Mount Cammerer is a mountain on the northeastern fringe of the

Great Smoky Mountains The Great Smoky Mountains (, ''Equa Dutsusdu Dodalv'') are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge ...

, in the Southeastern United States. The mountain is situated on the state line between Cocke County,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

and Haywood County,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. The

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian ...

traverses Cammerer's south slope and a restored fire lookout at the summit offers panoramic views of the eastern Smokies, Cocke County, and the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the world, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsy ...

. Although a narrow ridge connects Mt. Cammerer to a nearby higher knob, leaving Cammerer with a very low

topographic prominence In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

, the mountain is clearly visible not only from the surrounding mountains, but from various points in the town of Cosby and along

I-40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

as it crosses Cocke County. Mt. Cammerer is a popular hiking destination, especially in Autumn, when the leaves of the trees in the forest around the mountain blaze red, orange and yellow for as far as the eye can see.

Geology

Mt. Cammerer is composed of Thunderhead sandstone, a type of rock common throughout the Great Smokies.Harry Moore, ''A Roadside Guide to the Geology of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park'' (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1988), 74-75. Thunderhead sandstone, part of the Ocoee Supergroup, was formed from precambrian ocean sediments approximately one billion years ago. The Greenbrier Fault, which crosses the mountain's northern and eastern slopes, thrust the Thunderhead sandstone over the Rich Butt sandstone during the

Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...

era. Approximately 200 million years, the North American and African plates collided in the

Appalachian orogeny The Alleghanian orogeny or Appalachian orogeny is one of the geological mountain-forming events that formed the Appalachian Mountains and Allegheny Mountains. The term and spelling Alleghany orogeny was originally proposed by H.P. Woodward in 195 ...

, thrusting the rock upward. One of Cammerer's key characteristics is the outcropping of contorted quartzite rock at the summit.Robert Mason, ''The Lure of the Great Smokies'' (Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflen, 1927), 44.

History

Mount Cammerer was named for Arno B. Cammerer, Director of the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

(1933–1940) and an instrumental figure in establishing a national park in the

. Before its renaming, Mt. Cammerer was known as "White Rock," referring to the bright white rocks that burst through the treeline at the summit. On some North Carolina maps, Mt. Cammerer is called "Sharptop". At least one story tells of a lightning blast that cut a hole in the summit, leaving a pool of water that attracted ravens. Throughout the late-19th century and early 20th-century,

moonshining Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

was rampant in the area around Mt. Cammerer, as what was then a virgin wilderness provided the perfect cover for the illegal stills. Most residents in the area, however, were law-abiding mountain farmers, as described in local resident Mary Bell Smith's ''In the Shadow of the White Rock''. Ella Costner, designated by the state of Tennessee as the "poet laureate of the Smokies," was born in the area of what is today the Cosby Campground, at the base of Mt. Cammerer. In 1934, the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

built a camp at the base of the mountain, and constructed most of the trails and overlooks in the area. The lookout at the summit of Mt. Cammerer was built by the CCC in 1937, using nearby rock and timber (other materials had to be hauled up the mountain). The tower was manned by a fire ranger until the 1960s, after which it fell into disrepair before being restored in 1996.Michal Strutin, ''History Hikes of the Smokies'' (Gatlinburg: Great Smoky Mountains Association, 2003), 254.

Access

Mount Cammerer Trail With Heavily Rimed Trees

The quickest route to the summit of Mt. Cammerer is to ascend the Low Gap Trail from the Cosby Campground to the

at Low Gap. From Low Gap, it's just over two miles (3 km) to the Mt. Cammerer Trail, which follows the ridge a half-mile or so to the summit. The total distance from the Cosby Campground to the summit is just over five miles (8 km). The Lower Mount Cammerer Trail follows the mountain's northern base over a seven-mile (11 km) up-and-down trail before intersecting the Appalachian Trail near Davenport Gap. Most hikers who use this route make the following loop: Cosby Campground + Lower Mount Cammerer Trail + Appalachian Trail + Low Gap Trail + Cosby Campground. The Appalachian Trail intersects the Mount Cammerer tower trail along this route. The total distance, including the tower trail, is appx. . Multiple hiking trails, horse trails, and walkways intersect at the Cosby Campground, which can lead to confusion. From the parking lot (near the campground), one path leads east to the Lower Mount Cammerer Trail. To reach the Low Gap Trail, simply follow the path parallel to Cosby Creek. Both trails are marked. A less-common loop follows the mountain's south slope from the Big Creek Campground (Exit 451 on

): Big Creek Trail + Low Gap Trail + Appalachian Trail + Chestnut Branch Trail. This loop is also approximately . Hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains, more specifically Mount Cammerer, can be hazardous. Early season snowfalls are not uncommon. Always check the weather before making any hiking plans.

References

External links

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Trail Map
- Large file in .pdf format.
Mount Cammerer
- Peakbagger.com

- SummitPost.org
''In the Shadow of the White Rock''
- Mary Bell Smith's first-hand account of life in the northeastern Smokies in the early 1900s. * Tennesse
fire towers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cammerer, Mount Mountains of Great Smoky Mountains National Park Protected areas of Haywood County, North Carolina Mountains on the Appalachian Trail Mountains of Tennessee Mountains of North Carolina Protected areas of Cocke County, Tennessee Mountains of Haywood County, North Carolina Mountains of Cocke County, Tennessee Tourist attractions in Cocke County, Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Cocke County, Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Great Smoky Mountains National Park