Mount Kephart
Encyclopedia
Mount Kephart is a mountain in the central Great Smoky Mountains
, located in the Southeastern United States. The Appalachian Trail
crosses the mountain's south slope, making it a key destination for thru-hikers. The Jumpoff, a 1000 feet (304.8 m) cliff on the northeast side of the mountain, allows for spectacular views of the
central and eastern Smokies. A stand of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest
coats the mountain's upper elevations.
Mount Kephart is the 22nd highest mountain in the eastern U.S., and the 7th-highest mountain in the state of Tennessee
. Its topographic prominence
is drastically
reduced, however, due to the mountain's close proximity to two higher neighbors, Clingmans Dome
and Mount Le Conte.
Like much of the Smokies crest, Mount Kephart lies on the Tennessee-North Carolina border, in Sevier County, Tennessee
and Swain County, North Carolina
. The mountain rises nearly 4000 feet (1,219.2 m) above its northern base at Porters Flat, and approximately 3400 feet (1,036.3 m) above its southern base along the Oconaluftee headwaters. Newfound Gap
, at just over 5000 feet (1,524 m), divides Mount Kephart from Fork Ridge (Mt. Collins) to the west. The gap is traversed by U.S. Highway 441, the only paved road crossing the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
from north to south.
and metasiltstone known as Anakeesta Formation, which is common throughout the central Smokies. This type of rock is exposed at Charlies Bunion
, just to the northeast of Kephart.
The Anakeesta Formation rocks are part of the Ocoee Supergroup, formed from ocean sediments nearly a billion years ago. The mountain itself was formed 200 million years ago when the African and North American plates collided and thrust the rock upward during the Appalachian orogeny.
, an author and early proponent of establishing a national park
in the Smokies. The mountain was called "Mount Collins" until the USGS
gave it its current name in 1931, reshifting the name "Mount Collins
" to the peak between Clingmans Dome
and Newfound Gap
. Before the 1880s, Mount Kephart was known by various local names.
Mount Kephart was probably visited and measured by Arnold Guyot during his survey of the Smokies crest in the late 1850s. The name he used for the mountain, however, is uncertain. Guyot listed two mountains between Laurel Top and New (Newfound) Gap as having elevations greater than 6000 feet (1,828.8 m) — Peck's Peak, which Guyot measured at 6232 feet (1,899.5 m), and Mount Ocona, which Guyot measured at 6135 feet (1,869.9 m). The former may refer to Peck's Corner, although Peck's Corner isn't between Laurel Top and Newfound Gap
, and Guyot would have missed its elevation by a staggering 1300 feet (396.2 m). Other than Mt. Kephart, the only peak between Laurel Top and Newfound Gap higher than 6000 feet (1,828.8 m) is Mt. Ambler, a knob on Kephart's southwest slope.
Laura Thornborough, a writer who made many excursions into the Smokies in the 1930s, recalled a stream now known as Icewater Spring, on Kephart's south slope:
A CCC
Camp operated on the mountain's southern base in the 1930s, the chimney of which remains near the head of the Kephart Prong Trail. During World War II
, this camp was used to house conscientious objectors. Also in
this area are the remains of a WPA
fish hatchery built in 1936.
crosses Mt. Kephart's southern slope en route to The Sawteeth and the eastern Smokies. While the trail misses the summit by just over 200 feet (61 m), several clearings between Mt. Ambler and Icewater Spring offer excellent views of the south-central Smokies and Clingmans Dome
. There is a backcountry shelter at Icewater Spring for Appalachian Trail thru-hikers.
The Jumpoff Trail crosses the summit en route to the Jumpoff, a high cliff on the mountain's northern slope. The view from the Jumpoff is usually greater than 180 degrees, from Mount Le Conte to northwest to the Balsam Mountains to the southeast. The Jumpoff Trail is just a few feet beyond the Appalachian Trail
and Boulevard Trail intersection, approximately three miles from Newfound Gap.
The Kephart Prong Trail ascends the mountain's south slope to the Kephart Backcountry Shelter. Its trailhead is on U.S. 441 between Newfound Gap
and Oconaluftee
. After two miles (3 km), the Kephart Prong Trail forks, one way following the Sweat Heifer Trail to Kephart's southwest slope (near Mt. Ambler), the other continuing on to Dry Sluice Gap (near Charlies Bunion).
Great Smoky Mountains
The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. The range is sometimes called the Smoky Mountains or the...
, located in the Southeastern United States. The Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
crosses the mountain's south slope, making it a key destination for thru-hikers. The Jumpoff, a 1000 feet (304.8 m) cliff on the northeast side of the mountain, allows for spectacular views of the
central and eastern Smokies. A stand of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest
Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest
The Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest is a type of montane coniferous forest that grows in the highest elevations in the southern Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States...
coats the mountain's upper elevations.
Mount Kephart is the 22nd highest mountain in the eastern U.S., and the 7th-highest mountain in the state of Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. Its topographic prominence
Topographic prominence
In topography, prominence, also known as autonomous height, relative height, shoulder drop , or prime factor , categorizes the height of the mountain's or hill's summit by the elevation between it and the lowest contour line encircling it and no higher summit...
is drastically
reduced, however, due to the mountain's close proximity to two higher neighbors, Clingmans Dome
Clingmans Dome
Clingmans Dome is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. At an elevation of , it is the highest mountain in the Smokies, the highest point in the state of Tennessee, and the highest point along the Appalachian Trail...
and Mount Le Conte.
Like much of the Smokies crest, Mount Kephart lies on the Tennessee-North Carolina border, in Sevier County, Tennessee
Sevier County, Tennessee
Sevier County is a county of the state of Tennessee, United States. Its population was 71,170 at the 2000 United States Census. It is included in the Sevierville, Tennessee, Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN Combined Statistical Area. The...
and Swain County, North Carolina
Swain County, North Carolina
Swain County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2000, the population was 12,968. Its county seat is Bryson City.Swain County is home of the Nantahala River . The Nantahala is one of the most popular whitewater rafting rivers in the nation...
. The mountain rises nearly 4000 feet (1,219.2 m) above its northern base at Porters Flat, and approximately 3400 feet (1,036.3 m) above its southern base along the Oconaluftee headwaters. Newfound Gap
Newfound Gap
Newfound Gap is a mountain pass located near the center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States of America. Situated along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the state line crosses the gap, as does U.S...
, at just over 5000 feet (1,524 m), divides Mount Kephart from Fork Ridge (Mt. Collins) to the west. The gap is traversed by U.S. Highway 441, the only paved road crossing the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The border between Tennessee and North...
from north to south.
Geology
Mount Kephart is composed of a type of slateSlate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
and metasiltstone known as Anakeesta Formation, which is common throughout the central Smokies. This type of rock is exposed at Charlies Bunion
Charlies Bunion
Charlies Bunion is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains of the Southeastern United States, characterized by a large boulder-like protrusion just below the summit on its otherwise-sheer northern face...
, just to the northeast of Kephart.
The Anakeesta Formation rocks are part of the Ocoee Supergroup, formed from ocean sediments nearly a billion years ago. The mountain itself was formed 200 million years ago when the African and North American plates collided and thrust the rock upward during the Appalachian orogeny.
History
Mount Kephart is named after Horace KephartHorace Kephart
Horace Kephart was an American travel writer and librarian, best known as the author of Our Southern Highlanders, about his life in the Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina.-Biography:...
, an author and early proponent of establishing a national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
in the Smokies. The mountain was called "Mount Collins" until the USGS
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
gave it its current name in 1931, reshifting the name "Mount Collins
Mount Collins
Mount Collins is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. It has an elevation of above sea level. Located along the Appalachian Trail between Clingmans Dome and Newfound Gap, the mountain is a popular destination for thru-hikers. A backcountry shelter...
" to the peak between Clingmans Dome
Clingmans Dome
Clingmans Dome is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. At an elevation of , it is the highest mountain in the Smokies, the highest point in the state of Tennessee, and the highest point along the Appalachian Trail...
and Newfound Gap
Newfound Gap
Newfound Gap is a mountain pass located near the center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States of America. Situated along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the state line crosses the gap, as does U.S...
. Before the 1880s, Mount Kephart was known by various local names.
Mount Kephart was probably visited and measured by Arnold Guyot during his survey of the Smokies crest in the late 1850s. The name he used for the mountain, however, is uncertain. Guyot listed two mountains between Laurel Top and New (Newfound) Gap as having elevations greater than 6000 feet (1,828.8 m) — Peck's Peak, which Guyot measured at 6232 feet (1,899.5 m), and Mount Ocona, which Guyot measured at 6135 feet (1,869.9 m). The former may refer to Peck's Corner, although Peck's Corner isn't between Laurel Top and Newfound Gap
Newfound Gap
Newfound Gap is a mountain pass located near the center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States of America. Situated along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the state line crosses the gap, as does U.S...
, and Guyot would have missed its elevation by a staggering 1300 feet (396.2 m). Other than Mt. Kephart, the only peak between Laurel Top and Newfound Gap higher than 6000 feet (1,828.8 m) is Mt. Ambler, a knob on Kephart's southwest slope.
Laura Thornborough, a writer who made many excursions into the Smokies in the 1930s, recalled a stream now known as Icewater Spring, on Kephart's south slope:
Our party reached a good spring on the Carolina side of Mt. Kephart, about three miles (5 km) from our starting point. It had been freshly cleaned out and lined with native rock. The water was clear and icy cold."
A CCC
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
Camp operated on the mountain's southern base in the 1930s, the chimney of which remains near the head of the Kephart Prong Trail. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, this camp was used to house conscientious objectors. Also in
this area are the remains of a WPA
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
fish hatchery built in 1936.
Access
The Appalachian TrailAppalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
crosses Mt. Kephart's southern slope en route to The Sawteeth and the eastern Smokies. While the trail misses the summit by just over 200 feet (61 m), several clearings between Mt. Ambler and Icewater Spring offer excellent views of the south-central Smokies and Clingmans Dome
Clingmans Dome
Clingmans Dome is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. At an elevation of , it is the highest mountain in the Smokies, the highest point in the state of Tennessee, and the highest point along the Appalachian Trail...
. There is a backcountry shelter at Icewater Spring for Appalachian Trail thru-hikers.
The Jumpoff Trail crosses the summit en route to the Jumpoff, a high cliff on the mountain's northern slope. The view from the Jumpoff is usually greater than 180 degrees, from Mount Le Conte to northwest to the Balsam Mountains to the southeast. The Jumpoff Trail is just a few feet beyond the Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
and Boulevard Trail intersection, approximately three miles from Newfound Gap.
The Kephart Prong Trail ascends the mountain's south slope to the Kephart Backcountry Shelter. Its trailhead is on U.S. 441 between Newfound Gap
Newfound Gap
Newfound Gap is a mountain pass located near the center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States of America. Situated along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the state line crosses the gap, as does U.S...
and Oconaluftee
Oconaluftee (Great Smoky Mountains)
Oconaluftee is the name of a river valley in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, located in the Southeastern United States. Formerly the site of a Cherokee village and Appalachian community, the valley's bottomland is now home to the main entrance to the North Carolina section of the...
. After two miles (3 km), the Kephart Prong Trail forks, one way following the Sweat Heifer Trail to Kephart's southwest slope (near Mt. Ambler), the other continuing on to Dry Sluice Gap (near Charlies Bunion).
External links
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park Trail Map — Large file in .pdf format.
- Mount Kephart — Peakbagger.com
- Mount Kephart — SummitPost.org
- Icewater Spring Shelter — Appalachian Trail backcountry shelter near the summit of Mt. Kephart
- Horace Kephart: Revealing an Enigma — Website dedicated to the legacy of Horace Kephart