Anderson County High Point Trip Report
The Flag Pole, BM Cross (3534 ft)
Date: July 2, 2000
Author: Ken Oeser
This highpoint is owned by the Premium Coal Company. I called ahead of time to check access, and was
told that locals have the run of the property. Only on the way down did some people on an ATV stop to
talk and tell us that the gate is open on Saturdays with no coal trucks. They did warn that coal miners
work on Saturdays, and at quitting time they fly down the narrow gravel road, so watch out. Just my luck
to visit on 2 Sundays to find the gate locked both times!!
Main route: From Briceville, turn off the highway and drive west on the road that passes the school.
After about a mile, turn left on the first gravel coal road. A gate is about 150 yards after the turn. Drive
up this gravel road, steep in places to the large saddle at the top and go straight, not left downhill. About
0.25 mile past the saddle, turn off the nice gravel road onto a lesser brown gravel road that curves to the
summit. The benchmark is behind a fenced tower at the top, outside the fence on the backside.
Locked gate route: From Briceville at school, go south about 0.5 mile and take the first right (Tennessee
Hollow Road). Go about a mile and turn right onto Sieber Mountain Road and go to about 1700 feet to a
dirt road that connects over to the main coal road to the top. ATVs can make it over, but not 4WD
vehicles. Hike up about 2.5 - 3 miles to the summit. At the large saddle, another gravel road goes left
and downhill. Go straight about 0.25 mile and go left up a rocky, gravel road and follow this to the
summit. (Straight on the main gravel road leads to a very nice view to the east. We actually climbed up
the old strip mine to a second mined level, then climbed up the upper strip mine to connect in with the
summit gravel road.) This is about 1900 feet elevation gain.