March 30
End: Mt. Cammerer Lookout Tower
Miles: 23.1
Total: 2086.3
I was the first to leave the shelter of the three of us. The other two hikers cooked breakfast for themselves, which was probably fantastic, but I preferred to hit the trail early and only cook dinner.
I got to climb around on Charlie’s Bunion, which was fun if not a bit scary in its dramatic cliff shape. Soon afterwards I was hiking up mountains and talking to a ridge runner heading south for a few days.
In the early afternoon a little rain came down, after threatening for most of the late morning. I caught up with a hiker who walked at about my pace, and we moved on together, enjoying each other’s company.
My companion was just out of high school and had been wanting to hike the Appalachian Trail for a few years. I learned that he had met Lakeland, the other ECT hiker, and that Lakeland had mentioned staying at an upcoming fire tower on a side trail.
When we got to the next shelter I checked for Lakeland but did not find him there. We identified the side trail Lakeland was likely talking about, and I rushed off to try and meet the man who I had been trailing for almost three full months.
Thunder boomed and I was very concerned about getting hit by a big storm. My puny rain gear had proven insufficient even for basic rain, and I did not need to test it further. I hurried on, starting to really pick up the pace and run a little bit.
As the rain started up again, I drew close to the side trail, but knew I still had over half a mile to cover to get to the Mt. Cammerer fire tower, my destination. I got onto the side trail but was now getting poured on by the thunderstorm overhead. Running down the waterway which used to be a trail, I wondered how long it could possibly take to get there.
Finally I got to a horse posting area and scurried up a set of rocks, finding the tower. I ducked into a bottom area, finding only junk. I then dashed back outside, haphazardly climbing slippery rocks up to the main tower, bursting in through the door.
I met the Teton Boys, who said they had met Lakeland as he left the tower, explaining that he did not want to stay there during the storm. Exasperated, I stood for a minute in soaking wet despair, then decided I was staying.
After getting dry I had a blast. The Teton Boys were fun to hang out and joke around with, and being in the tower while the storm raged outside was a lot of fun. We cooked up some good food, then got in our sleeping bags, which were nice and warm. I had a pretty restful night, and noticed during the night that the clouds had cleared and I could see a city down below in the valley.
