I recently read this article by Derek Halsey in the Mountain Times on the Kruger Brothers "Roan Mountain Suite", published on 10/18/2016. I am both a fan of the Kruger Brothers and a lover of Roan Mountain - and long-time occasional reader
of the Mountain Times. I am an avid hiker and
Roan Mountain is one of my favorite places in the entire world!
I am writing to point out some misconceptions in the introductory statements the article, especially the portion I have bolded.
For most of the hikers located in the High Country, Roan Mountain is considered part of our family of peaks, even though it resides just across the border with Tennessee.
In fact, when you take the half hour drive from Banner Elk (right on Rt. 19E then left on Rt. 143) to the mountaintop lot where you park to hike both the Appalachian Trail as well as the Roan Mountain Grassy Highlands, a “Welcome to North Carolina” sign stands just yards down the road. But let there be no mistake, Roan Mountain firmly resides in the Volunteer State and is happily claimed by the citizens of Tennessee.
The caption on the page 2 photo states:
Roan Mountain is considered part of our family of peaks in the High Country, but the mountain resides just across the Tennessee border.
It's indeed true that the quickest and most direct way to get to Carver's Gap and the summits of Roan Mountain from the Boone/Banner Elk, NC area is through TN. Although it is possible to access Roan Mountain from the NC side by taking NC Hwy 261 via Bakersville, from most of the Boone area, this adds unnecessary time and miles to the trip. (However, keep in mind that this is the faster way to access Roan Mountain from areas in NC to the West and South of Boone). Due to its location, Roan Mountain is on the high country's periphery, although high country residents do typically include it in the "local" repertoire of hikes, because of its relative proximity and it being a true mountain gem.
It would be foolish to downplay the historical and cultural significance that the town of Roan Mountain, TN and Roan Mountain TN state park play in that area. The Rhododendron festival around the 4th of July and other celebrations throughout the year bring world-famous acclaim to the town and its environs. But, while the Volunteer State may claim Roan Mountain as its own, the fact remains that the vast majority of the mountain itself, including the "highlands", lies within NC - and many Tarheels (including me) also claim it as their own.
This not only includes sharing the highest summit of Roan Mountain between NC and TN, Roan High Knob (the 6,285 ft peak, not 6,185 ft as stated in the article) but also includes all of the following in NC: Roan High Bluff (the 6,267 ft peak, including the associated overlook), the Rhododendron Gardens (and all vantage points to the east, south and west), the bathroom facilities and parking areas on the summit area, and thus the vast majority of the mountain.
This can be seen by taking a close look at the map of Roan Mountain: while the NC/TN border runs to the west along the crest of the balds to Carver's Gap and up to Roan High Knob, just to the west at Toll House Gap, the state border takes an abrupt turn to the north. This leaves the remainder of the mountain to the west and south in NC.
Likewise, the vast majority of the highlands east of Carver's Gap, including the famed balds that run to Grassy Ridge Bald (along with the Appalachian Trail and the TN/NC border), are mostly within NC. Just before Grassy Ridge Bald, the state line also turns to the north, and nearly the entire summit area above 6,000 ft is in NC.
The area I've chosen to focus on doesn't include the eastern part of the highlands that also includes Yellow Mountain (split roughly half and half between TN and NC), Big Yellow Mountain (which is almost entirely in NC), Little Hump Mountain (split roughly half and half between TN and NC) and Hump Mountain (which is almost entirely in NC). If these areas were included, too, the highlands would tip to an even greater portion being in NC.
As a beginning reference point, please see the USGS Topographic map centered on Carver's Gap (Note: this map is a composite of 4 topo quads):
Next, see
the markup I've done on the attached topographic map showing the area
in TN and NC (see: Roan Mountain Highlands centered on Carvers Gap with
lines - 8m per pixel.jpg). The state line is highlighted in red.
Everything to the north of the line is in Tennessee (Carter county).
Everything to the south of the line is in NC (Mitchell and Avery). On
this map, I've traced the 6,000 ft elevation contour line in a dark hue,
green in NC and blue in TN. I've also traced the 5,000 ft contour line
in a lighter hue, again, green in NC and blue in TN. I've done my best
to not obscure any text or contour labels on this map.
If
you compare the area within each of the shaded colors, i.e., green (in NC) vs. blue (in TN),
you'll easily see that the vast majority of the mountain is in NC. To
help display this more effectively, I've created another version of the
above map where I've shaded the areas in the respective states (see:
Roan Mountain Highlands centered on Carvers Gap with lines and shading -
8m per pixel.jpg). Dark blue indicates area in TN at or above 6,000
ft. Light blue indicates area in TN at or above 5,000 ft. Dark green
indicates area
in NC at or above 6,000 ft. Light blue indicates area in NC at or
above 5,000 ft. On this map, it's very easy to see that the vast
majority of the highlands is in NC.
If you'd like to inspect this in more detail, check it out on Google Maps, especially where the state line turns north at Toll House Gap:
https://www.google.com/maps/@
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