Two and two equals four. Right? Well, maybe. In time, most everything undergoes reevaluation, even the historical “facts” and geographical “realities” that we take for granted.

For half a century, it was assumed that De Soto’s 16th century expedition through the southern mountains passed through Macon and Cherokee counties. Dr. Charles Hudson of the University of Georgia and other contemporary archaeologists have recently questioned that assumption and proposed a new route north of our area down the French Broad into Tennessee. A counter-offensive led by local historians in Cherokee County has turned up an array of Spanish artifacts collected from the Peachtree area. As of now, Dr. Hudson’s revisionist policy has been stymied. Which route did De Soto follow through WNC? No one knows for sure. Two staples in the common and printed lore regarding geographic landmarks of the region concern Clingman’s Dome and Whitewater Falls.

Clingman’s is often described “at 6,643-feet, the second highest peak east of the Mississippi after Mount Mitchell at 6,684-feet.” Whitewater Falls is often described “at 411 feet the highest waterfall in the Blue Ridge.” True?

Nope. Amicalola Falls in north Georgia is probably the highest. That waterfall’s drop is variously cited as somewhere between 725 and 730 feet.

Tim Homan’s “Hiking Trails of North Georgia” (1987) gives 729 feet. (By the way, Homan indicates that the name “Amicalola” means “tumbling waters” in Cherokee.)

The waterfall is located in Dawson County, Ga., within 700-acre Amicalola State Park, which provides the starting place for the 8-mile approach to the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail at Springer Mountain. There is a maintained 0.3-mile trail leading from a picnic area to the base of the waterfall, as well as a parking area with a short walkway leading out to the uppermost point of the cascade.

All in all, Amicolola Falls is one of the most depressing landmarks to visit in the Southern Appalachians because of the manner in which the Georgia State Parks System has chosen to commercialize the area. The entire waterfall -- which should have been maintained as a natural habitat -- is girdled from top to bottom with pavement and rutted trails. There’s even an artificial cement pool not far from the base of the real waterfall.

Whitewater Falls in the far southeastern corner of Jackson County consists of an upper 411-foot drop that is pretty much contiguous and a lower set of two falls in South Carolina. The lower falls -- separated by about 300 yards-- each drop about 200 feet. This area is maintained for public use by the U.S. Forest Service in a tasteful manner. From the overlook area a clear view of the main waterfall encircled by towering rock cliffs can be had as it plunges through the Whitewater River escarpment gorge. A white-blazed trail descends 400 steps to the floor of the gorge, allowing one to explore by rock hopping the full range of what this sort of unique waterfall habitat provides.

Looming like a black cloud on the N.C.-Tennessee state line, Clingman’s Dome at 6,643 feet is indisputably the highest peak in the Smokies. And since it is partly in Tennessee, Clingman’s is indisputably the highest peak in that state. But is Clingman the second-highest peak east of the Mississippi? Maybe not.

Mt. Craig in Mt. Mitchell State Park is 6,663 feet high. But since it is so closely aligned with Mt. Mitchell the peak has not always been recognized as having a distinct status. The drop between the top of Mt. Mitchell and the top of Mt. Craig is, however, more than 200 feet. Some topographical experts feel that only a 200-foot drop between peaks is required for separate recognition.

Others contend that there must be at least a 300-foot drop. If the 200-foot criteria is applied, Mt. Craig would replace Clingman’s as the second highest peak east of the Mississippi.

Mt. Craig is recognized as such by three authorities. Ron Tagliapietra in “The Southern Sixers: A Guide for Peak Baggers, Tourists, and Historians to the 40 Mountains of the South that Exceed 6,000 Feet in Elevation,” provides a summary of the peak definition debate. Tagliapietra opts for the 200-foot standard, thereby making Mt. Craig at 6,648 feet the second highest.

His entry reads in part: “Summit: A benchmark marks the summit as well as a plaque. The old plaque now leans against the rock pile at the summit. The elevation of 6,665 feet on the plaque and the 6,645 at the park museum reflect measurements of earlier surveys.”

William S. Powell in “The North Carolina Gazetteer: A Dictionary of Tar Heel Places” has the following entry: “Mount Craig, peak in Yancey County ... alt. 6,663 feet. Second highest peak in the state. One of the two peaks known as Black Brothers until 1947 when renamed in honor of Governor Locke Craig (1860-1924), who was largely responsible for the establishment of Mt. Mitchell State Park. Known earlier as Balsam Cone.”

Robert J. Redington in “Survey of the Appalachians,” provides an appendix in which he lists the highest peaks in the Appalachians. He also lists Mt. Craig as the second highest peak after Mt. Mitchell.

Interestingly enough, all of the 40 or so peaks Redington lists are either wholly or partly in North Carolina, with the exception of Mt. Washington in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains in New Hampshire. At 6,288 feet, Mt. Washington is but the twenty-second highest peak east of the Mississippi.

Redington’s 10 highest peaks in the Appalachians: (1) Mt. Mitchell, (2) Mt. Craig, (3) Clingman’s Dome, (4) Mt. Guyot in the Smokies, (5) Balsam Cone in the Black Mountains, (6) Mt. LeConte in the Smokies, (7) Mt. Buckley in the Smokies, (8) Big Tom in the Black Mountains, (9) Cliff Top adjacent to Mt. LeConte in the Smokies, and (10) Clingman’s Peak in the Black Mountains.

So there you go, even in such important matters as the routes of early explorers, the heights of waterfalls and the elevations of mountains there is always an opportunity to recount the votes.

(George Ellison is a writer who lives in Bryson City. He wrote the biographical introductions for the reissues of two Appalachian classics: Horace Kephart’s Our Southern Highlanders and James Mooney’s History, Myths, and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees. Readers can contact him at P.O. Box 1262, Bryson City, N.C., 287713, or at ellisongeorge@cs.com

 

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