Swan Cabin/Nantahala National Forest trip
By Curt Cole
The last few days of June saw five GWS members spending pleasant days in the relatively cool North Carolina mountains while central Georgia sweltered in 100-degree heat. Cary Hoyt, Bernard and Genise Spenle′ and Curt and Irene Cole spent two to four nights in Swan Cabin, northwest of Robbinsville.
This primitive log cabin was built in 1931 and now is rented out by the Forest Service for $25/night. It sits at over 4,000’ in a remote area on a gravel FS road. So remote that Corky Hayward, after driving all the way from Warner Robins, could not find it after coming within a mile or two of it. She turned around and headed back to Macon. Our apologies. The directions on the Forest Service website were off by about a mile and we did not notice that.
The trails we hiked were: Jeffrey Hell in Citico Creek Wilderness, Fodderstack/Stratton Bald Alternate on the edge of the wilderness, Windy Gap/Nichols Cove/Slickrock Creek/Big Fat Gap in Slickrock Wilderness. Cary and Curt separately hiked up an old road from near the cabin to the meadows at Stratton Bald. Many wildflowers were seen. Cary spotted deer in front of the cabin. The Spenle′s and Coles also swam at Wildcat Falls, a three-tier falls on Slickrock Creek. This is a beautiful place surrounded by blooming rhododendron.
Weather was great and all meals were had on the picnic table beside the cabin. Mice and bats skittered and fluttered about the cabin each night, and a small non-venomous resident snake was seen in the privy. Upon leaving Sunday, The Spenle′s and Coles rafted the Nantahala River. Half the crew went for an unintended swim at the falls, while the other half remained aboard to critique the swimmers.
This is a great place to stay so it is sure to be repeated in a year or two. Come join us.
