Mount Cammerer

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 ocean sediments approximately one billion years ago.Harry Moore, A Roadside Guide to the Geology of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1988), 32. The Greenbrier Fault, which crosses the mountain's northern and eastern slopes,Harry Moore, A Roadside Guide to the Geology of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1988), 37. thrust the Thunderhead sandstone over the Rich Butt sandstone during the Paleozoic era. Approximately 200 million years ago, the North American and African plates collided in the Appalachian orogeny, thrusting the rock upward.Harry Moore, A Roadside Guide to the Geology of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1988), 26-27. One of Cammerer's key characteristics is the outcropping of contorted quartzite at the summit.Robert Mason, The Lure of the Great Smokies (Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflen, 1927), 44.

Mount Cammerer was named for Arno B. Cammerer, director of the National Park Service (1933–1940) and an instrumental figure in establishing the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Mt. Cammerer was previously known as "White Rock," referring to the quartzite outcrops at the summit.Michal Strutin, History Hikes of the Smokies (Gatlinburg: Great Smoky Mountains Association, 2003), 245. On some North Carolina maps, Mt. Cammerer is called "Sharptop".Robert Mason, The Lure of the Great Smokies (Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflen, 1927). 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 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 (CCC) built a camp at the base of the mountain and constructed most of the trails and overlooks in the area.Michal Strutin, History Hikes of the Smokies (Gatlinburg: Great Smoky Mountains Association, 2003), 245-247. 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.

File:Mount Cammerer Trail With Heavily Rimed Trees.JPG The quickest route to the summit of Mt. Cammerer is to ascend the Low Gap Trail from the Cosby Campground to the Appalachian Trail 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 {{convert|15|mi|km}}.

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 I-40): Big Creek Trail + Low Gap Trail + Appalachian Trail + Chestnut Branch Trail. This loop is approximately {{convert|15|mi|km}}.

{{reflist}}

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• [https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/upload/GSMNP-Trail-Map_JULY21.pdf Great Smoky Mountains National Park Trail Map] - Large file in .pdf format.
• [http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=7769 Mount Cammerer] - Peakbagger.com
• [http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/153983/mount-cammerer.html Mount Cammerer] - SummitPost.org
• [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GS4NIG/ In the Shadow of the White Rock] - Mary Bell Smith's first-hand account of life in the northeastern Smokies in the early 1900s.
• Tennessee [http://tnlandforms.us/towers fire towers]

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{{Mountains of Tennessee}}

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Category:Mountains of Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Category:Protected areas of Haywood County, North Carolina

Category:Mountains on the Appalachian Trail

Category:Mountains of Tennessee

Category:Mountains of North Carolina

Category:Protected areas of Cocke County, Tennessee

Category:Mountains of Haywood County, North Carolina

Category:Mountains of Cocke County, Tennessee

Category:Tourist attractions in Cocke County, Tennessee

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Cocke County, Tennessee

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Great Smoky Mountains National Park