View Full Version : Wrong photo in ATC mag?
On the back of the most recent ATC magazine there are two photos showing a helicopter dropping off supplies in a field with a big mountain looming behind it. The caption says that it is dropping off trail work supplies on top of Mount Cammerer. This struck me as a little odd, as I have never seen this place, despite having been to MC a few times. More over, Mount Cammerer is the highest thing in the area. It would hard to be on top and have a mountain looming above. So, I started thinking about where this place could be and am stumped. It isn't at Low Gap because there isn't anywhere big enough to drop a chopper in. I don't think it is at the trail junction on the other side (Lower Mount Cammerer trail), but haven't been there for a while.
So, does any one know where the photo was taken? I don't immediately recognize it as any place in the Smokys, but my suspicion is that it is at the old Birch Spring shelter, north of Fontana. The only other place I can think of would be Spence Field, but the mountain in the picture doesn't look anything like Rocky Top or Thunderhead.
Rain Man
11-11-2004, 20:16
On the back of the most recent ATC magazine there are two photos showing a helicopter dropping off supplies in a field with a big mountain looming behind it. The caption says that it is dropping off trail work supplies on top of Mount Cammerer. ....
I had the same reaction, so then I thought this was a pic of it picking up the load it was going to fly up the mountain. But I really have no idea.
Rain Man
.
TakeABreak
11-11-2004, 20:38
I am glad I am not the only one that is confused here, Rain Man's explaination is what I was thinking when I read Chris's note. Hopefully someone that was there, will read this thread and let us know.
Kerosene
11-11-2004, 20:38
I too thought it was odd. There was a letter to the editor noting that a prior issue had mislabeled a photo, so there is a precedent. Perhaps these were photos of the supply loading area for the eventual flight up to MC.
I don't think that it could have been the pick up. If you were going to pick up supplies for a chopper to take up, why do it in a field hemmed in with trees? Seems like it would be easier and safer just to do it in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, where there are several helipads already.
Does anyone know what they were actually working on at Mount Cammerer? Rebuilding something (with rebar?) from the storms this fall? Trail was great in April.
The Solemates
11-12-2004, 20:24
So, does any one know where the photo was taken? I don't immediately recognize it as any place in the Smokys, but my suspicion is that it is at the old Birch Spring shelter, north of Fontana. The only other place I can think of would be Spence Field, but the mountain in the picture doesn't look anything like Rocky Top or Thunderhead.
It cant be at old Birch Spring. There is no field like this anywhere in the area, and it certainly does not look like the photo. And you are right, that mountain is not Rocky Top or Thunderhead. I suppose, like Rainman, that this is the take off spot somewhere just outside the park and that they will be dropping it off atop MC.
I don't think that it could have been the pick up. If you were going to pick up supplies for a chopper to take up, why do it in a field hemmed in with trees? Seems like it would be easier and safer just to do it in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, where there are several helipads already.
The fact that the helicopter is on the ground in the larger picture suggests that despite all the trees, there is enough room in the field to use it as a pick up spot. One of the top concerns when using helicopters for shuttling materials is chosing a suitable pick up spot that is as close as possible to the drop off spot. Helicopters are expensive to rent and its important to run an efficient and speedy operation when using them for trail projects. Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are probably too far from Cammerer to make good pick up spots. Maybe the photos were taken from a campground or ranger's station inside the park.
Stop sign, utility pole, vehicle, directional or place signs in the background, so I don't think it's on a mt. If I had to guess, assuming a project on Cammerer, it would be the Cosby area, which is only about 5 mi. as the copter flies.
That picture also got my attention. My guess is that it is a stageing area down in the Big Creek Campground area; on the side heading to Mt. Momma's. There are several fields around there, mainly for horses.
Why not write Laurie at ATC and ask her if you want to know?
I was puzzeled too because when i was at the trailhead going into Rogers last month i saw this helicopter flying over Whitetop Mtn. and later saw it parked in a field down near Mt. Rogers Combined School. Not sure where there picture was taken but found it odd that when i got home My ATC book had those pictures in it.
I know the answer!!
I was in fact working with the Rocky Top Trail Crew (AT) that week, we were transporting logs up to mutiple locations near the summit of MC using a helicopter so we could use them to build water bars, steps and turn pikes along the AT (but not the side trail that actually leads to MC)
The answer to your question is...well can't give you a name, being a foreigner in those parts.. But it's near Big Creek ranger station. It's the field right next to the bridge over the creek which marks the TN/NC border with signs. Big Creek is the trail head to get up to the AT via a side trail, and is near Mountain Momma's and that big dam. And just to pinpoint the field, i believe it contained..llamas! They were for hiking and were a constant source of entertainment. The field is right next to the turn off for the small track up to the rangers station, no more than a mile or so from it.
We had to make a lot of flights to get those logs up to Mount Cammerer, so transporting from Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge would have been far too expensive, although i believe the pilot gave us a special deal anyway. We had spent the previous week splitting the logs at the ranger's station and transporting them to the field, some of the logs were for the trail day, or something, i think.
We spent the next month or so building steps, staircases, turnpikes etc.. to improve the quality of the trail, Rocky Top have been at this site for at least 2 years, and are there again this summer, working their way south towards NF Gap. Living in a tent on MC in the autumn was a fantastic experience.
Sorry it's taken so long to see this, hope this answers some questions though!
Thank you for that location information, but mostly I would like to thank you for all of your hard work so that the trail is more enjoyable for the many hikers who use it. That area of SMNP is my favorite for 3 or 4 day hikes. I moved away from NC about 8 years ago, and I've only been back for one week of hiking on the TN side to visit several of the beautiful waterfalls. The last time that I hiked the AT going north from Cammerer, I remember that much of the upper decent was all small gravel stones, kind of like ball bearings. This trail work sounds like a worth-while chore, for everyone concerned. I'll be looking into this in PA :-? A second thought, hauling rocks sounds like too much for my back! Maybe VA or Md. Again, many thanks to you and all of you trail workers