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- [S106] The Mountain Press, 23 Feb 2014.
Upland Chronicles: Goshen Gate Bridge evokes past experiences
KENNETH BURNS
Goshen Gate Bridge
GATLINBURG —
Throughout the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, numerous footbridges traverse streams on more than 850 miles of hiking trails. The bridges range from narrow foot logs to wide, sturdy structures with iron framework. By reputation, one of the most impressive footbridges in the park is the handsome one crossing the upper reaches of the Little River, often called the Goshen Gate Bridge.
The nickname Goshen Gate is a simply a play on words in reference to the famous Golden Gate Bridge spanning San Francisco Bay. At the time of its construction, Goshen Gate was probably the sturdiest footbridge in the park. It was especially impressive to hikers accustomed to crossing slick foot logs or fording streams. Since that time, other, comparable bridges have been built in the Smokies.
Built because high water frequently washed away the log footbridges that were normally used, Goshen Gate is heavily utilized because Appalachian Trail hikers frequently trek down the Goshen Prong Trail to re-equip due to its close proximity to Gatlinburg.
The bridge is 7.6 miles from the Little River Trail up the Goshen Prong Trail to the Appalachian Trail. Due to the danger in so many hikers crossing the swollen river, a permanent bridge was needed. Look downstream from the bridge for a view of the mouth of Fish Camp Prong.
The bridge is located approximately four miles from the trailhead of the Little River Trail at the entrance of the Millionaire’s Row section of Elkmont. Steadfast Bridge Company was awarded the contract to build the bridge for $14,300.
Manufactured in Greeneville, Ala., by American Leisure Design in November 1995, it was installed in 1996. Transporting the bridge from Elkmont to Goshen Prong was quite a feat. The bridge was delivered in two pieces, and the maintenance department at the national park used front end loaders and “walked” it to the site. They contracted a backhoe on tracks to cross streams and lift it into place. New bearing seats were built, and motorized carts with bicycle handlebars carried one-half to three-quarter yards of concrete to build the new seats.
The bridge was bolted together on the first try, which was amazing due to the extremely small, quarter-inch tolerance bolt holes. An additional $20,000 was required to cover the cost of labor, concrete, and equipment rental needed to complete the project.
A tragic incident occurred near the bridge on May 21, 2000. Glenda Ann Bradley of nearby Cosby, a school teacher who taught at Jones Cove Elementary School, was killed by a black bear. The fatal attack by a black bear was the first in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park history. In fact, it was the first known fatality as a result of a bear attack anywhere in the southeast. At the time, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park recorded the black bear population within its boundaries at approximately 1,800.
The victim was waiting for her ex-husband when she was mauled by the bear. Bradley, an experienced hiker, and Ralph Hill, entered the park at noon. The couple, who had been reconciling, hiked about 10 miles.
Hill, 52, told authorities he left Bradley, 50, on the trail to go fishing. He returned about an hour later to find her backpack on the trail and two black bears, an adult female and a yearling, at her body about 50 yards away. The 111-pound adult bear apparently killed the woman. Rangers shot and killed both animals.
Subsequent necropsies performed at the University of Tennessee confirmed that both bears the rangers killed had fed on the woman and were most likely the bears that had killed her. The bears were not emaciated, and the necropsies did not reveal any underlying health issues with the bears that may have contributed to the attack. This led officials to believe the attack was predatory.
An autopsy was performed on Bradley by East Tennessee State University’s College of Medicine which confirmed that Bradley died of blood loss from injuries due to a bear attack. Her death was ruled an accident, putting to rest rumors of foul play.
Interestingly, Glenda had taken two photographs of the bears with her camera prior to the attack. The pictures on her camera show that Glenda and the bears were on opposite side of the Goshen Gate Bridge. Her backpack was found near the bridge.
The unfortunate attack is now part of the lore repeated from hiker to hiker as they pass by a cross marking the spot of the attack.
Other fascinating tales involve the logging days. Around 1915, the Little River Lumber Company logged the area extensively and used ground skidders, overhead skidders, and railroads to get the logs out. Signs of logging days include cinders, bits of coal, stone walls and drainage ditches for the railroad bed.
Exaggerated tales about lumberjacks who met an untimely demise while working for the lumber company are often told as hikers make their way through the second growth forest.
Since the construction of Goshen Gate Bridge, similar structures, such as the footbridges on the Gatlinburg Trail near Sugarlands Visitor Center and at the end of Tremont Road, have been built in the park.
The round-trip trek to the Goshen Gate Bridge is about eight miles. The beautiful scenery, the pleasant sound of the rushing streams, and the interesting historical features, combine for a delightful hike.
Carroll McMahan is the special projects facilitator for the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce and serves as Sevier County historian.
The Upland Chronicles series celebrates the heritage and past of Sevier County. If you have suggestions for future topics, would like to submit a column or have comments; please contact Carroll McMahan at 453-6411, email cmcmahan@scoc.org; or Ron Rader at 604-9161, email ron@ronraderproperties.co.
- [S144] Phone Record.
Name: Glenda A Bradley
Titles and Terms (Original):
Also Known As: Glenda A Helton
2nd Also Known As Name: Glenda A Hill
3rd Also Known As Name: Glenda Helton Hill
Residence Date: 13 Nov 2000
Residence Place: Cosby, Tennessee, United States
Birth Date: 14 May 1950
Phone Number: (423) 487-5806
Phone Number Recorded Date: 25 Mar 2008
Address: 602 RR 2 Box
Address Continued: Cosby, Tennessee 37722
Address Date: 13 Nov 2000
2nd Address: 525 Greasy Cove Rd
2nd Address Continued: Cosby, Tennessee 37722
2nd Address Date: 01 May 1999-25 Mar 2008
3rd Address: 602 RR 2
3rd Address Continued: Cosby, Tennessee 37722
3rd Address Date: 01 Oct 1989-13 Nov 2000
4th Address:
4th Address Continued:
4th Address Date:
5th Address:
5th Address Continued:
5th Address Date:
6th Address:
6th Address Continued:
6th Address Date:
Possible Relatives: Bengiman H Helton, Clarence H Bradley, Jane S Hill, Juanita E Bradley, Matilda J Hill, Melanie J Helton, Matthew Ray Hill, Phyllis Hill, Ralph Elmer Hill, Shannon H Helton, William M Thomas
Record Number: 70815162
- [S4] Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee), 25 May 2000.
BRADLEY , GLENDA ANN, - age 50 of Cosby died Sunday May 21, 2000. She was a fourth grade teacher at Jones Cove Elementary School. Survivors: sons and daughters-in-law, Shannon and Melanie Helton, Shawn and Cindy Helton; grandchildren, Jacob Helton, Keegan Helton; mother, Juanita Bradley ; sister, Donna Bible; brother, Randall Bradley . Funeral service 10 a.m. Friday at Pleasant Valley Methodist Church in Cocke County. Rev. Earnest Sawyer and Rev. Charles Davis officiating. Interment will follow in Huff Cemetery. The family will receive friends 6-9 p.m. Thursday at Atchley Funeral Home, Sevierville.
- [S87] Death Certificate.
Name Date of Death / Age County of Death County / State of Residence Marital Status Gender Race File #
BRADLEY GLENDA A 05-21-2000 / 50 SEVIER COCKE / TN DIVORCED F WHITE 56997
- [S142] Newspaper Article, 22 May 2000.
Woman Killed by Bear in Tennessee
By DUNCAN MANSFIELD, Associated Press Writer GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) - A woman waiting for her ex-husband on a trail at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was killed by a black bear.
Glenda Ann Bradley, 50, of Cosby was mauled Sunday, becoming the first person killed by a black bear in a federal park or reserve in the Southeast, park officials said.
"This was simply an unprovoked attack," Phil Francis, the park's acting superintendent, said Monday.
Bradley, an experienced hiker, and Ralph Hill, 52, entered the park about noon. The couple, who had been reconciling, hiked about 10 miles from Gatlinburg.
Hill told authorities he left Bradley on the trail to go fishing. He returned about an hour later to find her backpack on the trail and two black bears - an adult female and a yearling - at her body about 50 yards away. The 111-pound adult bear apparently killed the woman.
Two rangers shot and killed the animals.
Rangers had tagged the adult bear in 1998 and had placed an orphaned cub with her. Miller said the animal wasn't known as a problem bear.
The bears were to be tested to determine whether a disease or physical condition prompted the attack.
About 1,800 bears live in the Smokies. No other attacks have been reported this year.
Park officials have closed some campsites through Saturday as a precaution.
- [S142] Newspaper Article, The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN), 29 May 2000.
Fatal Bear Attack In Smokies Leaves Experts Stumped
The killing of a backpacker by black bears in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is so unusual that experts have yet to come up with any satisfactory explanation.
The body of 50-year-old schoolteacher and experienced outdoorswoman Glenda Ann Bradley was found May 21 in the park, with a bear and cub hovering. Park rangers shot and killed the bears when they wouldn't leave the body, and an examination of their stomach contents revealed they had fed on the victim.
Rangers are searching for a third bear that may have been involved in the attack.
"To attack with a yearling and have it immediately participate in the feeding - I don't know of another instance like that," said Stephen Herrero, a researcher at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, and author of "Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance.
Herrero said the attack marked the first time a person has been killed by a black bear in a national park in the United States. In North America, there is about one such fatality each year.
The black bear population in North America is estimated between 500,000 and 700,000. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has 1,800 over 800 square miles, the highest concentration in the Southeast.
"There are a lot of black bears in U.S. national parks, and yet nothing like this has ever happened," Herrero said. "It's a hard thing to put a finger on because it's such a rare thing."
When attacks do occur, it's nine times more likely the attacking bear will be a male than female. "The fact that this bear was a female is another anomaly," he said.
Dave Smith, of Bisbee, Ariz., author of "Backcountry Bear Basics: The Definitive Guide To Avoiding Unpleasant Encounters," said a lack of witnesses to the attack means some basic questions will likely never be answered.
For instance, one key is whether the victim attempted to fight off the attack.
"When a bear preys on a person, biologists and reporters ask a standard list of questions," Smith said.
"Was the bear injured or ill? Was it aged or infirm? Did it weigh less than it should for a bear of its age and sex?
"We want something to be wrong with the bear, some explanation for its behavior other than the fact that it was hungry and chose to prey on a human."
Although the adult bear weighed only 112 pounds, Smokies officials said it was not emaciated.
One clue to the incident may come when autopsy results are available to park officials, which could take up to three months.
- [S1] U. S. Social Security Death Index, 409-82-6997.
Issued in Tennessee
- [S147] Find a Grave, (Memorial: 35640257).
- [S131] Divorce Record.
Husband's Name Wife's First Name Wife's Maiden Name County Court Date of Divorce File #
HELTON BENJAMIN H GLENDA A [NOT GIVEN] COCKE CHANCERY 06-01-1989 22752
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
Groom's Name Bride's First Name Bride's Maiden Name County Date of Marriage File #
HILL RALPH E GLENDA A BRADLEY COCKE 02-11-1999 04502
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