This hike will take Jan and me from Mt. Sterling Gap, elevation 3,888'
up to the old Mt. Sterling fire lookout tower, the base of which has an elevation of 5,842'. From there we get to scamper
back downslope via Mt. Sterling Ridge trail to Pretty Hollow Gap trail. A southerly turn onto this trail will weave
us back and forth across Pretty Hollow Creek as it drops steeply into the Cataloochee Valley. Just before reaching the
bottom of the mountain at an elevation of 2,880', we'll turn back uphill onto the Little Cataloochee trail which was once
the primary road leading from Cataloochee Valley into Little Cataloochee. Little Cataloochee was the site of a substantial
settlement on the opposite (north) side of 4,000' Noland Mountain which we'll have to summit via a very steep trail up
and over Davidson Gap.
| Little Cataloochee Church |
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| click photo to enlarge |
Dropping into the Little Cataloochee area
we'll see a few old buildings and a splendid old Baptist church, Little Cataloochee Church, which is still maintained
by its congregation in spite of its remote location more than 2 miles from the nearest public road. There will be
some extraordinary old cabins and even the ruins of an old stone apple house. One of the cabins still has its chimney
and fireplace that were constructed of hand-made bricks.
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| Common Evening Primrose |
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| click to enlarge |
You'll get to explore
all of this via our photos in much less time than the 12 hours it will take us to hike it. We think you'll even be surprised
at some of the very unusual mushrooms and flowers to be found along this route.
We hope you'll enjoy the pictures as you hike along with us on this scenic and
historic route.
Al & Janice
Click to view ALL photos for this hike journal. (Will open in new window)
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