Gregory Bald is a mountain in the

Great Smoky Mountains The Great Smoky Mountains (, ''Equa Dutsusdu Dodalv'') are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains and form part of the Blue Ridg ...

. It has an elevation of above sea level. The mountain's majestic summit makes it a popular hiking destination. Another feature that attracts many visitors are the flame azaleas that bloom over the bald every summer. The azaleas reach peak bloom around mid-to-late June. Gregory Bald is located along the Tennessee-North Carolina border, between Blount County and Swain County. It rises approximately 3,000 feet above its northern base in

Cades Cove Cades Cove is an isolated valley located in the Tennessee section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The valley was home to numerous settlers before the formation of the national park. Cades Cove, the single most popular destination ...

, and approximately 3,300 feet above its southern base at Fontana Lake. The mountain is located entirely within the

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in the southeastern United States, southeast, with parts in North Carolina and Tennessee. The park straddles the ridgeline o ...

. Gregory Bald is a type of mountain known as a grassy bald. Unlike most summits in the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

, which are heavily forested or culminate in jagged peaks, grassy balds are covered by a thick layer of wild grass. Trees and other foliage are sparse. How and why a summit develops into a grassy bald is unknown. While there is evidence that Gregory Bald was a natural grassy bald, the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

must currently work to prevent the summit from becoming forested.

Geology

Gregory Bald is composed of

Precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...

rock known as Elkmont sandstone. In a few places atop the mountain, sandstone ruts actually erupt through the thick grass. The Elkmont sandstone is part of the Ocoee Supergroup, which was formed from ancient ocean sediments between 500 million and one billion years ago. Gregory Bald, along with most mountains in the area, was formed appx. 200 million years ago during the

Appalachian orogeny Appalachian may refer to: * Appalachian Mountains, a major mountain range in eastern United States and Canada * Appalachian Trail, a hiking trail in the eastern United States * The people of Appalachia and their culture ** Appalachian Americans, e ...

History

The

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

name for Gregory Bald was "Tsistu'yi," or "Rabbit Place." According to tribal lore, the chief of all rabbits—known simply as the Great Rabbit—lived at the summit. The rabbit, considered by the Cherokee to be sly and mischievous, was a key figure in tribal legends, showing the importance the tribe placed upon the mountain. The mountain was listed by

Arnold Guyot Arnold Henry Guyot ( ) (September 28, 1807February 8, 1884) was a Swiss-American geologist and geographer. Early life Guyot was born on September 28, 1807, at Boudevilliers, near Neuchâtel, Switzerland. He was educated at Chaux-de-Fonds, then a ...

in his 1856 survey of the Smokies, although Guyot gave it the name "Great Bald's Central Peak", and measured its elevation at 4,922 feet. The name "Gregory Bald" was given to the mountain by

residents in honor of Russell Gregory (1795–1864), a prominent Cades Cove settler. He and two other settlers made a deal to each take 1/3 of the land to live upon. Gregory used the mountain to graze cattle during the spring and summer, when the fields in the cove were needed for growing crops. He lived atop the mountain during this part of the year in a circular stone house near the mountain's summit (the house is no longer standing).Durwood Dunn, ''Cades Cove: The Life and Death of an Appalachian Community'' (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1988), 44. Gregory, who (like most Cades Covers) supported the Union during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Gregory was murdered by a

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

soldier in 1864 while trying to protect his cattle and land. His grave bears the legend "Murdered by North Carolina rebels".

Access

The summit of Gregory Bald can be reached via several well-maintained hiking trails. From Cades Cove, the summit can be reached via the Gregory Ridge Trail or the Gregory Bald Trail. Gregory Ridge Trail begins at the end of Forge Creek Road, which is a gravel road on the Cades Cove Loop just past the Cable Mill area. Gregory Bald Trail us accessed via the unimproved Parsons Branch Road. From Fontana, the summit is reached via the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

and a two-mile connector trail. From Twentymile, the summit is reached via the Wolf Ridge Trail. From the summit, one can see Cades Cove and Rich Mountain to the north, and the Nantahala and Yellow Creek Mountains to the south. Visible to the east is the crest of the Smokies, including

Thunderhead Mountain Thunderhead Mountain is a mountain in the west-central part of the Great Smoky Mountains, located in the southeastern United States. Rising along the border between Tennessee and North Carolina, the mountain dominates the western Smokies. The A ...

and

Kuwohi Kuwohi (, also known as Clingmans Dome, its former official name) is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina in the Southeastern United States. At an topographical summit, elevation of , it is the highest mountai ...

. Fontana Lake and Shuckstack are discernible to the southeast.

References

External links

* *
Gregory Bald Hybrid Azaleas
- A collection of photos and information on this flower that grows famously on Gregory Bald during the summer. {{Mountains of Tennessee Mountains of Great Smoky Mountains National Park Mountains of Tennessee Mountains of North Carolina Protected areas of Blount County, Tennessee Protected areas of Swain County, North Carolina Religious places of the Indigenous peoples of North America Appalachian culture Appalachian balds Mountains of Swain County, North Carolina Mountains of Blount County, Tennessee Sacred mountains of the United States