Joe Tennis
For more than 30 years, I have explored bits of the Cherokee National Forest in East Tennessee.
This forest runs from the Virginia border all the way to the mountains of Georgia.
I’ve seen just pieces of the 650,000 acres of this treed treasure.
Once, my wife and I took a llama trek on the outskirts of my late mother’s hometown of Greeneville, Tennessee, going nearly two miles on a Cherokee National Forest Trail.
On another trip, I took a wild ride with my then-young daughter on the old Unaka Mountain Auto Tour — a loop in Unicoi County, Tennessee — and came back with a funny story for this newspaper when the loop tour turned out not to follow a tattered, old brochure I had kept for years.
On my own, I’ve explored waterfalls on Holston Mountain — high above the banks of South Holston Lake in Sullivan County, Tennessee.
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And then, with my son, I met “The Corn Man.”
This was 11 summers ago when my son, John, and I were headed for a few days’ getaway to Georgia.
But, on the way, we explored a national forest trail for about a mile up and a mile back.
Then, on our return to the pavement, we found “The Corn Man.” He was camping out — “and I can be here for up to two weeks,” he said.
He grilled ears of corn on the cob.
Hungry and still with miles to go, I dismissed sanitary conditions and took up his offer for my 7-year-old son and myself.
His half-burnt corn was actually OK, as we feasted among the weeds and woods of the Cherokee National Forest.
In a recent book release, author Marci Spencer takes a look at the Cherokee National Forest with a foreword by U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander. This 265-page book features both black-and-white and color photos.
Spencer’s other books include an exploration of the Pisgah National Forest and a children’s book. She is a retired nurse practitioner and medical missionary.
Chapters in “Cherokee National Forest: A History” (The History Press, $24.99) look at Buffalo Mountain, Unaka Mountain, French Broad River and the Nolichucky River.
Surely, this book should prove a great companion for explorers wanting to enjoy East Tennessee’s woods, waterfalls, waterways and wonders.
This post was originally published on here
