Lake east of Deal's Gap

[HawkGTRider]

I was working in Maryville TN last week, and I found myself with about 4 hours to fill in mid-afternoon. Rather than spend 1/2 that time just getting home and back, I decided it would be better to run down to Deal's Gap. I hadn't been there in several months, so the timing was right. And given my druthers, I'd rather ride through there when there is minimal foliage anyway.
As expected, it was pretty nice. But what really surprised me was that Chilhowee Lake, east of the gnarly stuff, didn't appear to be being dammed at all...it was just a river. Take a look at the attached pictures and you'll see parts of the old road bed and even a concrete bridge that are normally covered by water.

[mi-msta]

They started draining the lake back in September. They are inspecting the dam for leakage and other possible structural problems.

[HawkGTRider]

That makes sense...I'm sure it has been longer since last September since I've been down that way. I pretty much stay away from the Gap unless it happens to be the best way to get somewhere else or some other special situation arises.


US129 photos caught me here...
http://xtremesportsphotography.photoreflect.com/store/Orderpage.aspx?pi=0QAK027O060091&po=87&pc=164
Click on that link and then click next a few times.

[Brick]

Yes I saw it down today and I saw the old road at the bottom. Very interesting!

[stevegrab]

First as usual I'm green with envy, you have a few hours to kill and rode to Deal's Gap.

Very cool pictures, I popped onto Google Maps to get a better view of the lake, and the current aerial picks there also have the lake level very low, however the street views are with a full lake.

https://goo.gl/maps/kPLJBmDXinm

As you go upstream towards Calderwood Dam there's some really low water level area that reminds me of a spot near Hawks Nest park in WV where water is diverted for hydroelectric use. In fact the portion just the dam looks like a similar thing (water is run through a tunnel in the mountain to the powerhouse). Yep that's it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calderwood_Dam#Design