Rocky Top

It's the University of Tennessee fight song, but I wonder how many Volunteers have actually hiked up to Rocky Top. Dave Edwards and I did on October 5, 1997. It was foggy in the morning but turned out to be a great day. We went up the Lead Cove and Bote Mountain trails to Spence Field. After about 5 miles and a 3000' elevation gain, we reached the Appalachian Trail. We headed north on the AT a short distance to Spence Field. From there we were able to see Fontana Lake and Shuckstack tower in North Carolina, Cades Cove, and our goal, Thunderhead Mountain. Our starting point was at the same elevation as Cades Cove, so looking at the cars there gave us a real appreciation of how high we had climbed.


Fontana Lake from Spence Field	Thunderhead Mountain

Spence Field is a 30 acre field on top of the ridge. James Spence cleared 100 acres here in the 1830's as a pasture for livestock. We met 4 guys there who were riding the Cades Cove- Russell Field- Spence Field loop on horseback.


Me on the southern peak	View from Rocky Top
	towards Clingmans Dome

Thunderhead Mountain has 3 peaks. The two southern peaks are rocky and bald and the panoramic views from both are great. One of these is Rocky Top. I think it is the middle one, but I liked the view from the southern peak better. The northern peak is the highest of the three but is covered with trees. We were able to identify Clingmans Dome from 12 miles away by the concrete ramp that is on top of it.