Along the Appalachian Trail in Shady Valley on Iron Mountain, the dividing line between Shady Valley and Stoney Creek, there is the chimney-shaped grave of Uncle Nick Grindstaff, a man who, as the tombstone says, "Lived alone, Suffered alone, and Died alone.”According to Carter County, Tennessee and Its People, 1796-1993, when he was 26 years old, he was attacked and robbed at a saloon on his way to Johnson County from Missouri, where he had went in hopes of finding fortunes. The money he had hidden in his boot secured him land on top of the mountain, but he became a recluse and was seldom seen in Stoney Creek. The only company he had was a dog named Panter, a steer and a rattlesnake. In 1923, a man went up to visit Nick and found him dead in bed in his shanty. Panter would not allow anyone to touch his body and had to be chained to a tree to allow the man’s body to be buried at the base of the chimney. After it was released, the dog pined away over the grave, mournfully howling long into the night. The house was eventually dismantled, but the chimney was respectfully left as a memorial. According to J. R. Tate’s book Walkin' with the Ghost Whisperers: Lore and Legends of the Appalachian Trail, some hikers believe that in this place has a history that is more alive than most places. Tales have circulated for years that if someone camps at this site, they can hear a spectral dog howling late into the night. Perhaps Panter’s grief still hangs around the old homestead?