I will admit three towers in eight days happened more out of happenstance than planning. Another thing that wasn't planned was a six-year gap between my last visit to the Pinnacle Mountain Fire Tower. It's not like I planned it that way. It was always on my radar, but most times it was a backup hike or so else took president, but it always got pushed to the back.
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| November 2015 trip (the summit marker is no longer there) |
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| Recent tower trips to Camp Creek Bald & Bays Mountain |
So, Wednesday I head towards Unicoi and the trailhead at Jack Sinder Park. It is located just off I-26 at Exit 32 which has flush toilet bathrooms. Since I was last here it has had more parking and a new play area.
Something else that awaited me at the trailhead was beautiful fall colors. While October might have passed the autumn splendor was still on display aplenty on this hike.
Speaking of the hike is 4.8 miles (one-way) on a green-blazed trail that has added those plastic diamonds like Margarette Falls and Rock Creek Falls. While long the trail has a relatively gentle grade making the uphill not as severe. The reason this is a multi-use trail as hikers share it with cyclists. Besides being well blazed & an easy grade there are also mile markers along the way.
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| Left: Margerette Falls (T), Rock Creek (B) & Pinnacle Mtn. (R) |
At around the 3.5-mile mark, the trail reaches a large junction and parking area (which will factor in later) where the green-blazed Pinnacle Tower Trail meets the orange-blazed ATV Trail and the access road to the top. So I went through the wood style and headed the final half-mile to the summit. The trail meanders up the west side of Pinnacle Mountain before heading the final way up the south side. When you see the towers in the trees you are in the homestretch to the top.
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| Top: Gated Acces Road; Bottom: Orange-blazed ATV Trail (ATV from Nov. '15) |
Once at the summit why you hike here stands before you...the Pinnacle Mountain Fire Tower. Now it will be obvious this isn't the original fire tower. That one was built in the 1930s before being retired in 1989. It was in 2007 that a partnership between the Partners of the Cherokee National Forest and US Forest Service breathed new life into this East Tennessee treasure. Work on the refurbished tower was completed in 2011. The tower is all metal, including the grated floor.
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| The ceiling compass shows some age |
The one thing about the tower that hasn't changed is the view. It is a 360° one that includes Unaka Mountain, Big Bald, and Pinnacle's nearby sibling Buffalo Mountain Park. On this day there were also clouds around some of these peaks and of course beautiful autumn colors.
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| Unaka Mountain |
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| Big Bald (T), The Roans (ML), Cloudy Holston Mtn. (MR) & Buffalo Mtn. Park |
After lunch and enjoying the view I decided to do something different and hike back the access road. It cuts almost a mile off the trip back. But, what it lacks in length it makes for in incline. So much so that most of the section from the junction to the tower is concrete. That means if you want to do this loop it is best to do it, like I did, go up the tower trail and down the access road. Oh, there were plenty of lovely fall colors to make this a worthy detour.
As I mentioned earlier the gentle grade of the trail makes the uphill less extreme it also helps the downhill too. Because it isn't steep (or rocky) you can make a great time heading back. Before long I reached the one-mile marker and in a flash, I was at the trailhead. I did miss my window to try out the Mid-City Grill so I finished the day at the White Duck Taco and Yee-Haw (I haven't been to either in almost two years).
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