Whiteside Mountain

The Cherokee name for Whiteside mountain is Sanigilâ'gĭ.^[5][6]

Cherokee myth says that Spearfinger, the powerful woman monster, built a bridge from the Hiwassee River to Whiteside Mountain.^[6][7]

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The overhanging edge has a message carved into it, which reads that Hernando de Soto was there and that it was carved by his men who allegedly threw over their sick, crippled horses there. However, it is likely a hoax carved by some boys sometime in 1926 when there was probably much more of the overhang than there is today. Since the terrain is too rough for men and horses to get through, for De Soto to have come through here at a time when there were no roads or pathways is unlikely. De Soto's route most likely took him through the Cumberland Gap from South Carolina.

Inscription Update - Nov. 18, 2021 The inscription actually reads, ""T.T." Un luego Santa a la memoria" In 1946, Rev. Herman Miles Alley confessed to carving the engraving. He loved the Spanish language and made the carving during a sad period in his life. He was trying to say, "a memorial to a future saint."^[8] While it is unsure which of these stories may be factual, the use of "quotation marks" was not in use at the time DeSoto's ventures.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Whiteside Mountain.

• Video overview of the loop trail
• Panoramic virtual tour from the summit lookout

35°04′51″N 83°08′18″W / 35.0809°N 83.1382°W / 35.0809; -83.1382