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[ home | maps | stream report | links | message board | top ] [ other river maps:| upper | quality zone | lower | below 411 ] |
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Hood Mountain Overlook
click here for bigger pictureThe National Forest Service has a parking area on Forest Service road FS 108 at the top of the ridge before one descends to the Big Bend parking area. There are picnic tables and a very scenic view of the quality zone. Big Bend shoals is to the left, the stairsteps in front, and Little Rock Island is in the distance. On a clear day looking downstream, the distant mountain on the right is Big Frog. The nearer mountain to the left is Little Frog. There is a plaque with information about the area. The parking fee is required for this area. Top Of Page |
Powerhouse Boat Ramp
click here for bigger pictureAbout a half mile below the powerhouse, the National Forest Service has a parking area with a boat ramp. A $2 parking fee is required for this whole area. Across the river and downstream a little from the boat ramp is a small island. Much of the area above the island is wadable from the railroad side. Some of us call this area "The Colonel's Flats" after Colonel Tom O'Brien. For more info, Click Here. Top Of Page |
Fox's Cabin
click here for bigger pictureUpstream from Towee Creek at the next sharp bend in the road is an area called Fox's Cabin, after an old guy that used to have a cabin there some years ago. There are a couple of parking areas. The information I have on Nevins Fox is: Fox retired from the L&N Railroad as an Engineer, and had one of 4 cabins next to the big pool we now know as Fox's Cabin. (The big pool with the rock wall by the road upstream fron Towee Creek.) The cabins still show on topo maps, and Fox's was the one farthest upstream. It was the only one on ground high enough not to be damaged much by the flood of 1973. It was located next to the branch at the culvert just downstream of the bluff. I have looked around the area, and saw blocks, bricks, and iron pipe that were presumably from the site. The cabin was one room with a screened porch, made of rough sawn lumber. Upstream on the branch is the stub of a plastic pipe that once provided "running water". The outhouse was next to the big hemlock. We believe the cabins had electricity from a line that crossed the river. The old poles and some broken glass insulators can still be seen along the railroad tracks on the other side. There is a big stump by the river in front of the cabin. I'm told that Fox used to have a rope stretched across the river there, and once a week he would pull a boat across, hitch a train to Webb's, get groceries, and hitch a train back in the afternoon. Fox had a 3 legged black and white dog that ran deer. I've been told that he liked to take a hypodermic needle and inject air into nightcrawlers. This would make them float and writhe on the surface till a fish put them out of their misery. Fox had a stroke, went in a nursing home, and it is believed that he died around 78 or 79. He never sold out to the Forest Service and as far as we know he had no family. His property went to the Forest Service after his death. My sources for much of the above information are Bobby Lowe and Dean Tuttle. Any errors are probably mine. Top Of Page |
Towee Creek
click here for bigger pictureThe National Forest Service has a picnic area at Towee Creek (pronounced like "how we"). There is a boat ramp, but it is on the creek, not the river, and unless the river is running 2 turbines it may be difficult to get from the ramp to the river. For more info, Click Here. Top Of Page |
Cane Island
click here for bigger pictureJust upstream from Big Bend at the bend in the road is a parking area with picnic tables across from Cane Island. The water around Cane Island is not particularly wadable with a turbine on, except for a stretch on the railroad side around a small island across from the top of the big island. Access there is via the railroad from the powerhouse (long walk). There is some beautiful water on the back side of the island, and a lot of big fish have been caught there. Top Of Page |