Whiteside Mountain or Sanigilâ'gĭ in Cherokee is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

Jackson County, North Carolina Jackson County is a county located in the far southwest of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,109. Since 1913 its county seat has been Sylva, which replaced Webster. Jackson County comprises the Cu ...

between

Cashiers Cashiers is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated village located in southern Jackson County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the community had a total population of 657, up from 157 at the 2010 c ...

Highlands, North Carolina Highlands is an incorporation (municipal government), incorporated town in Macon County, North Carolina, Macon County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located on a plateau in the southern Appalachian Mountains, within the Nantahala National Fo ...

, and the Georgia border. Whiteside Mountain can boast the highest cliffs in Eastern North America. It also has a feature called Devil's Courthouse, not to be confused with the Devil's Courthouse 20 miles away in Transylvania County, NC. Since the 1980s, the forest service has tried to restrict access to the Courthouse and has allowed the foot trail to it to grow over because of dangers such as strong winds. They also did not want accidents from

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'po ...

and similar activities taking place from the mountain top or from the Courthouse. There is also an overhang, a small platform less than 7 feet in diameter, connected to Whiteside as if it were a

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

. Similar overhangs can be found on the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tr ...

History

Bulletin 426 Plate XIV B Whiteside Mountain

The

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

name for Whiteside mountain is Sanigilâ'gĭ. p467Full text
/ref>

Legend of Spear Finger

Cherokee myth says that Spear-finger, the powerful woman monster, built a bridge from the

Hiwassee River The Hiwassee River has its headwaters on the north slope of Rocky Mountain in Towns County in the northern area of the State of Georgia. It flows northward into North Carolina before turning westward into Tennessee, flowing into the Tennessee Riv ...

to Whiteside Mountain. p 316 and also 444 & 467

Legend of De Soto

The overhanging edge has a message carved into it, which reads that

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1500 – 21 May, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire ...

was there and that it was carved by his men who allegedly threw over their sick, crippled horses there. However, it is likely a hoax carved by some boys sometime in 1926 when there was probably much more of the overhang than there is today. Since the terrain is too rough for men and horses to get through, for De Soto to have come through here at a time when there were no roads or pathways is unlikely. De Soto's route most likely took him through the

Cumberland Gap The Cumberland Gap is a pass through the long ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, within the Appalachian Mountains, near the junction of the U.S. states of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. It is famous in American colonial history for its rol ...

from South Carolina. Inscription Update - Nov. 18, 2021 The inscription actually reads, ""T.T." Un luego Santa a la memoria" In 1946, Rev. Herman Miles Alley confessed to carving the engraving. He loved the Spanish language and made the carving during a sad period in his life. He was trying to say, "a memorial to a future saint."The Summer times by Nancy Turner While it is unsure which of these stories may be factual, the use of "quotation marks" was not in use at the time DeSoto's ventures.

References

External links

Video overview of the loop trail

Panoramic virtual tour from the summit lookout
{{coord, 35.0809, -83.1382, display=title Mountains of North Carolina Landforms of Jackson County, North Carolina Landmarks in North Carolina