For Kingfisher: Hump Mountain

[hillbilly beef man]

Here are the pictures of Hump Mountain that you requested in the Parts/burial thread Kingfisher. As I mentioned before the Hump is 5587 ft high, with the summit covered with grassy balds. Sheep were grazed in the summer on the Hump till the 70's, when they were replaced with cattle into the early 90's, when the cattle were removed due to pressure from environmental groups. The balds are slowly disappearing due to blackberry and other invasive plants replacing the native grasses, but the Forrest Service has started bush hogging the balds annually to try to stop the encroachment. There is an ongoing movement to try to get the Forrest Service to allow grazing once again to help preserve the balds, but I kind of doubt that it will go anywhere since the Appalachian Trail goes right through the middle of them. As I mentioned in the Parts/Burial thread after I am gone from this world this is where I want my ashes spread, if anyone that cares enough is able enough to get up here.

Here is the view of the Hump from my back porch. When we built the house I placed it so this would be the view from the kitchen table. This is what I look at in the mornings drinking coffee when it is daylight before I leave.

This is the view of the Big Hump on the Appliachian Trail from the Little Hump

Here is the Little Hump looking from the top of the Big Hump

This is looking twords my house from the top of the Big Hump. One of those patches of grass whittled out of the trees is my farm.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Beautiful pictures.

I need to head to your part of the Volunteer state more often. I forget how nice the mountains are.

TT

 

[inyati13]

Very nice.

 

[Jalopy]

Thanks for the pictures. Especially nice today as I just got in from.choring and it is 5degrees f and snowing .

 

[wbvs58]

Great spot, what are those poles in the first photo?
Ken

 

[Named'em Tamed'em]

Thanks for sharing, I've never been to that part of the country.

 

[hillbilly beef man]

Great spot, what are those poles in the first photo?
Ken

TVA transmission line poles. Thanks.

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

Pretty country, for sure!

 

[Williamsv]

Beautiful pictures. What a gorgeous view from your kitchen table! Thank you for sharing.

 

[Aaron]

Such a great view. I might have to make adjustments to my wishes and join you on that hump.

 

[Kingfisher]

Wow! That's really nice of you to resond like this. I googled the hump after my post but really did not see what your showing us! Thanks!

 

[hillbilly beef man]

A little more back ground on what I mentioned on the grazing. I ran into the Ecologist from UNC that was proposing controlled grazing on the balds. According to his research the balds were kept grazed down by the native elk population until they were killed off in the early 1800s. Then the livestock that the settlers brought continued to keep the balds cleaned off. The trouble started when the tree huggers got grazing stopped because they thought it was damaging the balds, but the opposite was true. The balds still existed because of the continued grazing. The tree huggers unknowingly were destroying the very thing that they were trying to protect. His research concluded that the best method to preserve the balds would be controlled rotational grazing with cattle using temp electric fences. The professor said that if he could get the Forrest service to agree on his plan it would require the grazer to be on site all summer. It would be interesting to keep cattle up there all summer, but thunder storms could be interesting. Arron, you be interested in spending the summer with some Herefords up there? :cboy: