Graham County Highpoint Trip Report
Huckleberry Knob (5,560+ ft)
Date: August 3, 2006
Author: Don Desrosiers
This is a strange one. When standing on top, near the grave, several other
nearby peaks looked higher. Looking at the topos, Huckleberry was the highest
thing in the area. Probably some NC illusion to confuse us tourists.
There is now a signed parking area at mile marker 8.7. Trail is easy enough to
follow, although if someone were to come through with a weed whacker on a
regular basis, I suspect they would get little complaint.
The text at the trailhead sign about the grave near the peak reads, in part:
"This grave is a testament to the harsh winter at this elevation.
On December 11, 1899, Andy Sherman and Paul O'Neil left the Tellico Creek logging camp,
where they worked, to reach Robbinsville by Christmas. Sadly, they never made it.
On September 6, 1900, while deer hunting on Huckleberry Knob, Forrest Denton
found the two bodies along with several whiskey jugs. Sherman's grave is
marked by a large (sic) cross on the knob. O'Neil's skeleton was given to Dr.
Robert J Orr as a medical exhibit."
There is a more verbose plaque at the grave that says the coroner's jury
determined the two died while "lost and intoxicated".