Gobey Four Wheeling
Rock Ledges Trail to Brain Rock Overlook & Pilot Mountain Fire Tower
Sat. May 31, 2025
Pictures are HERE
We originally planned to take the pontoon boat out on the lake on Saturday. I was disgusted that we hadn't even had it out this season. The problem was that the excessive rain had the lawn like a sponge.
Not wanting to tear the yard up or get stuck moving the boat right now was a bad idea. I didn't care after my visit at the Morgan County Heritage Museum Thursday. Reading my new book about Gobey had me intrigued and I was keen to do something different. I suggested to Kenny that we take the RZR and go exploring at Gobey. He jumped at the chance! We were both excited about the prospects.
We knew the rain would have the rivers and waterfalls running very well. Kenny got out Lifetime Maps on the tablet and we found out that an overlook we wanted to see was on there! We'd finally go see Brain Rock and try a new trail. We could also visit the Pilot Mountain Fire Tower at last. It was one of those places we'd talked to death, but never ventured. Today we'd fix all that.
I have found that my lack of energy has caused me to rethink some of my elaborate plans and schemes. I had planned on fixing a steak dinner and packing us a picnic for the next day on the trail.
I realized I am my own worst enemy. I make my life complicated with all these plans. Why work so hard, go to such trouble and expense and time to prepare a meal that takes minutes to consume?
Nope. Today work smarter, not harder. I figured out a dinner solution that could double as lunch solution for the next day. Much more efficient and thrifty as well. Adversity and struggle are making me re-evaluate many aspects of my life. Pay attention to that comment as it is going to be on the quiz later! 😁 Much to Kenny Koogler's chagrin!
We parked at Elizabeth Church today since it was handy to our starting point. We started off at Greasy Creek and went up from there. The ride to Brain Rock was pretty and seemed pretty short and straight forward.
Below: Elizabeth Church. One of four churches originally at Gobey. It is one of only two that remain.
Below is a view of Pilot Mountain in the distance from Brain Rock.
Below: the surface of Brain Rock is where it gets its name.
Below: mountain laurel was in bloom today in many spots including at Brain Rock.
Below is a video clip from Brain Rock Overlook
We enjoyed the overlook tremendously. It felt good to have finally found it. It was much easier than I expected. Lifetime Maps to the rescue! We moved onward to our next spot. Kenny wanted to go to the waterfalls next. I said no because we had already seen them several times. I wanted to stick to the plan of visiting Pilot Mountain Lookout Tower. He conceded the point and on we went. It was a fateful and fortunate decision. I was batting a thousand today!
I had watched videos that mentioned Rock Ledges Trail as well as Brain Rock. I was intrigued by the rock ledges aspect more than anything. I have ridden parts of Gobey that were strange, convoluted and fun. They are paths that were left over from former coal mining days. Today would be another adventure experiencing those old paths. What I was discouraged by on all these videos is that most of them failed to show the mentioned feature. Brain Rock was shown, but the Rock Ledges trail really wasn't. I wasn't able to find a single photo or video that truly showed Pilot Mountain Lookout Tower. It only showed the trails which all began to look the same.
We continued our ride watching Lifetime Maps as we went. It really helped us pick our route and what was out there to see. The Rock Ledges trail was an instant favorite with us. The scenery is beautiful and dramatic, and the ride was a challenge. You wind along just beneath the level of impressive rock ledges on the sides of the trail. Not one area is like another. It is continually changing.
All of it is beautiful. We saw a surprising amount of wildflowers in bloom for this time of year!
Below are several shots of the various rock ledges.
The woods were in leaf out, but you could still see a lot today. We saw flame azaleas, butterflies, a hawk, a scarlet tanager, frogs, tadpoles, dragonflies, and many other beautiful things. Indian pinkroot was thick today though most were just starting to open. The tiny bright red spires were popping up all along the forest floor. We saw two flowered cynthia, fire pinks, daisies, rock lilies, multiflora rose, Cherokee roses, and Seven Sisters Roses in pale pink, hot pink, and red! Day lilies were abundant along the roads and trails.
Below: this ox eye daisy is odd looking with its narrow pointy petals
One of the most exciting spots along this trail today was when we came to a spot with a drop off and a badly eroded ditch on the left... a deep tailings pond on the right and the trail on a narrow slope right between them. I was tempted to get out of the machine, but Kenny got out and checked it saying "oh this won't be bad." and so I rode it out. He made it look easy. It had some pucker factor though!
We came to a place that the map called Knolling Knob. It was a steep climb on the trail up to a nice flat area in the forest. I had brought the backpacking stove and equipment to fix us a hot lunch. We warmed up sloppy joes on the trail and even toasted the buns in another pot. It was better than a cold sandwich and was nice and quick. We were able to clean things up and get going again in short order.
I noticed someone had discarded bags from those bagged cocktails and the containers from jello shots.
Apparently trail drinking makes it just too hard to care about picking up ones mess.
This is a good time to share the elevation profile Kenny showed me when we were home again!
Below: elevation track on Lifetime Maps from start to finish. Start on the left.. finish on the right. whew! Little by little we're learning to use the features on Lifetime Maps. It tickled me pink to be the one who knew how to fix it when Kenny messed it up and lost our tracks. I also learned to save a track. We found the compass and GPS feature on it as well.
The section of trail immediately after Brain Rock was very muddy. It reminded us of the Water Trail at Turley. It is now closed by the TWRA.
The next really fun and tricky spot was a place on Rock Ledges trail that was three or four deep mud holes one right after the other. There was a work around, but it was sketchy sitting off camber. After some ciphering things out and testing the depth and firmness of the bottom of the mudholes it was decided to go on through them. Below is a video of that process.
We successfully made it through that stretch of trail and swung around the next section. We could see a mountain off in the distance that was like a very pointy triangle. It was Peak Mountain. We passed over Young Mountain and came to a spot under the rock ledges where the map indicated "Draft Dodger Cave" this has to be Boog's Den. I read about it in my new Gobey book I bought on Thursday. We decided to tackle that in cold weather as snakes are out now. It involves climbing around in the rocks to locate it. I have seen a photo of it so maybe we can find it. We will try again this Winter.
The next section was a kiss your butt turn that took us to The Crosses. I don't know if the people were buried there, ashes scattered there, died there or what , but there are three crosses at this spot.
It has the deceased names on each one. It is a pretty spot with a partial view.
Below: this is part of the Kiss your butt turn!
Below: One of many downed, massive white oak trees today. We saw three fallen white oaks. It was like the ENT grave yard. Very sad.
Below is a photo of the tailings pond that sat to the right of a narrow place where we had a drop off on the LEFT....
Below is a closer view of the tailings pond and if you look closely it is full of half grown tadpoles turning into frogs!
Above: a pretty stretch on the trail with another huge boulder on the left.
Once we approached Peak Mountain we encountered part of the trail tightly encroached with vegetation on all sides. We had a slope below us and a slope above us. We ran into another mess with two downed trees and the tops of them were what crossed the trail. Kenny opted to take the work around rather than spend time clearing this tangle. He backed us up and we hit the work around. About that time here came several machines UP the trail. Thankfully we had room to pull over and let them pass. It was three couples riding side by sides. They were the only folks we saw all day.
We wound up and down and continued in a counter clockwise direction until we were nearing Peak Mountain. The trail doesn't cross the summit, but goes around the shoulder of the mountain. It was a very pretty part of the ride with partial views for much of the way. One part of Rock Ledges Trail is a knife edge where you can easily see from one side of the ridge to the other with a long way down on either side. The Peak Mountain section was nice. It had more interesting rock forms, flowers, and views.
Below: view from Peak Mountain Trail
Below is a view from Peak Mountain of approaching Pilot Mountain I think.
Below is a video of the view from Peak Mountain
We continued onward toward Pilot Mountain. It helps to be able to see on the map track how close you are getting not to mention which turn to take. We found the trail up to Pilot Mountain summit to be in good condition most of the way. Coming off was pretty, but another matter. It was rougher and more eroded. We arrived atop the mountain and found the antennas and the fire tower. The tower is in bad shape. Most of the steps are missing and it is fenced inside an enclosure. The summit is flat and you still have partial views. No wonder we don't see videos of it or photos. It isn't much as lookout towers go. It was still satisfying to visit. I walked down the slope to see fire pinks growing in an old stump!
Below: partial views from the summit of Pilot Mountain. Just beginning leaf out here!
Below: fire pinks growing in an old stump down the slope from the tower
Below is a short video clip of the fire tower and the summit. I actually show the tower.
We took time to get a drink at the summit and motored onward. We'd head back toward the Elizabeth Church and then on up into Gobey toward the waterfalls. The ride down to the church was pretty, but rutted. We passed several ponds and small streams. The forest we passed through was largely hemlock and loblolly pines. The pines were clearly planted as they were all in straight rows.
We came down through a small residential area and eventually passed the Caney Creek Church where they had some kind of doings. Maybe Vacation Bible School as a lot of churches are doing that this time of year. They had a good crowd!
Once we passed the truck we stopped by the bridge for me to get some photos of the roses and the river. The Emory River this time of year is jade green and this year is full of water! It can get pretty shallow in Summer. That is more usual.
Below: shimmering waters of the Emory River near the bridge. The ruins of the lumber mill are in the forest just out of sight at this spot.
We passed the first gate up Gobey along Macedonia Road. The next left took us to the turn for Gabriel Falls. We visited that first. We could hear it from the road easily. We went up past it, turned around and came back down to it. We got out and bushwhacked carefully from the road to the creek. We had our eyes peeled for snakes. Thankfully we didn't see a one. It was brushy and briary to reach the falls, but it was a short bushwhack. We followed a rugged old road bed to it on the far side of the stream. It was not easy, but it was possible. Kenny slipped and busted his butt on the way. That is usually my job, but I was very, very careful today. We had to then cross back over to reach the falls from here. They were running real good and it was worth the effort to see them today. There is a small lower cascade just a few feet high, but real pretty.
Below: Gabriel Falls in good Summer flow
Below: the lower cascade of Gabriel Falls
Above: Looking up at the sun around 3:30 pm. I read in the Gobey book that the sun didn't come up until 10 am or so and went down around 3 pm. I'd say this was owing to the terrain and the dense forest cover!
I made an offhand remark something to the effect that "It isn't that high up to the road. It is a shame there is no way to reach it from here." That was like waving a red flag in front of a bull for Kenny. He waded into the brush over there with those tall snake stomper boots on. He yelled for me to come on over there. I asked him WHY? to which he responded there was a good photo to be taken from that spot.
It was then I had an epiphany. The lightbulb came on over my head and I realized he was lying to me.
I had two logs over the front of the falls where I was directly in front of it. Over on that side they'd be even more of an obstruction. Not to mention the rhodo in the way! I told him NO! He then had to say the truth. "Come on over here and I can help you get up to the road easier than the way we came."
Now I KNEW he was laying it on thick. He was trying his darndest to get me into a fix with him.
Nope. Not today hoss. I refused and the crest fallen look on his face was priceless. Why oh why have I failed to realize this all those years before? He is a shyster. Trying to trick me into trouble. Lead me not into temptation. I can find it myself! I told him to go ahead and do what he wanted, but I was going back the way I'd come. He came trotting back. Part of the walk back was listening to him Man Splain to me how he was going to hoist me up and put my butt on his shoulders and heft me onto the road. Sheesh. He was REALLY disappointed which made me even more tickled that I didn't fall for it. It seems old age is smartening me up to his treachery!
Below is a video of Gabriel Falls
Next we went to Atlas Falls which was a short distance up the road. It was running really well also.
It is a short walk down over the embankment, but it is clear folks are riding right down to it. Kenny opines that he bets folks are trying to climb it with the machines. He might be right, but I doubt it.
I was growing tired and about ready to head home. We enjoyed a brief visit at Atlas Falls before we went back to the truck.
Below: Kenny in the snake boots at Atlas Falls
Below is a video of Atlas Falls from today.
We made it back to the truck around 5:30 p.m. We loaded up and got going. We agreed to stop by Buddy's Barbecue in Oak Ridge for supper. I am tired of cooking lately. Cooking generates a big kitchen mess and mine seems to stay messy anymore.
We had a grand day together. It was a memory maker for sure. We had so much fun and saw new terrain. We both agreed this trip makes us want to go back to Gobey next Spring to see what blooms in the new area up high? Maybe we will.
It was a perfect day with fun, adventure, beauty and romance to cap it off.
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