Coker Creek is a mountain community located in southeastern Tennessee. It is the birthpalce of the Church of God, the location of a gold mining operation in the late 1800's, and is along the path of the historic Unicoi Turnpike through the southern Appalachian Mountains.
Joe Brown Highway (formerly the Unicoi Turnpike) starts in Murphy, NC as a paved road around the east side of Lake Hiwassee. At the northern end of the lake, the pavement becomes a dirt and gravel road.
The road ends in the small community of Coker Creek, TN.
Along the way, I took a short detour to the overlook at Hiwassee Dam.
The Morrow family cemetary. Some of the gravestones were actually pieces of rocks.
This doesn't mean me, does it?
Maybe this is why the trail was closed.
End of the trail. From where I took this picture, there was a 5 foot high wall of dirt with a sharp dropoff on the back side.
My first water crossing.
At the top of Wauchessi Mountain there was supposed to be a lookout tower. All I found was a radio antenna.
Here's the Coker Creek Falls. They were about a half mile hike from the end of the trail. While taking the picture, I found out my riding boots really are waterproof.
Atop another mountain: Buck Bald
In the five days of exploring, I put a little over 500 miles on the TW. It always started on the first crank, and never missed a beat the whole time, and found it to be ideal for this type of riding...average speed 15 to 20 mph, mostly in second and third gear.
...still need to find the Ol' Doc Rogers homesite... maybe another 100 miles.
jb
