Shuckstack Fire Tower

[moytoy]

The first time I was at the Shuckstack was in 1960. I don't recall if it was in use or not. We didn't go to the top so I am inclined to believe it was still in use.

I posted above before I realized the OP was in 2004. I'm usually late to the party tho. One note about the trail from Fontana to Shuckstack, the trail in 1960 came down the side of the mountain and was very steep. My dad took 8mm movie pictures of us hanging onto trees at we descended.

[HooKooDooKu]

Just an update on the tower's condition years since this thread was started...

For the most part, the metal structure seems to still be in good shape. About the only thing I recall missing was the 2nd hand rail of the 1st flight of steps and one of the handrail supports on this same flight. While all the supports are metal, the steps and platforms are wood. Just about all the wood is still in-tacked, but very cracked and weathered. I felt like it was a necessity to ALWAYS be holding on to a railing and be ready for any piece of wood to give out. The observation deck is in pretty rough shape, but I'm suprized how many of the glass windows are still in tacked. However, they are so dirty that the views through them are terrible. However, the windows can still be propped open as seen in the picture on post #11.

Given the condition of the metal, it seems a shame that efforts might not be made to preserve the tower. It seems like all it needs if a few pieces of metal added/repaired and some new wood and the tower would be safe for many more years. Seems like a small expense when I think of the money being spent to repave many of the roads in the park at the moment.

I recently had my 3rd opportunity to climb Shuckstack tower and figured I would post yet another update.

Again, the steel structure doesn't give me much pause for concern, but the stair case is another story.

Something I don't recall from three years ago was the number of bolts missing from the stair step treads. Originally, every tread had 4 bolts holding to the stair support structure. Many-many treads now have only two bolts holding them in place. So many are missing that I'm wondering if they are starting to be stolen by souvenir seekers.

Many of the treads look so worn out that I was unwilling to place my weight in the center of the stair tread. Instead, I was intentionally placing my feet at the edges so that the underlying support structure was supporting my weight, rather than the stair tread itself.

Some of the boards one the landings are also rotting to the point I'm unwilling to place my weight on them. Some of them have obviously been replaced, but based on the haphazard organization of what boards have been replaced and news stories such as this, I believe that has been the work of private individuals.

As the news story states, the status of Shuckstack tower is in limbo, and I can tell from personal experience that the tower continues to deteriorate in the mean time.

By comparison, Mt. Sterling Fire tower seems in relative great shape. I would suspect that the wood on Mt. Sterling is as old as Shuckstack. But since Mt. Sterling is not on the AT, it must get a lot fewer visitors. The steps seem solid, but worn. Based on the position of the bolts, it looks like the original stair treads were about 1" thick. But time and weather appear to have worn the steps down to about 3/4" thick. There are active antennas on Mt. Sterling, and from the looks of the cable going up to those antennas, they were placed there within the last year or so.

WFIW, I find the views from Shuckstack to be much more spectacular than Mt. Sterling. I think it is because Shuckstack is in the middle of the mountains, with the hill sides partially surrounding it. By comparison, Mt. Sterling pretty much sits on an apex of the GSMNP backbone... sort of above it all. Anyone who has enjoyed the views from both Clingman's Dome and Chimney Tops will understand the difference.

[blisterbob]

I was at Shuckstack in late Feb. and only climbed about half way because of the condition of the wooden steps.