Comments on: Devils Elbow Trail, Panthertown Valley, Nantahala National Forest

By: Jeff Clark, Meanderthals

Jeff Clark, Meanderthals — Fri, 23 Jan 2015 22:05:00 +0000

In reply to budoma. I use the Kornegay map whenever I hike in Panthertown.

By: budoma

budoma — Fri, 23 Jan 2015 22:01:00 +0000

Awesome hike – especially this time of the year.
If you ever have questions about Panthertown, you should get in contact with Burt Kornegay in Cullowhee. He had a guide service for many years, but I think he is out of the business now. He knows the area better than anyone, and is an incredible person besides…
Slickrockexpeditions.com is the website

By: Jeff Clark, Meanderthals

Jeff Clark, Meanderthals — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 22:09:00 +0000

In reply to ashevillain.

Thanks for the tips ashevillain. We saw the trail by the campsite at Riding Ford and figured it probably went to Jawbone, but we were pretty much done for the day by that time. Nice to get confimation on that. A couple months ago we accessed Jawbone from the west, on the other side of the river. Quite a bushwhack that.

We did go out the other trail you mentioned, but only a quarter mile. I could see from my Burt Kornegay map that West Fork Way goes to Dismal Falls, and the other fork goes to Cold Mountain/High Bethel.

I think I’ll approach Dismal Falls from Hwy 281 some day, and I would like to see the views from High Bethel, perhaps in the Spring.

By: ashevillain

ashevillain — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 21:45:00 +0000

Just a couple tips for next time:

1. When you’re at Riding Ford Falls, you don’t need to get your feet wet to get to the next one upstream (i.e. Jawbone Falls or some call it Lower Warden’s Falls). Just squirrel your way upstream through the Rhodo/Laurel and you’ll come to a small campsite where you can pop out next to the river on a tiny little beachy area to see Jawbone Falls. It’s literally right upstream and around the bend from your photo titled “Upstream from Riding Ford” — it’s like a 5 minute walk at most.

2. When you reach the end of the Devil’s Elbow trail (going from memory, I believe the end is where you took the photo titled “Cross Valley from Devil’s Elbow”) the trail actually continues in 2 directions…although these are really just some more of Carlton’s “man-ways.” If you continue downhill in a NE direction the trail heads toward another waterfall (drawing a blank on the name…Dismal maybe?). BUT, if you continue up and around the bend in a more ESE direction the trail ascends and traverses the SW face of Shelton Pisgah Mtn traveling in the direction of Cold Mountain/Bethel High Altar. This little traverse has some of the best views of Panthertown Valley. This and Bethel High Altar are really the only 2 places that you can take in the entire expanse of the valley. It’s really about as far off the beaten path as you can get in Panthertown so you’ve got to be comfortable with that, following pieces of survey tape…if you are, the reward is great.