Shuckstack is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains

Great Smoky Mountains

The Great Smoky Mountains 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 Ridge Physiographic Province. The range is sometimes called the Smoky Mountains or the...

, located in the Southeastern United States. It has an elevation of 4020 feet (1,225.3 m) above sea level, and rises approximately 2300 feet (701 m) above Fontana Lake, to the south.

An old fire tower stands well above the treeline at the summit of Shuckstack, offering a panoramic view of the southwestern Smokies and the Nantahala Mountains

Nantahala National Forest

The Nantahala National Forest, established in 1920, is a national forest located in the American state of North Carolina. The word "Nantahala" is a Cherokee word meaning "Land of the Noonday Sun." The name is appropriate as, in some spots, the sun only reaches the floors of the deep gorges of the...

. Although no longer in use, the fire tower is open to the public. The summit of Shuckstack is accessed via the Appalachian Trail

Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...

 and a short spur trail. The spur trail is marked by a t-shaped white blaze, and is approximately 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from the parking lot on the north side of Fontana Dam.

Along with the fire tower, the summit of Shuckstack also harbors the chimney and foundation of what was once a fire marshall's cabin along with several outcroppings of precambrian

Precambrian

The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...

Ocoee Supergroup sandstone.

External links

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park Trail Map - Large file in .pdf format.
• Shuckstack Tower Trail - Article in the Knoxville News-Sentinel, 11/02/2003.
• North Carolina Fire Lookouts - List of fire lookouts in the state of North Carolina.
• Tennessee/GSMNP fire towers
• Help restore Shuckstack more photos and history