While living at
Hazel Creek, Horace Kephart
reported having spent summers
in this herder's cabin on the
border between North Carolina
and Tennessee along the ridge
line of the Great Smoky Mountains.
Here, with friends and fellow
hunters, Kephart pursued a more
frontier like existence filled
with dangerous creatures and
wild weather patterns.
Hall Cabin takes a prominent
place in Kephart's published
works and personal album. Kephart
seems to have been taken with
the isolation provided by Hall
Cabin, miles from settlements
and the encroachment of civilization.
Follow the links to learn about
Hall Cabin and the few remote
herder's huts along the crest
of the Smokies.
Encounter
with a Lost Camper
Kephart describes the Hall
Cabin and during an encounter
with a camper from Canada who
had become lost in the Great
Smoky Mountains. In the course
of the conversation, he elaborates
on similar cabins in the Smokies
as well as the dangers of traveling
without adequate preparation.
Bear
Hunt
Hall Cabin figures prominently
in "A Bear Hunt."
Here Kephart interweaves the
personalities of his companions,
regional folklore, and commentary
on the natural environment with
the narrative account of the
hunt.
Skunk
Attack
In one of his more humorous
accounts, Kephart describes
the arrival of a skunk while
he and two companions spent
the night at a herder's hut.
While the unpleasant outcome
seems nearly inevitable, the
strategies to avoid disaster
make a delightful tale.
Inside
Hall Cabin
Photographs of Kephart and
his friends show far more than
the people who shared a summer
evening at Hall Cabin. Objects
and architecture provide clues
to the day to day life.
Snakes
at Hall Cabin
Kephart remarked that even
at the nearly mile high elevation,
rattlesnakes thrived near the
remote Hall Cabin. Photographs
include live snakes, dead snakes,
and snakes as entertainment.
"Blueline"
Views from the Summit near Hall
Cabin
Kephart laments that his photographs
cannot capture the stunning
mountain vistas or deep valleys
seen from the summit near Hall
Cabin. However, this special
photograph processing technique
casts a distinct haze to the
Great Smoky Mountains.
Original spelling and
syntax retained in all quotations
within this exhibit.
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