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 Ridg ...

, in the

southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also known as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States located in the eastern portion of the Southern United States and t ...

. The mountain is situated on the state line between

Cocke County, Tennessee Cocke County is a county on the eastern border of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,999. Its county seat is Newport. Cocke County comprises the Newport, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part ...

, and

Haywood County, North Carolina Haywood County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 62,089. The county seat and its largest community is Waynesville, North Carolina, Waynesville. Haywood ...

. 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 Tra ...

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 United States, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern ...

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

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

, the mountain is clearly visible from the surrounding mountains as well as from various points in the town of Cosby and along

I-40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway in the southeastern and southwestern portions of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and ...

as it crosses Cocke County. Mt. Cammerer is a popular hiking destination, especially in Autumn during peak fall foliage.

Geology

Mt. Cammerer is composed of Thunderhead sandstone, a type of rock common throughout the 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 The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...

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 first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ...

era. Approximately 200 million years ago, the

North American North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...

and African plates collided in the

Appalachian orogeny Appalachian may refer to: * Appalachian Mountains, a major mountain range in eastern United States and Canada * Appalachian Trail, a hiking trail in the eastern United States * The people of Appalachia and their culture ** Appalachian Americans, e ...

thrusting Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that syst ...

the rock upward. One of Cammerer's key characteristics is the

outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth and other terrestrial planets. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most p ...

ping of contorted

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...

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 List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

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

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in the southeastern United States, southeast, with parts in North Carolina and Tennessee. The park straddles the ridgeline o ...

. Mt. Cammerer was previously known as "White Rock," referring to the quartzite outcrops at the summit. On some North Carolina maps, Mt. Cammerer is called "Sharptop". At least one story tells of a lightning strike that cut a hole in a rock at 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, traditionally made or distributed illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of distilling the alcohol at night to avoid detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial distilleries hav ...

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 unemployment, 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 ...

(CCC) 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 is 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) trek 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 for this loop, including the spur trail to the summit, is about . 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 approximately .

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