Work Sites: Appalachia, Hiwasee, Nottely and Chatuge
The final Site ride of the year.
A quick(ish) 2 day loop starting at my favorite motorcycle hangout Smitty’s lodge in Tellico Plains and riding to Appalachia, Hiwasee, Nottely and Chatuge dams. But first...
Bald River Falls!
Now let us start with the biggest disappointment of the
trip. Appalachia isn’t a power generating dam, and it’s not even accessible. So
very much like Watauga and the fire training center, you get the gate view.
A little bummed, but it was time to head to Nottely. Or so I thought. Not more than three miles down the road I see a sign that says Dam that way. What Dam? I didn’t see a dam on my plans in this area. But I am here and I know a sign when I see one so turn I did! And rode. And rode. And rode and rode for almost 8 miles before I came to what turned out to be Hiwasee dam.
Somehow this was left off the list of every plan I had made but here I am! It’s a regal dam, beautiful in it’s own right and with the first leaves of autumn starting to fall, turns out to be quite picturesque. Here is a video I found that is not mine but is fantastic in showing the dam.
Hiwassee has what was the only reversible pump turbine setup when it was installed in 1956. Avid fishers love Hiwasee for small mouth bass and walleye. <o:p></o:p>
Nottely
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Nottely dam is what is called a seasonal dam. We raise and lower the pool depending on the season. Visiting at the beginning of fall you can already see the lowering that has occurred in preparation for the heavy rain expected in the fall/early winter season.
It is one of the smaller dams in works repertoire pumping out about 15 megawatts. The dam was built with specific reasons in mind, flood control being the biggest.
Because of that it
might look haphazardly designed with the bridge sort of over it and the
spillway location but it works perfect every time.
Chatuge
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The last site visited this summer. On the border of North Carolina and Georgia. This 3 turbine dam pumps out 24 megawatts of power.
Riding in I
was struck with the winding lazy road that took you up to the dam and the small
side road off to the pump house. You felt like you were entering a park not a
dam. I’m not complaining. 
Chatuge is also a seasonal dam. As you
can see the bowl level is also low at the time of visit.
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For more on these dams click the site links below.
[Hiwassee 1](https://www.tva.com/energy/our-power-system/hydroelectric/hiwassee) |