What made this day special because I had been to the tower on 13 occasions, including back in October, but never to the catwalk of the tower. See the Andrew Johnson Amateur Radio Club (AJARC) have equipment in the Camp Creek Bald Fire Tower and help to maintain it. That means normally the round catwalk (and cabin) of the tower is closed and the middle deck is as far as one can go. However, I had heard of people from the club were on site you could go up to the tower catwalk. The only time that I think people were there was a day I didn't have time to go up there back in April of 2015.
I will say that being able to go up in the tower wasn't really on my mind, trying to decide where to go was. When I got to Greeneville the mountain was blanked with clouds so I had a decision to make. Go up to Camp Creek Bald with the possibility of no views, plus I also thought it was too warm for Rime Ice, so what to do?
I stopped at Mom's Store in Allen Gap to decide whether to head up to Jones Meadow or go on to Tanyard Gap near Hot Springs for a hike to Mill Ridge on the Appalachian Trail (AT). But with Pete's instance, I decided to risk it and head up to the Camp. I thought with the warmer temperatures and rain the previous day that the snow and ice would be gone, but to my surprise, it wasn't. Right after the Viking Mountain Overlook on the road up to Jones Meadow was ice, so thick spots of frozen water. But unlike in 2017, I was able to make it up.
On another positive note, the clouds over the mountain were starting to lift. Mostly on the far side of Jones Meadow. But, I still decided to go up to the top of Camp Creek Bald, even with clouds still rolling over the top (I kind of wanted to hike through them). Remember me mentioning the ice? Well, halfway up the summit road I not only ran into ice but also snow! It was long before I was into another Snow Adventure!
Then I heard a vehicle heading up the road. When the Jeep Cherokee passed me it hit me...they might be from the AJARC, so I picked up the pace to catch up. To my delight my hunch was correct and the two guys were from the AJARC. Dennis and Wade were up at Camp Creek Bald to work on radio equipment. So, I ask if I could come up to the tower and they graciously said I could. Before anyone says anything Pete and I wore a mask and practiced social distancing...you never can be too careful.
I have to say the word that comes to mind about the view from the tower's catwalk is spectacular! It is 360 degrees and awards unbelievable views of Jones Meadow, Blackstack Cliffs, Big Firescald Knob, Coldsprings Mountain, Big Butt, and Gravel Knob. Also, there was a great view of White Rock Cliffs. Some of my favorite peaks were visible like Rich Mountain, Big Bald, Unaka Mountain, and the Roans. In the distance were two Mounts, east was Mitchell and west was LeConte. It is the best tower view this side of Clingmans Dome.
Dennis did tell me something interesting. What I called the Graffiti Building, because it had graffiti on it before it was repainted, is an FBI Relay Station (yes that FBI). Again, I would like to thank Dennis and Wade for allowing me to visit the tower.
I still had more places to go on the summit as I headed over to the Camp Creek Bluffs. By the time I got there, the view had cleared but out in the North Carolina Mountains, there was a sea of clouds.
My return trip to Jones Meadow was via the AT. About halfway back I, again, ran into a remaining snowfield. I was hoping this would be the case after encountering the one on the way up. No matter how small I always love a Snow Adventure.
That was only half of my trip. I still wanted to go out to Big Firescald Knob, so I drove over to start near the old Valhalla Inn site. I had bypassed it in October to go down to Baxter Cliffs. The AT from Jones Meadow to Bearwallow Gap can be sloppy and it was. Besides this, I again encountered snow on the trail, but by the time I reached Big Firescald Knob. Still, there was plenty of beauty on the open ridgeline. I could even hear the remains of the snow in the hollows below.
All that remains was first a trip to Blackstack Cliffs. While I passed several people on the way back I ended up having the cliffs to myself, which was a surprise. The last stop would be White Rock Cliffs which were great always. Finally, on the way back I went up the hill instead of the blue blaze road and enjoyed the view from the Valhalla Inn site.
In closing, I made the right decision coming to Jones Meadow. It turned out to be a special trip with the highlight being a stroll on the Camp Creek Bald Fire Tower catwalk...
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