Smoky Jack

by Paul J. Adams, Kenneth Wise (Editor), Anne Bridges (Editor)

Paul Adams (1901-1985) was a well-known Tennessee naturalist. Anne Bridges and Ken Wise are codirectors of the Great Smoky Mountains Regional Project. Bridges is associate professor at John C. Hodges Library at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. With Ken Wise and Russell Clement, she wrote Terra An Annotated Bibliography of the Great Smoky Mountains, 1544-1934 . Wise, professor at the John C. Hodges Library, is the author of Hiking Trails of the Great Smoky Mountains and coauthor of A National History of Mount Le Conte.

178 pages, Paperback

Published May 27, 2016

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I curse any Scrooge/Cruella who gives this book less than five stars. I loved spending time with Paul and his dog. I will excitedly follow in Smoky Jack’s paw prints on the trail to LeConte Lodge later this month and I give thanks to the ones who blazed the way to such a beautiful, unique place that feels a few steps below heaven.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trying a different approach by reading books about the NP before my visit. This book surprised me. It’s a present for a fan of dogs but I really enjoyed the stories. Looking forward to hiking Mount Le Conte.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smoky Jack: The Adventures of a Dog and His Master on Mount LeConte by Paul J. Adams, edited by Ken Wise and Anne Bridges (University of Tennessee Press 2016) (636.700929). This is not the usual tale of a dog and his boy. In 1926, the Great Smoky Mountains Conservation Association had been formed to further the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Author Paul J. Adams, a budding mountaineer and naturalist at the age of twenty-six, was appointed custodian of Mount Le Conte, which is the tallest mountain within the proposed park. It was his task to serve as caretaker of the mountain and to build and prepare a lodge in which hiking parties could overnight in comfort. Paul Adams was the sole appointed caretaker; he thought that since he would be alone on the mountain a working dog would be good company and a useful asset. Thus Smoky Jack, a ninety-pound adult German Shepherd who had been fully-trained as a police service dog, came into Adams' life. This remarkable dog turned out to be an amazing resource and companion for the young man alone on the mountain. The dog learned to wear a pack to carry loads up and down the mountain. Further, Adams could send Jack alone down the mountain to the nearest store in Gatlinburg, Tennessee - a two hour walk each way - with a list for the grocer ordering necessary supplies. The grocer would fill the order (no more than thirty pounds), pack the items carefully into the dog's backpack, and Smoky Jack would walk all the way back up the mountain alone and unsupervised. This amazing animal learned, among other tasks, to track lost hikers and to climb ladders! Smoky jack became a legend among the local mountain folk. Dog lovers dream of bonding with such an animal once in their lives. The tale is told from author Adams' journals and provides fascinating information and photographs about the formation and the early days of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. My rating: 7/10, finished 12/13/16.

[Carl Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. For nine months in 1925-1926, Paul Adams was the caretaker of the camp at Mount LeConte in what would soon become Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He selected a German shepherd dog to be his companion, and his new friend proved invaluable. Smoky Jack is compiled from Adams' journals, complete with a wealth of pictures of the author and his dog, footnotes, and standardization of place names to what park visitors today will know.

Smoky Jack was trained as a police dog and had both a keen intelligence and a special bond with Adams. He was devoted to his master, repeatedly slipping a chain and collar to join Adams when he was left behind. Smoky Jack was useful in many ways: he defended the camp on top of LeConte from a lone timber wolf, he was instrumental in the rescue of many lost hikers, and he helped save Adams after a slip in the rough terrain of the Huggins Hell. Perhaps his most noteworthy accomplishment was that he learned to go from the mountaintop to a store in Gatlinburg, returning with up to 30 pounds in supplies in leather panniers that Adams made for him.

Along with the story of Adams and Smoky Jack, we also get a wonderful historical insight into the genesis of the National Park. Adams was instrumental in developing the trail network in the LeConte area. His journals contain many interactions with the drivers of the conservationist movement that established the park, and those familiar with the Smokies will find many people whose last names became noteworthy features in the park: Ogle, Kephart, Ramsey, and more.

I was also humbled that Smoky Jack would make the trip from the summit of LeConte to Gatlinburg and back in 4 1/2 hours... a blistering pace for sure!

Smoky Jack is a treasure trove for anyone who loves dogs or Great Smoky Mountains National Park and its history.

[Ih800a · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is primarily about a police-trained German Shepherd named Smoky Jack and his adventures with Paul Adams on and around the Mt LeConte area in Tennessee. Each chapter features a brief look into life with Paul and Smoky facing challenges of the day: mountain wildlife, nature, search and rescue, and much more. As you become more involved with the book, the harder it is to stop reading.

Within each story are glimpses into life in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee in the 1920s. The historical efforts to build and improve trails to the top of Mt LeConte are intertwined in the story, including the groups involved and detailed descriptions about various locations around the area that played a role in the story.

If you have any familiarity with Mt LeConte, you'll enjoy this book. The descriptions of many famous area landmarks (Rainbow Falls, Cliff Tops, Myrtle Point, etc) and period photography are intriguing.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's neither bad nor great - but the book does provide an interesting, first hand account of life in The Smoky Mountains in the 1920s. Recommended if you want to know more about the history of that area.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read for someone visiting the Smoky Mountains (or has visited) cause it gives you a behind the scenes type look at some of the roads and stuff on the Mountains- but wouldn’t recommend it otherwise.

[Kerry Clair · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writer is not a very GOOD writer, and that took a little away from what the book COULD have been - but the story was remarkable. The history, the information given, the timeline - was all fascinating to read. And the dog … of course the dog .. was simply remarkable.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story! Smoky Jack was an amazing dog… he shared an incredible life with his devoted master.

[Ann Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great Great Smoky Mountains tale of a man and his dog.