Hi, Folks!
Years ago in Appalachia, before the introduction of Civil engineering, there were these things known as “Foot Logs”.
Simply put, foot logs were logs that were usually hewn flat on one side and placed across creeks, allowing people to travel onward by foot without having to wade the creek.
Most of the time they allowed access to a home which was built on the other side of the creek or to fields of a family farm that had a creek running through the property.
Crossing a foot log could be quite the precarious adventure, particularly in inclement weather or if one had “partook of the drink”.
In today’s world there are no existing foot logs left that I know of. However, there are more modern foot bridges left and, yes, folks still call them “foot logs”. They are few and far between.
The Cane River section of Yancey County, North Carolina boasts the most I have personally seen and they are a sight to behold. They are free swinging foot bridges bound with cables and ropes.
The two examples I have offered in photographs here are more modern foot bridges.
One is a foot bridge built by the United States Forest Service in the Shelton Laurel Back Country of Madison County, North Carolina. I snapped a photograph of my son-in-law Brandon standing on it early this year on our hike to Hickeys Fork Waterfalls.
The second one was taken during the Blizzard of 2010 in the Shelton Laurel Community of Madison County, North Carolina. Belonging to the Bishop family, everybody just calls it “Woody’s Foot Log” in honor of Woody Bishop, the family’s late patriarch.
There is a funny story surrounding Woody’s Foot Log.
Woody and my late uncle, Charles Tweed, grew up together both being born during the Great Depression.
In later years, they both grew tired of driving to town to buy beer.
They devised a plan: They were going to make their own homebrew. The truth is, they were very good at it and Uncle Charles even bootlegged some of his portion.
Late one evening, Charles decided that he would go visit Woody. Charles left his cabin with a gallon of homebrew, beginning the nearly one mile trek to Woody’s house.
Unfortunately, Charles had “partook of the drink” a little too much.
As Charles crossed the foot bridge he lost his footing and balance and off the edge of the foot log he went!
He fell approximately 12 feet, landing flat on his back on a huge rock. However, it would seem that perhaps his pride was hurt more than anything; You see, when the ambulance arrived, Charles was lying there on that rock, the gallon of homebrew nestled in his arms as safe as a newborn baby!
Y’all have a great week!