Stories
Visitor Profile: Tom Abernathy
Published: May 11, 2022
Name: Tom Abernathy
Age: 85
Occupation: Retired
Resides in: Hickory
Favorite Catawba County Park: Bakers Mountain Park
We are hiking at Bakers Mountain Park this morning with Tom Abernathy, who is arguably one of the park’s most loyal visitors. Tom, how long have you been coming here?
Since it’s been open, and even before that. In my childhood, I was often up here.
You grew up in this area?
I was born right up George Hildebrand School Road, about two miles from the mountain. I have spent most of my life here. I've traveled a lot. I used to go overseas often, but never for a long period of time. Most of my trips were to China, and I think the longest I was ever away was about two months.
Was that for work?
Yes, for work. I was in furniture. I was always an executive except in my early years. When I went from the sawmill to the furniture factory... well, I went into the army. Went to Korea. Came back and went to work at Drexel, and I became the youngest plant superintendent they had ever had. I had all types of jobs like that.
And you’ve been a regular on the mountain since your childhood days.
I've probably been up here more than anybody. In my teenage years, we would ride our bikes up from Mountain Grove Church and coast back down. People would hike up here on the mountain at night for the gorgeous view – we called it “parking.” On Easter Sunday, local churches used to hold sunrise service on the eastern slope of the mountain, leading a procession up the whole road with 17 curves that they have since straightened out. You had to come early, because the sun was going to be up early.
I’ve always loved coming here, and still do. It's just a beautiful place and there’s so much to see. There are wild animals of all kinds. In my lifetime on this mountain, I have seen bears, lots of deer, a mountain lion three times. Is there anything else? The ravens. Often they'll fly over and squawk at you, but it's a pleasant squawk, not like a crow. They're here. Not every week, but a lot of times the ravens will be around; they’re real frequent.
It's probably been 10 years since I have seen the Golden Eagles that used to come down from Grandfather Mountain occasionally. They are just beautiful. They'd sit on the towers at the top of the mountain. They'd just show up. I worked at the Mosteller Estates; I went from the furniture company that he owned down there to work for him. The eagles would fly over his property occasionally just south of Valley Hills Mall. But it’s been a while since I’ve seen them.
The last cougar I saw was going up that hill, right here by the chimney on the orange trail. That was about 2007, maybe. I took [park ranger] John and [another frequent park visitor] Frank over there to see the tracks. They were three and a quarter wide, four and a quarter long, and the stride was 27 inches. It was a big cat. If anyone were to see one, you don't run from it. You just stand still and look it in the eye and wait for the cougar to run away. It will go away.
You mentioned that is a different strategy than what you would do if you encounter a bear…
You put your head down, make yourself as large as you can, don't look it in the eye and back slowly away. They are here. The last time I’ve seen a bear here was probably about 2005, but I see signs all the time. I have pictures of tracks from last spring.
It’s not typical for a park visitor to encounter any bears or cougars or any dangerous wildlife. It’s a safe place to come. Great place to come with the kids, to expose them to the natural environment that we have here at Bakers Mountain.
You visit the park every day?
Six days a week. I have been here thousands of times. When I was younger, I used to hike the perimeter each day and then I would go up to the top. When they first opened up the park in 2002, we had another trail; it went around and up and I used to do it in 19 minutes to get up to the top. It would take me 33 minutes to do the whole trip to come back down. But it's not that easy anymore. It takes me longer now.
I used to take different routes. I used to ride my bicycle from Hickory over here, about 20 minutes each way, hike every trail and ride the bike back. I quit doing that. Because of staying active, I've been very healthy. The doctor says he hopes he's in my shape when he gets my age. I said, well, get up the mountain. He said, okay.
You often have other folks that join you on your morning hikes, right?
Yes, I will walk with whoever wants to join me or I’ll walk alone, but I always point out the crooked trees to anyone I run into. There are two crooked trees in the park that I’m aware of. One on the red trail not too far from headquarters and the other down the orange trail right before you get to the blue; they’re sourwood trees, and they’re crooked. One has a 360-degree bend in it. Makes you wonder how they ever got to be that crooked. They are both sourwood trees. Honeybees love them when they bloom.
You know a lot about trees. How did you learn about them, and where did you get a passion for trees?
I got to learn a lot when I was cutting timber as a young man before I went to Korea. I cut here in the North Carolina mountains, in South Carolina and Georgia. Most of the trees here at Bakers Mountain are chestnut oaks; the mountain is loaded with them. They are everywhere. When I was young, we didn't know the name of the tree. We’d call them buck oaks, because deer like to scratch their backs on them. Then we called them mountain oaks for a while, until we found out what they really were: chestnut oaks. When you cut them down and leave the stump, they'll sprout back. When they straightened out the old road up the mountain, which used to have 17 curves in it, they pushed one oak tree down that had nine trunks growing out of one stump. We'll pass two clusters up here on the red trail that have multiple trunks. They’re second-growth trees, as the mountain was logged in the 1920s.
Other trees we have here are pine trees: field Pines and the Virginia pine, which is the knotty one. They've got a lot of limbs. When the lumber comes out of a Virginia pine, it's pretty. It really is. It's knotty and very pretty. A lot of people used to frame the interiors of their homes with it around the mountain here.
Huckleberries are going to be here in the spring, and there's just tons of places where they're located, like here on the orange trail. They're very edible. They’re small but delicious. They’re a wild blueberry.
What is your favorite route or spot in the park?
Up here at the observation deck or right above it, either one. You can see so far, if you know what you're looking at: Grandfather Mountain to the northwest, Mount Mitchell due west. On a clear day, the visibility is probably 70 to 75 miles. You could see Stone Mountain if another mountain wasn't in the way. In the foreground to the northeast is a great view of downtown Hickory.
My favorite route is the route we are on: the red trail to the orange trail at the chimney and then up to the overlook. It's a three-quarter mile up to the platform. There are great views on the way up. You can see the South Mountains looking back as you climb up. The hike up the mountain is strenuous… it’s steep but relatively short, but it’s worth it. If you just take your time, it’s very doable. There are plenty of benches along the way to stop and take a break if you need to take a rest. You need to come prepared to hike the mountain with appropriate shoes and water.
You can do a nice loop coming from the office on the red trail, taking a right at the chimney onto the orange trail up to the observation tower, coming down the blue trail past the little waterfall and the homestead back to the other end of the parking lot. That’s about a 2-mile loop. The trails are well maintained and very well marked, and there are map stands along the way.
You have had so many fantastic memories and experiences here at Bakers Mountain. We want to encourage others to follow in your footsteps and visit the park.
Especially the youth. If you have youth, get them out here. Get them off the computer and get them out here. There is so much to see. It’s a beautiful place to be.