great smoky postman routes 23 & 24

Route 23 (red): 45.8 miles; 40.9 new; 12:05
Route 24 (blue): 6.6 miles; 5.8 new; 3:10

+8,978', -8,984'

The weather looked promising for the weekend of 9/19-20, so Lily, Silas and I made plans for a family camping trip to Cosby CG. I started in the dark at 6:45 am Saturday from our campsite with promise to return in about twelve hours after finishing the rest of the Cosby trails on the Postman.

I found myself running most of the Lower Mount Cammerer Trail and was at the lookout by 9 am. I passed several backpackers near Cosby Knob and soon started the long out-and-back down Camel Gap. I hit a bit of a low point here when I realized that I hadn't packed enough calories to be comfortable.

12:30 pm: I rejoined the AT and continued to ascend into the wonderfully cool high country near Mt. Guyot. Feeling refreshed from a shoes-off rest break at the high point for the day at 2 pm, I savored the rest of my dwindling snacks emboldened by the fact that most of the climbing was now behind me.

3:30 pm: Gunter Fork brought the harsh reminder that even descents can be hard. Although the footing was challenging, I still made it down to Camel Gap in an hour. As I set out up Low Gap, I was startled by a large coyote running across the trail in front of me. That gave me enough of a jolt for the last climb.

Near Cosby CG, I bumped into Lily and Silas. Mo had also come out to join us with his youngest son Adam. All four were out along the CG trails and ready to help motivate me to finish up the last miles of the day. Back at camp, we enjoyed a roaring campfire before retiring to our tents.

Ascending AT near Mt. Cammerer

View from Mt. Cammerer Lookout

Upper Big Creek along Camel Gap

The imposing Balsam Mountain Crest from Camel Gap

Cruise control along AT near Mt. Guyot

Fall colors starting

This guy helped pace me on the Cosby CG trails

On Sunday, we broke camp after breakfast and drove about an hour to Chimney Tops TH. All five of us started up the trail at 9:40 am. Silas and Adam persevered to make it to the top in about 1.5 hours! We were rewarded to great views. Lily, Silas, Mo and Adam returned to the car while I ran up Road Prong to the AT and then over to Newfound Gap to log a few more miles.

Although a little early, I'm going to go ahead and call this a couple of great Fall outings!