With fall color still near peak, I headed back over to the Blue Ridge Parkway for a wander. The destination: The Peaks of Otter area, with an eye towards finding the site where a B-25 bomber crashed into Sharp Top Mountain in 1943. Come along and check it out!
I’d set out quite early, and made it to the Peaks of Otter Lodge and Abbott Lake for sunrise.
Next stop: the Fallingwater Cascades Trail. I’d actually hiked the first part of this one before, but this time I did the full loop. Beautiful!
I took the shuttle van to near the peak of Sharp Top Mountain, then hiked around and up to the summit. Excellent views from up there.
The aptly-named Turtle Rock.
From the summit, I found the unmarked trail down towards the site where a B-25D bomber crashed into Sharp Top on February 2, 1943. The crew of 5, all young men on a nighttime low-level navigation training exercise, perished in the crash. Due to the difficult terrain, most of the aircraft remains, scattered across the mountainside beneath a memorial plaque (installed on the 2001 anniversary of the accident).
The memorial plaque, dedicated on the 2001 anniversary of the accident.A B-25D very similar to the accident aircraft, serial number 129828.Local newspaper coverage of the crash, February 3, 1943.Local newspaper coverage of the crash, February 3, 1943.US Army Air Force accident report.Flight safety recommendations resulting from the Sharp Top accident.Bits of debris scattered over the mountainside.Bits of debris scattered over the mountainside.One of the two Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone 14-cylinder engines.One of the wings, with control surfaces.One of the wings, with control surfaces.One of the wings, with control surfaces.One of the wings, with control surfaces.One of the wings, with control surfaces.One of the wings, with control surfaces.One of the wings, with control surfaces.One of the wings, with control surfaces.Tail section of the fuselage, with much of a horizontal stabilizer still attached.Tail section of the fuselage, with much of a horizontal stabilizer still attached.Tail section of the fuselage, with much of a horizontal stabilizer still attached.One of the wings, with control surfaces.Tail section of the fuselage, with much of a horizontal stabilizer still attached.One of the wings, with control surfaces.One of the two Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone 14-cylinder engines.One of the two Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone 14-cylinder engines.One of the two Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone 14-cylinder engines.One of the two Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone 14-cylinder engines.One of the Hamilton Standard propeller hubs.A main landing gear strut.The memorial plaque, dedicated on the 2001 anniversary of the accident.
The crash site is pretty steep, and the leaf litter made footing dicey. After climbing back up, I was exhausted! I made my way back down the mountain and called it a day.
But first, a stop for some drone photos and video!
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