A Tale of 2 Firetowers, Look Rock Firetower and Bays Mountain Fire Tower

On January 7, my best friend Maximus and I went on a road trip.

We left the house a little after 10:00 AM heading towards The Great Smokey Mountains to check out the newly opened leg of the Foot Hills Parkway and to locate trailheads for future hikes. With the ongoing government shutdown I decided to limit my excursion to the drive and took my little buddy along for company. Dogs are not allowed on trails within the National Park so he normally does not get to go.

We got on the new leg of the Foothills Parkway in Wear’s Valley. It was a lovely day and a lovely drive. We stopped at various pull offs and enjoyed the views. The day was clear and the views were magnificent. From the new leg of the Parkway we hit the next leg in Townsend and headed towards its end on 129 on the Chilhowee Lake.

We stopped at Look Rock and decided to walk the short 0.75 miles up the paved trail to the Concrete Firetower. The trail is an easy walk and the Firetower has a concrete ramp leading to the viewing platform. The day was exceedingly pleasant with temperatures in the high 60’s with some sunshine. It felt good to walk in the woods again even if it was such a short walk.

We drove on after our walk to check out Abrams’ Creek Campground and then we headed towards Fontana Dam over 129, known as the Tail of the Dragon, with 318 curves in 11 scenic miles. There were motorcycles out enjoying the challenge of the ride and we pulled off several times to let the riders roll on unimpeded.

We got to the Dam and walked a short way out onto the Dam taking pictures of Fontana Lake and the view of the River from the top of the Dam

It was a great day.

On Tuesday January 8, Maximus and I headed to Bays Mountain State Park where we ascended to the Bays Mountain Fire Tower. The day was not quite as sunny and warm as Monday but it was still comfortable for a walk in the park.

We got to the Park around 10:00 am. They were working on the Dam so they had it closed to foot traffic. Maximus and I began our 6 mile walkabout on the Lakeside trail.

The day was a bit overcast and the wind had a bit of a chill when it blew. Bays Mountain State Park is located in Kingsport, Tennessee and has many amenities including a planetarium and a small animal habitat area where they have a bobcat, deer, otters, and their pride and joy, a small grey wolf pack. They offer many educational programs.

We left the Lakeside trail to climb to the Firetower via the hemlock trail and the  Firetower trail. It was a challenging climb and I could tell I have not been hiking in a while. I need to get my trail legs back. We enjoyed the views from the base of the tower. I didn’t try to climb it with Maximus. We headed back down and took the Chinquapin trail getting in some extra hiking. Chinquapin met Big Oak Trail and Big Oak met Lake Road and from Lake Road we crossed back to the Lakeside trail to finish our hike.

There are so many trails so close. I look forward to many adventures. I have had many changes over the past few weeks and life is starting to settle out. I have a new job with different hours than I am used to working. I am excited about the future.