Frozen Head Lookout Tower

Friday, April 15, 2022 

Hi Blog!

We have a few days here in Clinton, Tennessee before heading further west. We managed to avoid the worst of the stormy weather. By the time we arrived in Clinton, the weather was beautiful, sunny and warm. For our first full day's outing, we decided to hike up to the Lookout Tower on Frozen Head, the largest mountain in Frozen Head State Park. There are several trails which lead to the Lookout Tower. We chose a route along an old Jeep road that would also give us a chance to explore an old coal mine. Dusty was disappointed he couldn't drive up to the tower, as only authorized vehicles were allowed to drive up the road. 

In all our hiking in the mountains, we have never seen a sign like this. We were not even sure we would recognize ginseng plants if we saw them. After we got home, we Googled ginseng plants and realized that we've seen them but never knew they were ginseng. Apparently, high prices for American ginseng roots in recent years have led to intense harvest pressure on public lands. Thus the sign pictured below:

The trail we followed was a series of old logging and mining roads. The trees are just about to leaf out.  Frozen Head, the park's namesake, is the highest peak at 3,324 feet in the area. The mountain's name comes from its snow-capped appearance in colder months.

Frozen Head State Park was part of the larger Morgan State Forest.  A large part of Morgan State Forest burned in a forest fire in 1952, and the forestry division transferred the lands to the parks division 18 years later for the establishment of Frozen Head State Park.

Spring flowers are popping out everywhere:

Kathy noticed a small seam of coal hiding under this spring and went off trail to grab a small sample.

To enjoy this watery wonderland, click the link to this pretty little spring beside our road.

While we didn't find ginseng, here is a great white trillium. Great white trillium occurs from southern Quebec and Ontario and then Maine west to northeastern Minnesota; through the central hardwoods to the Appalachian Mountains and thence south on the southern Appalachian Mountains to Georgia.  Thru hikers from Georgia to Main follow of trillium trail.

We were impressed when we came upon Tub Springs. Constructed by CCC workers in the 1930's, the spring is well put together and a reliable source of water even during the driest times. 

In 1933, Tennessee Governor Hill McAlister set aside a large part of Brushy Mountain State Prison's lands for the establishment of Morgan State Forest. The Civilian Conservation Corps arrived that same year to construct roads and facilities for forest maintenance. CCC operations continued in the forest until 1941, although rattlesnakes and prison escapes prevented the establishment of a camp within the forest until 1938.

Here is a look inside Tub Springs:

There are fifty miles of backpacking and day-hiking trails in Frozen Head State Park. Many of the trailheads are located near the park office, with lesser-used trailheads located at Armes Gap and just off Highway 62 to the south. Most of the trails are open only to hiking, although mountain biking is allowed on the Lookout Tower Trail, which leads to the summit of Frozen Head. Several trails converge at the road to the Lookout Tower.

In 2006, the park replaced the aging CCC firetower at the summit of Frozen Head with an observation deck. The observation deck rises just above the treeline and allows for a 360-degree view of the surrounding terrain. The Great Smoky Mountains and the Tennessee Valley span the eastern horizon. Walden Ridge— where the Tennessee Valley meets the Cumberland Plateau— is visible to the south. 

Dave is visible at the top of the tower:

Kathy waves from below:

The views were impressive:

After three miles of uphill walking, we enjoyed our lunch on one of the summit picnic tables. We met a couple trail runners, as well as a few hikers. On our way back down, we stopped at the Tub Spring Campground to check out the remnants of a once impressive fireplace.

Halfway back down the mountain was an old road leading to the Brushy Mountain Coal Mine. We passed the Brushy Mountain Prison on the way up the mountain and hope to take a prison tour tomorrow. One reason the prison was located next to Frozen Head was to provided cheap prison labor to logging and coal mining companies.

Here is our first look at one of the mine shafts:

Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary wasn’t just a jail. For decades it was a coal mine for the state of Tennessee. The end of the Civil War led to a boom in railroad construction and the rapid expansion of the coal mining industry throughout Tennessee. Because many of the state’s coal veins were located in remote areas, most mining companies provided housing by collecting rent from miners’ wages. When those companies opened onsite stores selling food, clothes and other necessities at inflated prices, already poor workers piled up debt. By the time their debt and rent were paid, they had little to show for a meager wage job with dangerous working conditions. The Coal Creek miners were clever, holding strikes in winter when coal demand was high; this tactic worked until a new convict lease program gave companies a cheaper, more compliant workforce.

Here is a peek inside the mine shaft:

We took note of the "hazarous area" signs and didn't venture too far.

While many of the old wood buildings have been removed, there are still several stone and concrete structures like this guard house which still litter the mountain side.

Even though we have hiked dozens of sections of the Appalachian Trail in several states, this was our first visit to the Cumberland Mountains. Featuring rolling hills and beautiful scenery, the Cumberland Mountains are a chain of peaks that are steeped in history. The range is located in the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and they include 679 named mountains. That's a lot of peaks to bag.

Here Kathy celebrates 1 of 679. Having bagged Frozen Head peak we only have 678 more to go!