Standing Indian Mountain, NC

Located in the Nantahala Mountains of western North Carolina, Standing Indian Mountain is a high point along the Eastern Continental Divide. Directly below it to the northeast, the very upper reaches of the Nantahala River, a cold, clear trout stream, flow north to join the Tennessee River on its much-impounded route to the Mississippi. To the southwest, visible from the viewpoint on the mountaintop, are the headwaters of the Tallulah River, which flows south into Georgia, and eventually into the Savannah River and the Atlantic Ocean.

The western face of the mountain is a sizable bare bedrock ledge that quickly descends a few hundred feet, above a nearly 3000 foot descent to the valley bottom.The view from the mountain is about 180 degrees centered on the west, as the other side is densely forested. The Great Smoky Mountains, the Nantahala Mountains, and the Tusquitee Mountains dominate the scenery. An overwhelming network of ridges, pointed but gentle mountaintops, and steep valleys, they are some of the finest specimens of the big green lumps that make up the southern and central Appalachian Mountains. Bits and pieces of Nantahala Lake can be seen between the lower slopes.

The mountain is on a roughly NE-SW ridge, followed by the Appalachian Trail, with a descent of 1000 feet to a small road at Deep Gap a few miles north.

The east slopes broadens out into an intricate system of ridges, each with their own small gaps and knobs, overlooking the Nantahala River 2000 feet below. The shortest route up the mountain climbs these eastern slopes, traversing the steep hillsides above the river, gaining a ridge at a mini-gap, and following the ridge up and down to the top. This trail is not well-used, and a bit wild in places. The forest it passes through seems to be a mix of second growth and some old growth stands, all very lush and vigorous.The area was logged in the 1920’s. The second growth on the mountainsides is a lot of tulip poplar and black cherry, many of which have reached impressive sizes in the past 95 years. In other areas, buckeye, basswood and red maple can be seen. Subcanopy trees include magnolias. The ridge top has huge, tall but somewhat gnarled red and chestnut oaks that may be old growth, with a lot of orange azaleas in bloom in June. There are chestnut stump sprouts just about everywhere, and in fact some dead-looking areas where the sprouts must have reached impressive size before being killed and opening up the forest. The oaks get more stunted  and irregularly shaped on the very upper slopes. The forest floor throughout was covered with ephemerals in June, mostly past flowering, some getting quite tall.

A trail along Kinsey Creek descends from Deep Gap north of the mountain and passes some impressive probably old growth stands on steep slopes, in which tall, old red oaks and tulip poplars, and extensive rhododendron thickets play roles.

The June southern mountain weather was delightful: hot and humid during the day but cool and clear at night.