We got off to a later the normal start today, due to drizzle and my stove acting up. It had poured buckets over night and everything was damp. We were looking at a longer day, and the weather was not favorable. After getting caught in the downpour once, it would not happen again!!! So, we set off with our pack covers on, in hopes that it would ward off the rain. No such luck. We slogged thru the rain all day. It wasn't all that bad at first, just a drizzle.
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| The side trail to Mt. Cammerer |
The big attraction today was another old fire tower, Mt. Cammerer. It was a .6 mile detour, but it was worth it. We stopped to get out of the rain of a bit and got to look out at the beautiful scenery beneath us. On our way out, Tootsie got stopped by Park Service Ranger and had to show her permit. Kind of neat to see they actually check for those things!!
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| Tootsie in the tower |
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| Inside the lookout |
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| Still a nice view |
We started down again, and this time the rain really started. We got to an older shelter that still had the wire fencing around the shelter. It was not pleasant. It was at this point we decided to heck with it, we are finding a gap and going to town!!!
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| Not staying here!!!! |
So, thankfully, I have Verizon and have service about 60% of the time and I had it here. We found a ride and a hotel nearby and we skipped down the last few miles knowing we had a warm dry bed in our future!! Just before hitting the gap, we left Smokies and left our permits in the box. We had completed the Park!!!
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| Finishing our Smokies Section |
Mark was our driver and he was awesome. Took us on some back roads and really talked about the local area. He agreed to pick us up the next morning and take us back on the trail. A great guy!!!
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