Last Minute Trip in the Smokies

“Big Creek/Cosby/Mt Cammerer Loop

Day 1

Starting at Big Creek Ranger Station, take the Big Creek Trail 5.3 miles until you reach the Low Gap Trail. Follow the Low Gap Trail for 5 miles until you reach the Lower Mt Cammerer Trail. Follow the Lower Mt. Cammerer Trail 3.3 miles until reaching CS#35. Total Miles: 13.6

Day 2

From CS#35 continue on the Lower Mt Cammerer Trail 4.1 miles until you rejoin the AT. Head south on the AT 2.3 miles to the junction with the Mt. Cammerer Trail taking it 1.2 miles to the fire tower and back. Continue on the AT south for 2.1 miles until you reach Low Gap. Take the Low Gap trail 2.5 miles back to the Big Creek Trail and follow the Big Creek Trail for 5.4 miles until returning to Big Creek Ranger Station. Total Miles 17.6”

“Nah, too pansy a trip for 2 days ;)”

“Holy moly. A 18 mile day? you r hardcore!”

“18 miles isn't hardcore, I normally do over 20 but with these short days it gets harder to put in big mileage. The guys that do 30+ are hardcore!”

“I think I've only hiked that far in one day once.”

“Guys that do 30 are idiots.”

“"Guys that do 30 are idiots."

Squeaky averaged well over 30 for 240 days in 2005.”

“wow, sounds like an awesome hike dude! A few year ago greenmonkee and I went down to Shenandoah in late december and wanted to try and do around 30 miles in less than 24 hours. We encounted some deep snow up above 3000 feet and it was glazed in ice and made for very slow going. We had some scary situations up near Skyline Drive late at night when we planned on being out of the woods, but we still miles from the car and it was cold and windy.

That sounds like fun and I love those big mileage days on the big mountains, but, if there is snow up high, going gets slow, so plan to replan. You plan great hikes anyway, so... but, your plan reminded me of my trip a few years ago.

It's a strange thing when you still have more than 10 miles to hike to get to your car and the sun has set and you know that with the deep snow, it's going to take a long long time to get there and tomorrow, you have to work ... of course I called in sick, but still.”

“If there was a lot of snow we could take the Chestnut Branch Trail and be back to the cars in 7.4 miles, but I don't think that would be a problem.

I have done a 13.4 mile day post holing in 10" of snow and drifts up to my waist. I had plenty of daylight left to go farther if I had to, but I was pretty tired. That was probably the hardest "short" day I have ever done.”

“Obviously you and I should not plan a trip together.”

“I'm tired already! If I were on that route, I would overnight at Walnut Bottoms and Cosby Knob Shelter each way, plus overnights at Cosby Campground,CS#35 and the White Rock(Mt. Cammerer) Fire Tower.

Good luck on a nice week's trip.”

“ugh...i miss the mountains:(”

“Where did you'll end up Mississippi?”

“Coldwater. About 30 miles from memphis.”

“So basically you are in a hiking black hole?”

“yep....”

“I'd consider a shift to more water-based camping trips, like canoe camping.”

“Only morons hike more than 20 miles a day..
Idiots do more then 30....
And it takes a real Bonehead to do more then 40...

'32oz”

“The weather is starting to look worse. They are supposed to get 4-8 inches of snow today plus 3-7 more tonight. I have never canceled a trip due to weather, so I hope I don't have to cancel this one, we will see.”

“just curious - anybody got an elevation map of this?”

“I have the elevation profiles from the little brown book. The elevation at major landmarks is as follows:

Day 1

0.0 Big Creek Trailhead 1720ft

2.0 Mouse Creek Falls 2300ft

5.3 Low Gap Trail 3000ft

7.8 Appalachian Trail 4280ft

10.3 Lower Mt Cammerer Trail 2300ft

11.6 Sutton Ridge Overlook 2550ft

13.6 Campsite #35 2680ft

Day 2

0.0 Campsite #35 2680ft

4.2 Appalachian Trail 3500ft

6.5 Mt Cammerer Spur Trail 4950ft

7.1 Mt Cammerer Fire Lookout 4950ft

7.7 Appalachian Trail 4950ft

9.8 Low Gap Trail 4280

12.3 Big Creek Trail 3000ft

15.6 Mouse Creek Falls 2300ft

17.6 Big Creek Trailhead 1720 ft”

“441 through the park is currently closed.”

“Day 2 doesn't look that bad after all”

“It's really not, the only steep part is the two miles from the Lower Mt Cammerer Trail to Mt Cammerer on the AT. The rest is either pretty tame or downhill.”

“I wussed out today. I talked to a ranger this morning who said they had 2 feet of snow in the upper elevations and I figured I probably didn't need to go post holing through that by myself. I will reschedule yet again.”

“I was sitting at home, getting ready for a boring, eventless weekend, that's when I saw Stokley's message on my FB wall, wanting to know if I have any plans for this weekend. Didn't take me but 2 seconds to decide, hell yeah, I wanna go. By now you all know about the storm that hit the Smokies the night before. Roads were closed, so we wasn't sure if this trip was happening or not. The ranger called to let Diana know that roads are now open. What a relief, I really needed to get back out there. It's been way too long. We met Friday around 3PM at the Sugarland Visitor Center. Reservations were for Campsite #24, we only had to hike in about 3.8 miles. We set up camp, right next to the creek. We barely sat down and a nice guy with a pot approached us. Yes, he brought us dinner!! :D Rice, beans and sausage. Of course we couldn't say no. Our free meal was awesome. We ate, drank, and talked about daily stuff, hikes, etc. Last time I saw Stokley was at Mt Rogers, so it's been a while.
The next day we decided to hike a loop and 1/4.. see map...Started at campsite 24, took Rough Creek Trail to Sugarland Mtn Trail, went down Husky Gap Trail to Newfound Gap Road, went Husky Gap trail back up to Little River Trail, back to Campsite 24. The storm damage we saw during out trip was tremendous. We climbed over so many fallen trees. I know cleaning up this area will take a very long time. Well, we cam back to our campsite, and the bees didn't get any better, they surrounded us every step we took. That, and the cravings for an ice cold beer pretty much made us decide to pack up and hike out the other 3.8 miles. We packed up, got a camp spot at Elkswood, drove into Gatlinburg, had a awesome meal and a beer or two :)
Total miles for this trip: About 19. Not really sure about the elevation gain/loss. Not a lot of pictures, other then the ones on FB.
Wonderful trip...just in time when I needed it most.”

“sorry for the spelling, missing words, etc... typed it on my phone.
oh, and total for the trip was 22.8 miles, I guess [if you count Friday]

pictures are up.”