Date: 2006-06-11
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Cosby Knob Shelter to Davenport Gap
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: scattered clouds

June 11, 2006 Cosby Knob Shelter to Davenport Gap (8 miles plus 1.2 miles to Mt. Cammerer Fire Tower)I awoke early and began the day with the idea of getting on the Trail quickly, enabling me to finish the day by early afternoon. The two guys were up and gone before I was able to get ready to leave. I am not sure of the ages of Always Late and I Forget It, but they are older than I am and very impressive hikers. They live in North Carolina and frequently hike in the mountains and are able to do the ups and downs MUCH easier than I can. I left the shelter at 7:20 a.m., my earliest departure time to date. A colony of bumble bees had made the privy their home, which made life very interesting. Also, during the previous evening or night (I don¢t know which), a lone hiker had arrived and set up a tent near the privy. This violates park policy about using shelters instead of tents. Only thru hikers are permitted to tent, and then only if the shelters are full. And, WHY would he tent so close to a privy?? This hiker was up and around while I was using the privy. I tried to make conversation, but he definitely wasn¢t the talkative type.   I didn¢t know his Trail Name, so I have dubbed him ¢Cave Man.¢When I left camp, I started on an easy downhill section. Now, that¢s a switch! At the bottom of the hill, Cave Man passed me, wearing sandals, and began to jog up the next incline. I hate him. He didn¢t speak to me this time either.   The uphill section was tough from the very beginning and there he was jogging. What can I say?? I HATE HIM!!! This was a long uphill with an over 700-foot elevation change. I crested the summit and had just started downhill, and there were the two guys coming down the trail from the Mt. Cammerer Fire Tower. They showed me a couple pictures they had taken and highly recommended seeing the Tower. So, as they turned and headed for Davenport Gap, I walked towards the Fire Tower.   This side trail is .6 miles long, which means a 1.2 mile round trip. It was only 9:00 a.m. so I had already covered the first 2.8 miles in an hour and a half. The important thing that I am trying to remember along this hike, is to stop and enjoy the journey and not just see how fast I can cover the miles. The side trail began with a few small ups and downs. Then I rounded a curve and DOWN it went, which meant that I would have to climb back up, of course. Finally I made my way around a large boulder and there was a hitching post with a sign that said, ¢No horses beyond this point.¢ I forgot to tell you that I was sharing part of the Trail in the GSMNP with horses. More on that later. After the hitching post, the trail consisted of a series of rock climbs. Sometimes I couldn¢t see the path, so I just kept climbing up in the general direction of the Fire Tower. When it came into view, there was no longer a defined trail. There were just long, angled rocks. So, I searched for footholds and kept climbing. Finally I took off my pack, kept my camera and hiking poles, and continued to scramble up the remaining rocks that would lead to the Tower. I was completely and totally in awe! The Fire Tower resembles a lighthouse. As many of you know, Ris« and I have visited many lighthouses. Frequently, lighthouses are in remote locations and logistics are complicated. But, this location is WAY beyond remote! It is six miles from Davenport Gap and has a dramatic vertical elevation change of 3,000 feet. The Fire Tower was built 1937-1939 by the CCC. They quarried rock from nearby, and hand-carried it for masons to shape. They cut large timbers from the mountain, and brought in glass, hardware and lumber by hand, horseback or jeep.In the early days, it was used as an observation post to watch for the smoke of forest fires. It is located in one of the most beautiful spots I have ever seen. It is a stone tower with a glassed-in room and a four-foot wide observation deck. In many ways it looks like a lighthouse perched on a rocky precipice. It provides a 360-degree view of the surrounding area, including the Cosby area, I-40 and a distant reservoir. The view was even more striking because of the flowers. The entire scene was covered with a blanket of rhododendron and mountain laurel in full bloom. In the room atop the tower was a book of poetry written by a local artist that provided a nice touch complimenting the view. But, all good things must come to an end, so I climbed down the tower, back down over the rocks, picked up my pack, and continued my descent over some nasty rocks! Somehow they didn¢t look so bad on the way up. My path led back to the main Trail, and I began my journey down to Davenport Gap. I still had 5.2 miles to go and I wanted to be there by noon to meet Ris«. Down, down, down I went! There were steps created by logs across the Trail and sometimes fist-sized chunks of rocks were placed between the logs to provide a better trail surface. In my opinion, the rocks just made the trail harder to manage. There were what seemed like endless miles of jumbled, loose rocks. I couldn¢t afford to look around. I just had to watch each step to avoid loosing my footing. Several times the rocks slid and my ankle started to buckle and twist sideways. But my high-top, tightly-laced shoes, kept everything aligned and I sustained no injuries. Also, tightly-laced shoes keep my toes away from the tips of my shoes and prevent sore, bruised toes and black toenails. I kept moving and only took one break. At 12:05 I walked out on Tennessee Highway 32. I had covered eight miles (plus 1.2 miles to the Fire Tower) in just over 4-1/2 hours. I was a happy hiker! As I mentioned earlier, although the AT is meant to be a footpath, in the GSMNP half of the Trail is shared with horses. This meant I had to be VERY careful where I stepped. The horse apple crop was staggering!