Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

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Handbook/ 1931/ Smoky Mountains Hiking Club

items 8 of 68 items
  • wcu_great_smoky_mtns-9794.jpg
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Item’s are ‘child’ level descriptions to ‘parent’ objects, (e.g. one page of a whole book).

  • id and less frequently seen, are the four-footed and furred forest dwellers, led by the black bear and the cougar. Brilliant butterflies and a thousand species of queer in- j sects fill the air. while in the rocks and ledges are written | geologic stories of the birth of the mountains. For one whose eye feasts on scenic beauty, whether it be a broad sweep of vision across deep valleys to distant ranges, or a gem in miniature, Smoky is unsurpassed. Where can one gaze upon a grander scene than the one from LeConte, where all the eastern half of Smoky is spread out in a vast panorama? Or from the "Jump- off," perched on the rim of a wellnigh bottomless abyss, rimmed in by ridges sharp as sword-blades? For sheer beauty what can surpass a sunrise above the clouds on Myrtle Point, or the serene peacefulness of the broad, open meadows topping Thunderhead, Siler's and Gregory's Balds? And those thousand and one more intimate touches, a crystal pool half hidden between great rounded boulders, a lacy cascade tumbling over the ledges, the glimpse of a winding trail beneath the funereal balsams or through open, grass-carpeted beech woods—all bits of Nature's loveliness that will recur again and again in the mind's eye, with the additional charm of added perspective. Then there are those who would mountaineer that they might pit their hardihood against the obstacles of Nature. For these Smoky has a challenge. Let them push their way through the maze of the laurel-choked depths of Huggins Hell, scale the Chimney Tops, descend Roaring Fork from its topmost spring, and traverse the cloud- swathed Sawteeth in the face of a whistling gale, and then deny that Smoky can be a he-man's land, worthy of the hardiest. Or perhaps the lure is that of pleasant, congenial outdoor companionship. Come on, it is here. With us you will find no formality, no high-hattedness, but a real welcome to a group of wholesome trail-followers, bound together by the tie of a mutual fondness for all of Nature's charms, and for those of Smoky in particular.
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Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).