
ikes the nseelit ii
IlM
of
about 7< e i.er eeii
! tin
i .
|и
mii
shown iii it- lay-out
llint many county r
When it is real
oads iii the no
.till
tains run to a 2(1 p
is still more retuo
or cent grade.
|. | | |
It
learn- that the ON lie
Г*
oriirilKIllV III
1 1
•'«
1
“outside” engineers to make the "HI
vcy and they all gave up the job with
the declaration that it eotild not U>
done. The work vva- done hv Kwart
Wilson who had never befon- **rd
а
transit and level hut who knew every
twist and turn of the streams, ridges
and \ alb-vs just as his grandfather had
known them. Mr. Wilson. wi,h the
help of thirty men. mules and drag
(Continual on /iaj/« fict'iify-One)
