An old Jerry Jeff Walker song called “Contrary to Ordinary” would seem a perfect fit for Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Tucked away in North Carolina’s southeastern corner of the park, far away from Gatlinburg and Cherokee, Cataloochee has traditionally been a less-visited area of the park. It has been a place for hikers, campers and fishermen to escape for a little wilderness solitude, far away from the bear jams of Cades Cove.

Things are changing, and visitation to the secluded area has doubled while park officials are at a loss to explain a decrease at every other park entrance.

“There’s no doubt, it’s the elk,” said GSMNP spokesman Bob Miller.

In February, 25 elk were released into a holding pen in the Cataloochee Valley. A crowd of nearly 1,000 spectators showed up for the event. When darkness fell, however, the new inhabitants were left alone to get accustomed to their new surroundings.

For nearly three months the valley reverted to its normal winter pace, except for the regular visits by Jennifer Murrow and her crew. Murrow is the University of Tennessee graduate student in charge of the field research for the experimental elk release in the Smokies.

In early April, the gates to the acclimation pen were opened. The elk began to cautiously explore their new home. Word the elk were out and could be seen grazing in the fields of Cataloochee spread quickly and visitors began to stream in to get a look.

According to park figures, visitation for January through June of this year was at 3,678,528. Visitation for the same period last year was 4,020,365.

Townsend, Tenn., has experienced a 10-percent decline, Cherokee saw a 3-percent decline and Gatlinburg was down by 2 percent. The greatest decline has been recorded from outlying areas (where Cataloochee is grouped), which have a combined loss of 22 percent.

One has to wonder what the totals for the outlying areas would be if it wasn’t for Cataloochee. Cataloochee has recorded a 100-percent increase in visitation this year from April ( when the elk were released from the holding pen) through July. The number of vehicles entering Cataloochee for this period in 2001 was 23,126, compared to 11,540 for the same period in 2000.

“They roll in about 3:30 to 4 in the afternoon and leave about 9:30 or 10 at night,” said Cataloochee Ranger Jeff Srebernak.

Srebernak said a large number of visitors to the valley are from Florida and Tennessee. A recent Sunday drive to the end of Cataloochee Valley revealed tags from Michigan, New York and Ohio, as well as Tennessee, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.

Teddy Greene and his wife, from Highlands, said the trip has become a regular Sunday drive for them.
“We’ve been over three times to see the elk,” Greene said.

It’s a bittersweet experience for some locals. One lady, a descendant of the Palmers — one of the original Cataloochee families — said she was thrilled to have the elk in the valley. She also, however, felt “a loss of privacy” to have so many visitors in the valley.

Srebernak said that other than traffic jams, things were going smoothly. He said rangers keep people out of the fields when elk are present, but otherwise visitors are free to explore on their own.

All trails in the valley are presently open. The best time to view the elk is in the evening, according to Srebernak. “It’s hit or miss in the mornings, but they’re always out in the evening,” he said.

 

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The Smoky Mountain News