Page 16 - SMH 2018 3rd edition

Wiley Oakley, The Roamin’ Man of the Smokies

by Arthur “Butch” McDade
“I’ve never been lost, just been bothered for a few days. And I always got out!” Wiley M. Oakley
of Sevier County, Tennessee used to say this to tourists when asked about his mountain travels.
Oakley, one of the most colorful mountaineers ever to come out of the Smoky Mountains, was
born September 12, 1885 in a cabin at the foot of Mt. LeConte. He was the youngest of eight
children of Henry and Elmina Oakley.

Born into very humble circumstances in the pre-national park Smokies, Wiley Oakley used his mountaineer
skills and his innate storytelling talent to fashion himself into one of the most interesting characters ever to trod the
high ridges of the Great Smoky Mountains. He was a mountain guide, naturalist, raconteur, philosopher, trail
builder, and area promoter (he even traveled to Northern cities on a promotional tour for Gatlinburg). Although he
was admittedly uneducated in the “book larnin’” sense, he was self-taught in the ways of the woods, and even
wrote two popular books (today combined into one volume titled Roamin’ and Restin’). Oakley’s colorful life pro-
th
th
vides a fascinating glimpse into the culture of the Smoky Mountains in the late 19 and early 20 centuries, and
shows how he, as a native mountaineer, adapted to the significant changes brought on by the tourism growth fol-
lowing the establishment of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Oakley was young when his mother died, and as a boy he dearly missed her. Her death even influenced his ear-
ly fondness for exploring the Smokies. Harvey Oakley, one of Wiley’s late sons, described his father’s longing for
his mother in a personal interview with me one day: “My dad’s mother died when he was just a small boy. And
missing her so much, he began roaming the mountains, thinking that if he climbed the highest peaks, somehow he
might catch a glimpse of his mother in heaven. Dad said he thought the pretty white clouds in the sky might be his
mother’s flowing white robes ascending to heaven.” Thus began Wiley Oakley’s lifelong love of the high country
of the Smoky Mountains, where he believed his mother’s presence could be found in the clouds above.

As a youth, Wiley Oakley was fascinated by the Smokies and he used his youthful enthusiasm to learn every-
thing he could about the highlands. He gleaned much from his father, and also from a Cherokee Indian named Jim
Goings who lived at Bull Head Mountain. Wiley grew into a true mountain man, becoming a hiker up the slopes
(before there were maintained trails) and a hunter, fisherman and camper. He acquired a surprising knowledge of
the plants, trees and animals of the mountains, showing a real interest beyond the mere consumptive uses of these
resources. He learned through his own study and from scientists whom he guided later on exploration trips into the
Smokies.

The Smoky Mountains also gave Wiley Oakley the love of his life. He met a mountain girl in the Smokies
named Rebecca Ann Ogle, a daughter of Noah “Bud” and Cindy Ogle, and married her on January 19, 1906. Their
marriage produced twelve children. For the rest of his life he described Rebecca as his “Golden-haired bride of
Scratch-Britches Mountain.”

When more and more urban visitors came to the Smoky Mountains in the early 20th century
to hunt, fish, and camp, Wiley Oakley saw a way to make a living beyond mountain subsistence
farming. He realized there was potential in the growing tourist trade, and he made the move. In
Gatlinburg (which at that time was a small village), he promoted himself as one who could
guide ‘furriners” into the mountains. This led to a long-standing relationship with Andy Huff
and his son Jack, who operated the Mountain View Hotel and later the Mt. LeConte Lodge.
They used Oakley as a guide for their customers and for government dignitaries who came to
look at the Smokies. When the national park came about, Wiley also worked with the CCC on
building the Alum Cave trail up Mt. LeConte. He found he had a good thing going: he was get-
ting paid (and receiving cash tips) for working in the mountains.

16 Smoky Mountain Hiker