Left to Right: The tower after the fire with roof and superstructure burned off; JJTFs staff cutting the frame in their shop; Timber roof truss being set into place with a crane; Below: The restoration completed with the tower’s new roof
Photos by Morgan Sommerville and Jeff Johnson
Wayah Bald Tower
HISTORIC RESTORATION
In November of 2016, several devastating forest fires raged across the Nantahala National Forest, closing 75 miles of the A.T. between Dicks Creek Gap, Georgia and Wesser, North Carolina — i.e. all of the Nantahala Hiking Club’s (NHC) A.T. section. In some locations, the A.T. served as an upper fire line with backing fires ignited to burn away from the A.T. and limit the size of the fires and the severity of damage to the Trail. Despite the best efforts of the heroic fire fighters, who were able to protect all involved A.T. shelters, some sections of the Trail received severe damage: The Jump-Off, near Wesser, Ridgepole Mountain, and Wayah Bald.
Left to Right: The tower after the fire with roof and superstructure burned off; JJTFs staff cutting the frame in their shop; Timber roof truss being set into place with a crane; Below: The restoration completed with the tower’s new roof Photos by Morgan Sommerville and Jeff Johnson
At Wayah Bald, just a few feet from the A.T. and Bartram Trail, the Wayah Bald Tower is a treasured and often visited destination by tourists and residents of Macon and surrounding counties. The Camp Branch fire started near Wayah Creek and roared up the nearly vertical mountain gaining strength as it rose over 2,500 feet in elevation to reach the Wayah Bald Tower with 150-foot flame lengths. Vegetation along the edge of the precipice was essentially vaporized, and the wooden superstructure of the 1930s era Civilian Conservation Corps-built tower was reduced to charcoal in moments.
As soon as word of the destruction of the iconic tower reached nearby Franklin, North Carolina, citizens began to plan its restoration. When Jeff Johnson, owner of Jeff Johnson Timber Frames (JJTFs) in Franklin returned soon after from a trip, his crew informed him that they wanted to donate their time to replace the superstructure of the Wayah tower. Jeff agreed, and they contacted the Nantahala National Forest (NNF) to offer their services. Staff of the NNF were thrilled and they agreed upon a plan for the NNF to provide the timber and for JJTFs to design and build the new top of the tower, using rot-resistant bald cypress for the timbers. Over the course of nine months, JJTFs crew worked on nights and weekends to cut the frame. The Ruffed Grouse Society raised funds to buy the expensive stain needed for this special project and members of the NHC chipped in by spending 168 hours applying the stain to the timbers to exacting standards required to equal the craftsmanship of the timber framers. Additionally, the U.S. Forest Service contributed about 20 person days to the project.
The result is a structure lovingly built as if it were a piece of fine furniture, with intricate joinery and each individual timber artistically rendered to a superior level of craftsmanship, and the team effort embodying the best of the traditional A.T. public-private partnership. A view of the craftsmanship of this project is, alone, worth a trip to Wayah Bald, and the beautiful view from the tower is icing on the cake.