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Published: February 15th 2012
Bull Sluice
Bull Sluice Rapid from land. In this view, the big rock with the log is the bull, the white plume in front of it hides Decapitation Rock, and the sluice is hidden between the two.Today is my first official day exploring the southern Appalachian Mountains.
They are the highest mountains east of the Mississippi River, and many people consider then nearly as beautiful as the Rockies.
These mountains were settled by hard-scrapple pioneer families, mostly from Scotland and Ireland.
Their descendents are still here.
Mountain Driving
Before describing the journey, I need to describe
the driving.
It’s different enough from driving that most people are used to, and difficult enough, that my guidebook has a section on it.
Roads in this region do everything possible except go in a flat line.
They curve, constantly.
They go up and down, constantly.
The grades are often very steep.
This region is a very good place to destroy both transmissions and brakes.
Locals and those from mountainous areas are used to this.
They downshift and lightly brake on the curves, and then upshift and hit the gas on the straight sections.
They drive at speeds that would give other people a heart attack.
Everyone else brakes everywhere they possibly can, and drives at speeds that would make a turtle jealous.
Rabun Gap
Rabun Gap in Georgia, from the overlook at the head of the valley. My guidebook notes the disparity, and then strongly recommends pulling over at the first opportunity when a fast local appears behind.
It’s a common, and expected, courtesy which keeps the roads moving.
Bull Sluice
My first item today was a follow up from two days ago.
Remember Bull Sluice Rapid on the Chattooga?
It’s close enough to a road that there is a
walking trail to the rapid.
I wanted to see what I had dealt with one more time.
The trail to the rapid is pretty short.
It ends at a rock along the river with a front end view.
The size of the drop is pretty apparent from this vantage point.
It’s still pretty intimidating.
Estatoah Falls
After the rapid, I drove into the mountains for real.
The fastest route there was into Georgia and then north into North Carolina.
The route north passed through a valley with high, pyramid shaped peaks on either side, Rabun Gap.
The peaks are pyramid shaped instead of round because they were never covered by glaciers.
The road then started to climb.
Blue Valley
The Blue Valley of western North Carolina, from an overlook near Whiteside Mountain. The upper end of the valley was visible in the distance.
A large waterfall was streaming down an exposed section of rock.
This is
Estatoah Falls, which only looks great after a big rainstorm.
Eventually, the road reached an overlook.
This overlook is at the upper end of the valley headwall, and the entire area is visible in the distance.
From here the road goes through yet more rolling hills, until it reaches the town of
Highlands.
Highlands likes to call itself the highest town in North Carolina, although it’s actually second.
Highlands is for southerners the rough equivalent of the Poconos for New Yorkers, a country resort.
It’s filled with gated developments, real estate offices, expensive restaurants, several golf courses, and boutiques selling resort wear.
I was glad to pass through and head back in the woods.
Blue Valley
The road then climbed high along, and nearly over,
Whiteside Mountain.
The vegetation changed from hardwood forests to pine forests to scrub.
It crested over Cowee Gap, and then a large view of this part of North Carolina appeared.
Nearby were
Blue Valley
Clouds rise from the mountains in Blue Valley all sorts of high peaks, some of them with vertical rock walls.
The area is called the Blue Valley.
The view cried out for a picture, which I finally got from a highway pullout.
The road then winds down into another river valley, and into the town of Cashiers.
Cashiers, North Carolina
Cashiers is also a resort town, but it’s much more low key than Highlands.
It even has fast food outlets; they are required to look like log cabins, but they are there nonetheless.
I chose Cashiers to stay for the night.
In this region, almost all good lodging is in Inns and Bed and Breakfasts.
Rates in Cashiers are much more reasonable than elsewhere in this region.
I ultimately chose the
Laurelwood Inn based on internet reviews.
Since it was midweek before Memorial Day, I had no trouble getting a room.
I had dinner at a restaurant recommended by the inn owner,
Cornucopia.
The food was very filling, tasty, and reasonably priced for this area; although the service was slower than molasses.
One last thing, from my guidebook: only tourists pronounce the town name
Laurelwood Inn
The rustic inn I stayed at in Cashiers with the accent on the second syllable.
The correct accent is on the
first; go figure.
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