A few days after the 1929 cloudburst, a group of mountaineers led by Horace Kephart climbed to the crest of the Central Smokies to inspect the damage. When they reached the now-barren western flank of the Sawteeth, Charlie Conner, a mountain guide from Oconaluftee, removed his shoe, revealing a badly-swollen foot. Upon seeing this, Kephart was said to have remarked, "I'm going to get this put on a Government map for you." There is another, slightly different, story told by Paul M. Fink in his book "The Names and Lore of The Great Smoky Mountains" in which Fink says that one of the group upon looking at the bare rock pinnacle left by the storm, and knowing of Conner's foot affliction, remarked: "Well that sticks out like Charlie's bunion" prompting Kephart to decide on that name. The United States Geological Survey gave it the name "Charlie's Bunion" shortly thereafter. The mountain rising above Charlies Bunion to the west was named after Kephart himself.