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Keith Argow just can’t help himself. When asked about his favorite memories of working in the Pisgah Ranger District of Pisgah National Forest back in the 1960s, his enthusiasm bubbles to the surface. “Going down Sliding Rock!” he practically shouts.

Mind you, at the time he was second in command of a sprawling national forest with very adult responsibilities. But every so often, he stole away to Sliding Rock. “I loved that!” he says in a booming voice that suggests he’s still itching to take one more slide for old times’ sake.

A plunge down Sliding Rock is a quintessential Pisgah activity. photograph by Charles Harris

Lots of celebrities have taken the plunge down Sliding Rock, but perhaps none more famous than America’s favorite collie. Best known for rescuing her friend Timmy from abandoned mine shafts, badger holes, quicksand, and other dangers, Lassie and her adventures filled 591 episodes of the television show of the same name. Over nearly 19 years, she had multiple owners, including a United States Forest Service ranger by the name of Corey Stuart, portrayed by actor Robert Bray.

Argow played an important role in the sequence of events leading to the Lassie episode that was filmed in Pisgah. When his district was asked to give the scout from the show a tour of the forest, Argow did so with his usual gusto, hiking to scenic spots in the woods and by the falls. When the man saw Sliding Rock for the first time, he was wowed.

“I kept an extra pair of pants in the truck,” Argow remembers. He told the scout, “Here, give it a try! You can go behind a rhododendron bush and change.” The outcome of the offer is summed up in Argow’s response: “He was a movie producer. Not a ranger.”

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Robert Beanblossom, the volunteer caretaker at Pisgah National Forest’s Cradle of Forestry, grew up watching Lassie. But unlike most kids, it wasn’t the collie that attracted him to the show. “I just wanted to watch when Corey Stuart was on,” says Beanblossom, who, from childhood, wanted nothing more than to be a forester. That passion fueled a 50-year career in forestry. In his role at the Cradle, Beanblossom has done a lot of research, including delving into Lassie’s visit in May of 1966.

That season — the show’s 13th — featured a seven-episode storyline called “Lassie the Voyager,” in which she’s separated from Ranger Stuart and wanders across several states, looking for him. “That whole seven episodes was in support of LBJ’s ‘Discover America’ program,” Beanblossom explains, referring to President Lyndon B. Johnson’s mid-’60s initiative to promote travel to the nation’s cultural and historic treasures.

The Sliding Rock installment starts in Williamsburg, Virginia, and through the magic of television — and a couple of quick film cuts — Lassie is suddenly in western North Carolina. Any other mortal being would be dog-tired after traveling such a distance, but Lassie never loses the spring in her step or the wag in her tail.

In the Season 13 storyline “Lassie the Voyager,” Lassie gets separated from her owner, Corey Stuart — a U.S. Forest Service ranger played by Robert Bray — and finds herself traveling through western North Carolina. photograph by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

We see her taking in the sights: She spots a young doe on the grounds of the Biltmore Estate and drinks in views of Looking Glass Falls before encountering a mountain girl, Maggie, and her pet fox, Riddle, at Sliding Rock. When Maggie decides to cool off but can’t cajole Riddle into going down Sliding Rock with her, she recruits Lassie, who gracefully takes the plunge while sitting next to the young mountain girl.

First-year Brevard College student Wendy Sheridan Gassman was minding her own business when college economics professor Ray Fisher, who was helping out on the shoot, recommended her as the stunt double for actress Hilarie Thompson in that scene. “I met with production members at Berry’s Restaurant in Brevard, a hugely popular restaurant,” she recalls. “I don’t remember what the questions were until the big one: ‘Have you gone down Sliding Rock?’” When she admitted to producers that she hadn’t, Gassman lost out on her 15 minutes of fame. “I was actually relieved,” she says.

She did attend the shoot at Sliding Rock and remembers that it took place on a damp, chilly morning. Bored by the amount of time it took to prepare the various shots, Gassman and her friends departed before seeing “Maggie” go down Sliding Rock. “I recall being thankful I hadn’t gotten that job!” she says with a laugh. “It makes me cold just recalling that day.”

The filmmakers kept a low profile, but everyone in Brevard knew what was happening, and many people made their way to the shooting locations in the forest. But even those who didn’t get to watch the film shoot have fond memories. Debbie Galloway Cornett was a first grader at Penrose Elementary School when actor Bray popped into her classroom and handed out pictures of himself and Lassie — autographed with Bray’s signature and Lassie’s paw print. “I remember how proud I was to hang it on my wall,” Cornett says. The photo stayed there throughout her childhood and remains a treasured keepsake.

• • •

As it turns out, Mire, the dog playing Lassie, also had a stunt double. Mire’s owner and trainer, Rudd Weatherwax, judged the trip down Sliding Rock to be too dangerous for his star, so a collie understudy made the plunge without incident.

The most dramatic scene of the episode occurs when a troublemaking mountain boy, Leroy Haskins, and his hounds chase Maggie’s pet fox. Lassie distracts the dogs and leads them on a wild goose chase before circling back to Sliding Rock. She dislodges a small timber crosswalk at the top of Looking Glass Creek just as Leroy and his hounds are attempting to cross. The boy and his dogs — baying all the way — plunge unhappily down Sliding Rock into the chilly pool at the bottom. Once again, Lassie saves the day.

Unfortunately, one thing Lassie could not do was control the elements during the filming. “The rainy weather dogged them the whole time,” Beanblossom says.

In the North Carolina-set episode — and in classic Lassie fashion — our canine heroine saves the day, in this case by dislodging a timber crosswalk to thwart a young troublemaker. photograph by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

Argow, who also served as the forest service liaison during the shoot, remembers it well: “It rained and it rained and it rained,” he says. “They couldn’t get the lighting they wanted. They just held their light meters up and shook their heads.” On the bright side, the weather delays enabled him to become great friends with the production team.

Argow eventually landed his dream job at Mount Rogers National Recreation Area in Virginia, but not before making his mark on Pisgah National Forest and Sliding Rock. He was the first ranger to hire a lifeguard for the popular attraction, even presenting the new employee with a shirt and badge. Like Beanblossom, Argow enjoyed a remarkable career in forestry, becoming a leader in the effort to conserve the natural world through land trusts and founding the National Woodland Owners Association in 1983. But one thing he’ll never forget is his love for Sliding Rock — and the day it went to the dogs.

Sliding Rock Recreation Area
7851 Pisgah Highway
Pisgah Forest, NC 28768
naventure.com/sliding-rock-recreation-area