With clear skies and temperatures in the 60s in the Valley, I headed up to the Cosby Campground with a couple buddies, Marcus and Conner, for an overnighter at Cosby Knob Shelter via Low Gap Trail. We met at Blount Memorial Hospital (Typically, you never want to go here on purpose, but if you ever HAVE to go, this is the place for sure. They'll take great care of you.) around 9a and headed up to Cosby via some backroads...You know, the kind of roads you don't want your car to break down on in the middle of the night.
We were at the campground around 10:45a where we suited up to hit the Low Gap Trailhead up to the Appalachian Trail. As for distance, the hike is only around 3.7 miles, but it's literally uphill the whole way. Overall, the trail picks up about 2600 feet before arriving at the Cosby Knob Shelter. Once there, we quickly started looking for firewood. Generally, the best way to find good firewood at these shelters (that tend to be fairly "picked over") is to go where most don't want to go. That endeavor usually means up/down hills.
We decided to go downhill from the Shelter about 200 yards for our search. The only problem with this strategy is that once you find firewood, you have to carry it back uphill. It was backbreaking work, but worth it once we had the fire built. Another sheltermate, Rick, said, "I've been backpacking for 25 years, and that was by far the best fire I've ever had..." Rick arrived at the shelter with his hiking buddy, Gary, about 30 minutes after we got there. They both jumped in and started gathering more wood and taking turns on the saw to get everything in order for the night.
Two more guys (David and Lewis) from
their group joined us at the shelter about an hour later, bringing the total up to seven for the night. These four guys were great. From my experience, it's hit-or-miss with the clientele in the shelters, but we were fortunate this time around. All four were from Columbia, Tennessee and in their 40s (give or take 10 years...I think that pretty much covers everyone) where they worked as a carpenter, "computer geek," and Saturn automobile employees. All, but one, were seasoned hikers.
The newest hiker, Gary, in the group had gotten the bug in the last six months (I think), but was one of the most eagar hikers I have ever encountered. He had been hiking every weekend since his first hike months ago, and this being his first overnight backpacking trip ever. It was fun and interesting to talk to him, as he took every sight and sound in at it's fullest. Honestly, it was a great reminder to me not to forget how fortunate I was to be exactly where I was this weekend.
The Cosby Knob Shelter is, by far, one of the nicest in the park. It is situated down in a holler (I've been looking for a time to put the word "holler" on the blog), with its back to prevailing winds. It was a recent remodel so everything was in great condition. It started raining around 3a, but the shelter was watertight, so we had no issues with that. My watch clocked an overnight low of 35 degrees around 2:45a, so staying fairly warm was not an issue. The fire and tarp on the front of the open wall of the shelter kept the temps around 45-50 degrees inside. Very manageable.
We woke up to a light, constant rai
n and left the shelter to head back to the Campground around 9:30a. We arrived back at the trucks just before 11a to head back to the reality of the daily grind.
Overall, it was a great weekend to get out and enjoy some warmer temperatures, some sunshine, some rainfall, and some new shelter friends. The latter being the best part. Thanks Dave, Gary, Lewey, and Rick. It was great to meet you guys. I hope you were able to stay dry on your second night out. See you around the hog's back.
We were at the campground around 10:45a where we suited up to hit the Low Gap Trailhead up to the Appalachian Trail. As for distance, the hike is only around 3.7 miles, but it's literally uphill the whole way. Overall, the trail picks up about 2600 feet before arriving at the Cosby Knob Shelter. Once there, we quickly started looking for firewood. Generally, the best way to find good firewood at these shelters (that tend to be fairly "picked over") is to go where most don't want to go. That endeavor usually means up/down hills.
We decided to go downhill from the Shelter about 200 yards for our search. The only problem with this strategy is that once you find firewood, you have to carry it back uphill. It was backbreaking work, but worth it once we had the fire built. Another sheltermate, Rick, said, "I've been backpacking for 25 years, and that was by far the best fire I've ever had..." Rick arrived at the shelter with his hiking buddy, Gary, about 30 minutes after we got there. They both jumped in and started gathering more wood and taking turns on the saw to get everything in order for the night.Two more guys (David and Lewis) from
their group joined us at the shelter about an hour later, bringing the total up to seven for the night. These four guys were great. From my experience, it's hit-or-miss with the clientele in the shelters, but we were fortunate this time around. All four were from Columbia, Tennessee and in their 40s (give or take 10 years...I think that pretty much covers everyone) where they worked as a carpenter, "computer geek," and Saturn automobile employees. All, but one, were seasoned hikers.The newest hiker, Gary, in the group had gotten the bug in the last six months (I think), but was one of the most eagar hikers I have ever encountered. He had been hiking every weekend since his first hike months ago, and this being his first overnight backpacking trip ever. It was fun and interesting to talk to him, as he took every sight and sound in at it's fullest. Honestly, it was a great reminder to me not to forget how fortunate I was to be exactly where I was this weekend.
The Cosby Knob Shelter is, by far, one of the nicest in the park. It is situated down in a holler (I've been looking for a time to put the word "holler" on the blog), with its back to prevailing winds. It was a recent remodel so everything was in great condition. It started raining around 3a, but the shelter was watertight, so we had no issues with that. My watch clocked an overnight low of 35 degrees around 2:45a, so staying fairly warm was not an issue. The fire and tarp on the front of the open wall of the shelter kept the temps around 45-50 degrees inside. Very manageable.We woke up to a light, constant rai
n and left the shelter to head back to the Campground around 9:30a. We arrived back at the trucks just before 11a to head back to the reality of the daily grind.Overall, it was a great weekend to get out and enjoy some warmer temperatures, some sunshine, some rainfall, and some new shelter friends. The latter being the best part. Thanks Dave, Gary, Lewey, and Rick. It was great to meet you guys. I hope you were able to stay dry on your second night out. See you around the hog's back.
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