Blue Skies & Hiking Trails Equal A Trip To The Pinnacle Mountain Fire Tower

Since today was going to feature clear skies I decided a hike was in order and the destination...Pinnacle Mountain Fire Tower. I will admit that on Friday night I wasn't sure which hike I was going to do. The leading contender was hiking across the Chestoa Bridge past Uncle Johnny's and going south on the Appalachian Trail up Cliff Ridge. Besides it being clear it was also suppose to be cold, which any peak bagger knows means great views, so when I awoke Saturday morning I changed my plans and decide to hike the 9.6 miles up and back hike to Pinnacle Mountain Fire Tower. The trailhead is located just off Exit 32 in the town of Unicoi. It has restroom facilities and a small parking area. The trail itself is wide trail that because it switchbacks a lot is not the steepest trail. That is a good thing because the elevation gain is almost 1,500 feet. One thing that will be noticed on the way up is the mile markers. They are pretty cool and accurate. About half-mile up from the three-mile marker the trail comes out to where the four-wheel drive road ends. It can be confusing, but the trail heads straight across and goes through the wooden gate. It also crossed an orange blazed ATV (All-Terrain Vehicle) trail. From here it is about a mile to the summit on the trail. Once there one finds a restored 40-foot steel tower. It was refurbished in 2011 while the wood and cabin were removed and replaced with steel the roof of the tower remains (there is a neat direction map on the underside of the roof. The views from here a spectacular with Buffalo Mountain, Holston Mountain, the Roan Highlands and Big Bald just to name a few of the mountains visible. The most prominent of these is Unaka Mountain, which is across Buffalo Valley from the tower. Oh, when I reached the top I met a cool group, who I took a picture for and the reciprocated the jester. Eventually, it was time to head back and because the trail wasn't steep going up it wasn't that bad headed down. I did run into a three teenagers who said the spotted a bear on the trail. Let just say I didn't see one. After getting back to the car and on my way back to Greeneville I stopped by Mountain Bulk Foods because Auntie Ruth's Homemade Donuts and Soft Pretzels were there and I had to stop for donuts!