I was curious ... and found this old thread about Moore Springs.
So, a conundrum. A version small enough to upload here is probably not very useful. So here's a taste:Originally Posted by HooKooDooKu
GSMNP-1976-JonesPubAsheville-1000.png
And here's the link to the full 300dpi, 10,000 pixel wide, 118mb scan:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19OT...ew?usp=sharing
The original is 34in x 23in in case you want to print it at your local copy center.
I'll work on the reverse (mostly descriptions of campsites) next week.
Thanks for the scan. In some ways it's pretty cool to see what the park used to be like...
But at the same time it makes me sad to see how many trails and fire towers have been lost over the years.
many thanks....
and yeah............this one shows some closed down ones that ive always wanted to do---like the thunderhead manway....
its a good resource along with the one i sent ya, HooKooDooKu
My wife and followed the Lumber Co. right of way up Thunderhead Prong to Long Creek last December, and I put this one on my to-do list. The first photo is crossing Thunderhead Prong, the second shows the manway on the way to Long Creek, the third shows the stone abutments at Long Creek.
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yeah...
ive had a couple of friends take it to the top..
one of those guys is on this forum so maybe he will chime in about his experience...
I have the Wise book. Fantastic descriptions and history. Imminently readable. There was a second edition that I found in eBook but I have not gotten that one. Here is a link to used copies of the first one available on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Hiking-Trails.../dp/0870499149
The Little Brown Book is a better trail and information guide, but the details and history in the Wise book are like a geographically organized version of Kephart's "Our Southern Highlanders".
There was a second edition that I found in eBook but I have not gotten that one.
the second edition really didnt have many changes from the first....
when the second one came out about 2 or 3 years ago maybe, i did a side by side comparison and found maybe 2 or 3 things different...
not enough so that i would buy the second edition (i had a library copy) since i had the first....
That entire collection is amazing. Thanks for posting it.
Anyone have any more stories or info about Moore spring?
Where did it get its name?
So the forest boys will live up at the spring for weeks at a time to do maintenance and hunt invasive species? Dream job...
I wonder what kind of shelters and gear they use..
Given the tarp I've seen setup at the old shelter site (like a 12'x16' 8' off the ground), I'm guessing during milder weather, they sudo-cowboy camp (where the tarp keeps the morning dew off them). Otherwise, a fire ring of stones is the only evidence of anyone staying their.
I have been wanting to hike Rabbit Creek/Hannah Mountain in the counter clockwise direction for some time. Today is the day! Hannah is one of the nicest trails in the Smokies.
I've wondered about this in the past as well... was never able to come up with anything via Google-Fu. It's interesting that the creek is named after the spring. I wonder if Moore was one of the old sheepherders. anyone have a photo of the rock carvings near the summit?
The herders were mostly residents of Cades Cove. There's no one named Moore listed as a recipient of the original land grants, or in records of property conveyed to the NPS.
The area around Moore Spring(s), if I understand correctly, was purchased in 1853 by a partnership of four Cove residents (Russell Gregory, Dan Foute, John Coffin and Richard Wilson), and Gregory is said to have lived in a cabin he built near Rich Gap for a few years. Gregory and Foute died during the Civil War, and the land was sold to a lumber company (Kitchin, Kitchen, or Kitchens, depending on the source).
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The NPS conducted interviews of Cove residents about the balds, and Fonze Cable and Asa Sparks were among the last herders. They are fascinating reading. One mentioned that the lumber company logged to within a half mile or so of the state line. The lower part of the Wolf Ridge trail looks like it was logging railroad roadbed, and where the trail leaves Moore Springs Branch to follow Dalton Branch, it looks like the roadbed continues up Moore Springs Branch (which might be a fun day's exploration).
So I think it's more likely the namesake Moore was either associated with the lumber company, or with the efforts to create the Park (a la Mount Kephart or Charlie's Bunion).
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