Panther Top fire tower, Nantahala National Forest, Cherokee County, North Carolina

December 20, 2025 — Five days before Christmas and I was far from the only motorcyclist enjoying the sunshine on a December day that saw temperatures climb into the mid 50s.

Panther Top Mountain, a slight peak of some 2,000 feet, often draws a few folks on nice days, and today was no different. The U.S. Forest Service fire tower is the primary draw.

The Forest Service built the lookout tower atop the mountain in the 1940’s, and though its use as a lookout tower for fires ended about a decade back, the agency still keeps the summit free of trees. Today it’s left for hiker and sightseers to enjoy the views from the wraparound deck surrounding the enclosed tower. But even the tower is open to visitors for a select few days each year.

To the north and west are mountain ranges bordering North Carolina and Tennessee, including the Great Smoky Range, while to the south and east are the countless wooded

Harley-Davidson Lowrider, 2023 edition.

peaks of northern Georgia and the rest of the Nantahala National Forest.

As for my bike ride, the Harley was as flawless as it has been for the past 18,000 miles, the reliable Lowrider ran without a hitch.

It’s great to live in an area of the country that seldom allows a full winter month go by without offering up one or two — or more — near perfect, almost picture-perfect days for a motorbike ride around the many beautiful mountain roads in the region.

Thank our All-Father, Odin, for small favors, I reckon.