Whiteside Mountain

It is dangerous to try to read the carved letters which are less than an inch from the drop-off point of the bottom letters. Only a small child can even get close to the letters without falling off. The letters can be safely viewed upside down with a mirror or a small video camera attached to a long pole or some sort of robot. The best way to see the letters is by helicopter but even then they are difficult to see. Rattlesnake trails have also been seen here adding to the danger.

A legend about the carving by De Soto has persisted for many years and even got into some otherwise reputable history texts used in Schools; however, it was proven a hoax and was carved by some boys sometime in 1926 when there was probably much more of the overhang than there is today (2007).Fact|date=July 2007 This terrain is just too rough for men and horses to get through. It would involve climbing straight up sheer walls and over mountains and is especially difficult when one considers the almost vertical walls of the Blue Ridge escarpment and the Gorge in this area. For De Soto to have come through here at a time when there were no roads or pathways is unlikely. De Soto's most likely route took him through the Cumberland Gap from South Carolina.Fact|date=July 2007

External links

:* [http://www.panoramio.com/map/#lt=35.0809&ln=-83.1382&z=4&k=2&a=1 Photos from Panaramio]

References