Mt Cammerer Fire Tower, Tennessee, United States

5LOLO0426 5:00 PM Nov 3, 2019

It’s the Climb!
Ok let me start off by saying I used to be very athletic but now am overweight and out of shape. I decided to do this hike with family because I didn’t want to be the weak one. However here’s some “reals” about this hike. It’s uphill about 6 miles straight up but zig zagged. It’s hard to breathe when overweight so I had to stop about 5-20 seconds after the first 3 miles. I made it to the top in 3 hours. The breathtaking view is insane and worth every single step. I suggest packing a nice lunch, and make sure to plan enough time to relax about max 30 minutes. We were short on time so we had to hustle down the mountain. It was easypeasy till about the final 3 miles. The straight down slip on rocks could very easy to twist and ankle. I saw as young as 12 and as old as 65 hiking this mountain. I was by far the biggest person on the mountain though. This is an all day trip. I would recommend doing it for sure but prepare to be exhausted if your not an avid hiker. It was a total Of 5-6 hours, 35k steps, and 11.7 miles. 3.5 hours up, 2 hours down. Do not listen to reviews that it flattens out after 3. It is uphill all the way.

5Sam 5:00 PM Sep 4, 2016

Earning the view
I parked in the almost empty designated Hiker parking lot of Cosby Campground around 08:30 on the Sunday of a holiday weekend, the trail is well indicated and easy to find. It took me exactly 2 hours to do the first part of the trail, the Low Gap section, 2.9 miles of uphill, pretty hard core for a Floridian, I was wearing my heart monitor and never got much lower than 150’s. Then you think the AP section will be a lot easier but not quite, of the 2.1 mile you have another long mile of straight up before you get to a section that is a mix of up n downs that took 1 ½ hour before finally getting to the Mt Cammerer very pretty trail that’s 0.5 miles before the tower. Magnificent views! It was a beautiful, sunny and clear day and it was breathtaking. After talking to some of the hikers (I met about 20 or so making their way to the tower) and refueling with a nice lunch I started to make my way down, thinking piece of cake right? Again as a Floridian downhill is not my specialty, I was very grateful I took my hiking poles with me, I don’t think I would have make it down without it. It was brutal on my knees! I made the whole trip in 7 ½ hour including an hour at the tower. The trail is shaded the whole way and you rarely have any views until you get to the tower, but well worth the hike….and the descent. By the time I got back to the parking lot it was full with hikers, campers, family picnics and cars were even parked on the grass by the side of the road, glad I got an early start.