Location: Cherokee County, NE of Andrews, NC in the Snowbird Mts., (N tip is in Cheoah District)
Access: FS road 423 N from Cty 1391 N from US19 and 129 N of Andrews, to Tatham Gap, then E on FS 423B. Or Take Cty 1110 S from Robbinsville to FS 423 to Tatham Gap. Access into lower end of wild area up the various creeks is unscouted and involves private property.
USGS Topographic Quadrangles: Andrews, Robbinsville
Features/Description/Potential:
The headwaters/drainage for Gipp Creek. Drops off southerly
from the NW-SE trending Joanna Bald-Little Bald ridge at 4400 ft. to Gipp
Creek at 2100 ft. Other streams in the S-facing drainage include Brokeleg
Branch, Ash Cove Creek, Stillhouse Branch, Tom Thumb Creek, Doctor Branch
and Fine Comb Branch. All eventually feed the Valley River which flows just
N of Andrews. A small tip of the wild area falls N from the main ridge.
Wild area does not include Joanna Bald and its lookout tower. FS reports
100+ yr stands in the Little Bald area, but scouting trip revealed nothing
very remarkable. On Oct. 14 there were numerous hunters on the various
access roads, with dogs and rifles. Saw one wild pig that had been shot.
There are no mapped trails in the bulk of the wild
area, but the Bartram Trail (FS 67) formerly ran from the Joanna Bald tower
along the high ridge line forming the N edge of the wild area E to Jutts Gap.
An unnumbered trail runs S from this ridge, beginning about 3000' E of Joanna
Bald and FS 67, S across the NW corner of the wild area and then S along
the W ridge (2420') of the Gipp Creek cove and the W edge of the wild area,
meeting private property and access on County 1389. The Bartram Trail
is quite rough and overgrown with briars. Mostly the trees on the very
sharp ridgetop are quite scrubby, with some big trees here and there.
There are stumps and one old logging road indicating previous logging.
Just outside the W boundary of the wild area is a large clearcut area below
the Lookout Tower. There are good views to the Robbinsville valley
to the N, Cheoah Bald to the NE, Piercy Bald wild area to the E and SE, Andrews
to the S and beyond that the Tusquitee area Valley River Mts. The sharp
ridgeline and its views are a real attraction, coupled with the apparent
remoteness and ruggedness of the Gipp Creek drainage.
A scouting trip through the central portion of
the wild area up, or down via Stewart Ridge or the high Peak Ridge, the Gipp
Creek drainage would be interesting (and probably pretty rough). Private
property seems to block access to Gipp Creek from the S.