![]() ![]() Part of Our Southern Highlanders takes place atop the main crest of the Western Smokies between Gregory Bald and Silers Bald, which at the time was coated by a series of highland meadows used as livestock pastures during the growing season when bottomlands were needed for crops. In 1904, the nearest railroad depot was 16 miles (26 km) away at Bushnell, a small town at the confluence of the Tuckasegee River and the Little Tennessee (now submerged by Fontana Lake). ![]() Kephart's cabin was located along Little Fork, a tributary of Sugar Fork, the latter in turn being a tributary of Haw Gap Branch. The village of Medlin was located where modern Haw Gap Branch ("Haw Creek" on old maps) empties into Hazel Creek (the townsite is now Campsite 84 at the junction of Jenkins Ridge Trail and the Hazel Creek Trail). Hazel Creek originates on the slopes of Silers Bald in the Great Smoky Mountains and drops 4,000 feet (1,200 m) over its 18-mile (29 km) route to the Little Tennessee River, draining much of the southwestern part of the range along the way. ![]()
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