Everything I Love About Autumn Was On Display On The Way To Mt. Cammerer

It is hard to believe that it is the third weekend in October, but everything that makes this month the pinnacle of fall was on display on my hike in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) to Mount Cammerer. I have wanted to do this hike to the old stone fire lookout for sometime. So, when I was browsing the hiking club schedules I spotted this hike on the Johnson City Hiking Club site and said why not. If anyone had noticed, but the weather here in East Tennessee for well over a week has been cloudless blue skies but on Saturday, clouds were suppose to start roll in, partly due to that massive Hurricane Patrica. So, when I awoke Saturday morning the forecast had gone from partly cloudy to mostly cloudy and Channel 11 (WJHL) was given a 50% chance of rain (they were the only ones by the way). So, I decided to head out and was greeted to a beautiful sunrise. We were hiking out of the Cosby Campground, and this was my first visit here. I talked with Joel, our hike leader earlier in the week, and a number of them were camping there. Because of my Daisy duties I couldn't (but I am going to camp here in the future it was really nice). Anyway, I met up with them and rode up to their campsite and then when hiked to the Low Gap Trail, the one we were heading up to intersect with the Appalachian Trail (AT). I will hope to do a more detailed blog of this hike in the future, but let me just say the Low Gap Trail is steep. It not that it is steep in one spot but for over two miles. It was as hard a hike as the trail up to Mount LeConte. The pace set by some of the members, with the incline, was brisk. I once again found myself sweeping as I hiked up with another club member, Marsha. When we finally got to Low Gap the group was waiting. It was here that we started north on the AT. While it wasn't as steep as the Low Gap Trail it did have some hard uphill. I guess I was already a little leg weary, so I let the group go on as I slowed my pace and gawked at the fall colors on the trail. At around 3,000 to 4,000 feet the leaves were at peak. The trail was a washed in color, it was nice! Anyway, it was just over two miles to where the AT splits with the 0.6 mile trail to the Mount Cammerer Fire Lookout. There waiting for me was Joel, which was cool of him. After some up and down we finally reached the old fire lookout. It was built in the 1930's by the Civilian Conservation Corp and after being retired from fire duty in the 1960's was restored in 1996 by the Friends of the Smokies. While the mountain is called Cammerer now it was once called White Rock and Sharp Top (which is on the U.S. Geological Marker). Whatever name you call it when people say it has one of the best views in the Smokies they would be right. Peaks like Mount Sterling, Snowbird Mountain and Max Patch are easily spotted, but today it was the fall colors in the valley that was the real star...breathtaking. It was here were I would split with the group. The ones camping were doing the loop with the Lower Mount Cammerer Trail, which was going to be about 16 miles total. I had to drive back to Saint Clair, so I just went back the way I came (which was 11 miles). The AT part once again was not too bad as it was mostly downhill, and so was the Low Gap Trail. Let me just say while going up it was tougher the hike down the steep Low Gap Trail was a challenge too. While slow going at times I finally reached where we started up the Low Gap. Since I was hiking back to the car, the trail to the campground went left and the one back to the hiker parking when right. After a creek crossing I made finally made it back to the hiker parking. I finished the day with a stop at Carver's Apple House and bought some apple cider and honey. Overall, it was a wonderful hike and I made some new friends and joined a hiking club, not bad.