Overmountain: A trail through time

The Overmountain Victory Trail roughly follows the route of the Overmountain Men — pioneers of North Carolina, Virginia and what became Tennessee — who mustered at nearby Sycamore Shoals before embarking eastward over the mountains to take on the British, providing an important victory that helped turn the tide in the Revolutionary War. Though the lower tract is a Tennessee state natural area, it is still operated as a working farm, so you will see cattle grazing. In addition, parts of the hike traverse doubletrack farm road.You can make a historic 7.2-mile there-and-back hike that traverses biologically significant Hampton Creek Cove State Natural Area through meadows rife with mountain views, then climb in rich forest to Yellow Mountain Gap, where militiamen in 1780 passed through en route to defeat the British at the Revolutionary War Battle of Kings Mountain. In addition to views and history, you can also enjoy the scenic finery of Left Prong, one of Tennessee's most productive brook trout fisheries.Leave the gated parking area and soon head up a grassy track bordered by partially overgrown meadow. The Overmountain Victory Trail is signed at all significant turns. An old farmhouse is visible in the distance. Soon head left, crossing Left Prong on a metal bridge. Bridge Left Prong again then join a double track farm road heading through a meadow. Big Ridge rises to your left; Hampton Creek Ridge forms a rampart to your right. The state line ridge stands dead ahead. The bucolic scene recalls simple farming days of yesteryear deep in the heart of the southern Appalachians.Reach a gate after .5 miles. Here, the Overmountain Victory Trail heads left through the gate and the Birchfield Trail stays straight. Stay with the Overmountain Victory Trail. Remember to leave gates as you found them. Therefore, if you need to open a gate to get through then close it behind you. Immediately bridge wooded Left Prong again. A trout barrier is below the bridge. This keeps rainbow and other non-native trout from getting up Left Prong, a bastion of native Tennessee brook trout.The Overmountain Victory Trail reenters open field. Ahead, the grassy track splits and the left fork goes up Shell Hollow. Stay right up the meadow, soaking in views. Pass gates at .8 mile and 1.1 miles. Sometimes the track is dirt and sometimes is it simply flattened grass. Don't forget to look back at northward panoramas of Whiterocks Mountain. Ahead, meadows mix with woods. Look for apple and hawthorn trees. Pass through another gate and a dilapidated barn at 1.3 miles. Left Prong is crashing through the woods to your right.At 1.5 miles, pass through one more gate then meet the other end of the Birchfield Trail. Consider taking it on your return. The Birchfield Trail is a shadier alternative that runs astride forested Left Prong. A normally dry rock hop is necessary a little over halfway down.Back to the Overmountain Victory Trail. Keep climbing, weaving in and out of tree copses. Cross a couple of streamlets then what's left of Left Prong at 2 miles. You are now in full-blown hardwoods, leaving the meadows behind.At 2.6 miles, crest out on a ridge and enter the Cherokee National Forest, leaving the state natural area. The path descends to Hampton Creek, losing hard-won elevation. Rock hop Hampton Creek at 2.8 miles, then rise to an old roadbed. Turn left here, tracing the roadbed upslope toward the stateline ridge. At 3 miles, make a hard right in a grove of yellow birch, and continue climbing under hardwoods.Reach Yellow Mountain Gap at 3.6 miles, meeting the Appalachian Trail at 4,640 feet. Harken back to 1780, late September when the Overmountain Men marched through Yellow Mountain Gap in the snow, fighting for American independence. The 640 patriots took roll here before descending toward Roaring Fork. Today, the gap is a place of quiet, where hikers can stop for a break, or go northbound on the AT to the grassy, view-laden meadows of Little Hump Mountain, reached after 1.7 miles, or straight to a spring and the red barn trail shelter, .2 miles distant.Another segment of the Overmountain Victory Trail continues .8 miles into North Carolina until reaching the boundaries of the Pisgah National Forest and the Roaring Fork trailhead. Enjoy more views on your return trip through Hampton Creek Cove State Natural Area.Consider taking the Birchfield Trail on the return route. Also, Roan Mountain State Park is just a few miles up TN 143 from the Overmountain Victory Trail trailhead and offers more trails, camping, fishing, swimming and natural history.To get there from exit 24 on I-26 near Johnson City, follow the signs for Elizabethton, joining US 321 north/TN 67 east. Travel for 8.6 miles to reach US 19E and a traffic light (from Bristol Highway it is 9 miles to this same intersection on US 19E south, except you will keep straight through the traffic light). Turn right here, now joining US 19E south, Veterans Memorial Parkway, toward Roan Mountain, Mountain City, and Boone, N.C. Follow US 19E for 17 miles to TN 143 in the town of Roan Mountain. Turn right on TN 143 and follow it .1 miles, crossing the Doe River on a bridge to turn left on Stratton Street. Follow it .2 miles to a stop sign and turn right on Stuart Street. Stay with Stuart as it curves left and becomes West Street. After .2 miles, turn right on Old Highway 143. Follow Old Highway 143 for .1 miles then turn left on Hampton Creek Road, immediately bridging the Doe River. Follow Hampton Creek Road for 3.2 miles to the trailhead on your left, .2 miles past Grays Chapel Presbyterian Church.For more information, consult my book Five Star Trails: Tri-CitiesTennessee & Virginia, or visit www.state.tn.us/environment/natural-areas.