Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park

The last of the evenings' flickering rays of golden sunlight descends beyond the horizon of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Hickory Nut Gorge in far western Rutherford County, North Carolina. A spectacular event, the first of its kind, was about to take place below the towering cliffs of Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park. As twilight embraces the surrounding setting, crowds of spectators make their way to choice seating on the lush fresh cut green grounds of the park’s Meadows.

Families and friends gather into personal groups seated upon a sea of colorful blanks and lawn chairs spread out across the grounds, all in anticipation of this exciting event. Many visitors find their way over to the ‘media tent,’ where on display were photos and articles depicting the making of the film ‘Last of the Mohicans,’ at Chimney Rock.

Before the start of the main event, some of the audience settles down for a little picnic dinner before the movie begins, while others move about mingling within the crowd, visiting other groups sprawled out upon their claimed territory, creating a joyful atmosphere while awaiting the darkness to overtake the final particles of light.

Over the loud speaker the voice of Chimney Rock’s event and public relations manager Matt Popowski announces the beginning of the day-long event’s grand finale. It’s the presentation of Director Michael Mann’s masterpiece film classic ‘Last of the Mohicans,’ starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, and a strong supporting cast. The film was released in 1992, all location shooting was done throughout the central region of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the climatic scenes where filmed at Chimney Rock Park. In celebration of the film’s twentieth anniversary, Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park hosted the film presentation in honor of the parks’ historic presence in the movie. By popular demand the film presentation is becoming an annual event at the park.

Before the featured presentation began, Matt introduced film location scout and local Blue Ridge Mountain resident Michael Bigham.

Michael’s presentation of his personal involvement in the making of the film was both informative and highly entertaining. The film ‘Last of the Mohicans’ has evolved into a cult following. The production of the film has become both legendary and mythical as to what took place during its long shooting schedule, and Michael’s insight brought to light what really happen on and off the set.

He has retained so many details concerning the making of the film that it deserves to be personally authored. It was fun to hear his take on the stars, cast, crew, location settings and director Michael Mann, who often produced a sense of creative madness on the set while forming the masterpiece the film has become. The crowd loved Michael’s personal perspective.

At the end of the honored guest-speaker’s appearance the featured film presentation was about to begin. An enormous 43-foot inflated screen designed for high visibility reflection stood before the eyes of the eager audience. A high-definition digital projector, accompanied by a superb sound system took center stage as the movie began with the ever-familiar award winning sound track by music composers Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman. This was the first time Mrs. Highlander and I had ever seen this type of digital technology in an outdoor setting and we were blown away by the quality we witnessed. Being a big fan of the movie we have both the digital sound track and the director’s expanded edition DVD. Comparing my own quality home HD television and sound system to the feature before me, I must confess that the presentation was outstanding, and when you add the surrounding backdrop of Chimney Rock and Hickory Nut to the whole package, what we were experiencing was exceptional.

As always the movie held the audience spellbound with it cinematic beauty and story adapted from the American literary classic authored by James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851.) Though the setting for this special event was in near darkness (except for the light from the projector,) I was able to boost up the aperture and the ISO speed on my digital camera to capture only the opening titles of the film (for event promotion sake only), while exercising my own artistic respect for the film’s copy-written images. Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park licenses each presentation of the film.

Just about every American is familiar with this classic tale, so going into details at this time would either be redundant or too much info to convey. I recommend to any that haven’t seen the film to rent the DVD; that experience alone is likely to inspire an even greater desire to see this American classic at Chimney Rock where several of the scenes from the film were created. Once the film got going, I settled down with Mrs. Highlander and found myself drawn right back into the very spirit of the film.

On the Set at Chimney Rock

Being a ‘big fan’ of the film I was excited to hear about the 20th anniversary film presentation at Chimney Rock, this was a “must need to attend” event for Mrs. Highlander and I. During the day at Chimney Rock State Park, two guided tours of the film’s set locations were given to park visitors. We missed the first tour of the day due to the fact we had to travel nearly three hours to reach Chimney Rock from our own production ranch in the mountains of far western North Carolina. When we arrived, to our disappointment the last tour had already left. We decided to go up to the ‘Sky Lounge’ gift shop and deli. As we walked off the elevator we step right into the middle of event director Matt’s opening presentation, great timing.

Matt began his presentation in front of a 6-foot tall wooden crate with full glass covers. The display case contained a few wardrobe items worn by Daniel Day-Lewis and Madeleine Stowe. Daniel portrayed the handsome, rugged and agile frontiersmen Nathanael Hawkeye, adopted son of the Mohicans. Madeleine starred as Cora Monro, aristocratic daughter of British Colonel Monro. Though the wardrobe was empty of both of the actor’s spirited flesh and blood, I thought it to be pretty cool just the same. Two 8x10 photos of the actors, one of each were displayed with the costumes. There’s and interesting story behind those two photos. While the film was in production any public photos were forbidden by the director, rightfully so. Although it seems as though Todd Morris grand-nephew of Dr. Lucius B. Morse, founder of the park in (purchased in 1902,) just so happened to be up on the park’s Cliff Trail, and… just so happen to be toting along a camera as he encounters both Daniel and Madeleine in-between takes. Daniel was standing with rifle along the outer edge of the trail, and Madeleine was setting up against the inner rock wall toting her own frontier fire arm, with the trail between the two of them. No trailer privileges or frills here, there’s barely enough room along the narrow cliff trail to accommodate anything but a single line of crew and cast member bodies. As an accomplished performing artist Daniel is known to never break character during a production. It is reported that for three months prior to the filming, Daniel lived on his own, dwelling in a cabin surrounded by wilderness lands and fended for himself off the land for his needs in order to prepare for a role of Hawkeye. When Todd encountered the actor on the trail he was no longer the actor Daniel, he was the living presence of Hawkeye, maintaining character at all cost, a trademark that has made him the great talent that he is on the big screen. Madeleine being the talented beauty that she is, has the ability to move in and out of character at will and was considered more approachable and quite warm and friendly as artist go. As he encountered these two legendary talents on the trail, Todd kindly asked permission from both actors if he could take a photo, and to his amazement Madeleine said yes, and Hawkeye gave his personal glare of approval. This photo of Hawkeye has often been associated in regards to the pride the park takes in having scenes filmed on location at Chimney Rock. These two photos combined into one by the Blue Ridge Highlander, Inc., as our header for this article, is being used with the permission of Chimney Rock Management, LLC.

At the conclusion of Matt’s first stop along the tour’s presentation at the Sky Lounge, we all headed out and up a flight of stairs to the top of Chimney Rock, the park's namesake and the vantage point looking down on Lake Lure and the valley lands and foothills of Rutherford County. From there the tour descends the staircase and sets off unto another set of stairs out along the trail to the upper cliffs of the state park. There’s an elevator at Chimney Rock that goes from the Cliff Dweller’s gift shop to the Sky Lounge gift shop and deli, offering a convenient and easy access to the top of the towering Chimney Rock. From the Sky Lounge to the top of the mountain there’s no mechanical elevation gizmo, it is all stairs and trail, but well worth the hike. We climbed up several flights of stairs up to Skyline Trail passing along the way sites like the Opera Box and the Devil’s Head.

Located at the end of Skyline Trail is Exclamation Point, our tour's final destination site. From this vantage point one can nearly view the entire western side of the park and all of Hickory Nut Gorge. The tour group gathered at this locale where Matt held a private ‘Last of the Mohicans’ fan club meeting of sorts, adding tidbits of filming info and pointing to location sites from the highest point in the park.

Everyone in the group traded what knowledge they had of the film asking questions of their tour guide. Matt was obviously the biggest fan of the movie on the mountaintop, followed by myself, your dutiful writer and Mrs. Highlander. It wasn’t long before the three of us dominated the fan club meeting to everyone’s amusements. One of the things I didn’t know was where the scene was shot for the Huron village where the captives were held. It was the scene where the noble chief of this Huron tribe sat with his back towards the great 404-foot Hickory Nut Falls spilling over the upper mountain ledge of the park in the background. Matt pointed out a small meadow opening on the mountain across the gorge, at least it looked small from where we stood. I don’t mean to mess up anyone’s love of movie magic, but a the bottom of the gorge between the Huron village and the towering waterfall of the parklands across the gorge, there’s the tourist town of Chimney Rock Village strung out along Rocky Broad River on highway US 64. Thank God for the faculty of a creative imagination that can influence the power of belief in order to entertain an audience.

During the guided tour Matt also pointed out the Cliff Trail below Exclamation Point, and the great waterfall at the end of the trail (volume of water falling over the cliff, varies according to rainfall). The perilous Cliff Trail was the location of the film’s setting for the climatic scenes from the movie. In the year 2007 the state of North Carolina purchased Chimney Rock from the Morse family to add to their State Parks system. North Carolina State Parks have also purchase and additional 4500-acres of Hickory Nut Gorge and is in negotiations for additional lands. Under the NC State Park’s ownership, Cliff Trail has been closed to the public. North Carolina State Parks are in the process of designing more trail openings and access in the area and developing ideas as to how Cliff Trail might once again be reopened to the public.  There are no plans to date as to when the trail might be opened; yet the park presently offers other vantage points for viewing the trail's setting for the film. Use this link for more information on future trails & reopenings of others.

Fortunately in the spring of 2007 right before the trail was closed, Mrs. Highlander and I had the opportunity to experience the trail first hand and were able to take photos of this now legendary site. During the filming most of the guard fences were removed for aesthetics’ sake then replaced afterwards. Even with the protected fencing guards in place we experienced a sense of peril and excitement that one feels when riding a Roller Coaster or Ferris Wheel. That opportunity has allowed me to share some of these photos in this featured story with our Highlander friends.

The American classic literature by James Fenimore Coopers ‘Last of the Mohicans’ isn’t necessarily all about the adventure; it’s also about the natural struggle for life itself when confronted with what appears to be impossible odds. The story exposes what humans are willing to endure when struggling with their chance of obtaining freedom on a wild frontier. These early settlers sought to experience those challenges in the face of circumstances that might mean life or death, and success or failure. Though the cinematic action and drama does capture our senses, we more often find ourselves relating to the raw love story that meshes the adventure together, the love between Cora Munro and Nathanael Hawkeye. In a pivotal scene where our hero, heroine and their companions are trapped with their backs to the wall under an overhanging waterfall, all hope of survival appears to be gone. Their party is about to be overtaken by the hostile warriors that are pursuing them. Their only hope is for Hawkeye and his adoptive Mohican father and stepbrother to leap over the falls and into the ragging river below, a shear act of desperation, yet the only possible chance for survival. No greater line is spoken throughout the entire movie than when Hawkeye looks at Cora and says, “It’s our only chance, stay alive, submit if it’s necessary, only stay alive and I will find you.” What a powerful statement of love and commitment, that when against all odds, hope must prevail. It’s what a romantic act is, in its most pure form. I’m not talking about that romantic ‘lovy dovy,’ ‘touchy feely’ good sense of love, but that ‘romantic’ sense of love that comes out of a life threatening adventure, creating that overwhelming sense of death when faced with ones own mortality. I’m talking about that innate sense of what a true ‘romantic by nature’ is, when relating to adventure, excitement, the potential for heroic achievement, and the exotic.

Yes, true love is an adventure, it’s unknown territory when two souls seek to become one. Nothing that's truly worth having ever seems to come easy; it takes hard work and commitment if one hopes to prevail in love. ‘Last of the Mohicans’ is a great action, drama and thriller, but it’s also a love story built around that instinctual spirit to survive, reproduce and carry on the life of our species. This is a film for lovers, with powerful scenes that appeal to both the masculine and feminine core of our beings.

The original tale of the ‘Last of the Mohicans’ takes place in the Hudson Valley in New York combining some historical events. Director Michael Mann’s choice to relocate to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina has been inspiring to us North Carolinians. A little known fact to our readers is that this film inspired Mrs. Highlander and I to create the highly popular Blue Ridge Highlander as a romantic adventure of our own. We not only like to inform our readers about this geographical area we live in, we long to inspire and motivate others to take an adventure of their own when visiting the high country of the Blue Ridge - Smoky Mountain Province.

The majestic mountain overlooks and views of Chimney Rock and Hickory Nut Gorge, whose beauty comes to us not by our own hands but by a greater creative conscience, sets the tone and scene for a great evening of both love and adventure, which truly is one and the same. Mrs. Highlander and I highly recommend what is becoming an annual adventure event at Chimney Rock presenting this fine and artistic film ‘Last of the Mohican.’

Live, love and by all means, survive. As in the great American classic, life is all to precious to just give up on, no matter what the odds appear to be.

The Highlander

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