text: [Themes: Slice of life, Travel, landscape]
  
  > Look around
  The interior of the fire tower is simple and unadorned. A plain wooden floor stretches from wall to wall, and windows stretch from about
  waist high to just short of the ceiling. Despite the sun, the warmth
  of the day, and the large windows that allow a 360-degree view of the surrounding landscape, the air is surprisingly cool inside the tower, no doubt due to the stone foundation you saw outside. You're thankful for the break from the heat.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  You are carrying:
  some socks (being worn)
  some hiking shorts (being worn)
  a shirt (being worn)
  some hiking boots (being worn)
  a hip pack (being worn and closed)
  a watch (being worn)
  
  > open the pack
  You wiggle around a bit, and manage to pull the zipper open. It's so much easier to do that when you're not actually wearing the thing.
  
  > look in the pack
  In the hip pack are a headlamp, a first aid kit, a water bottle and a massive bag of trail mix.
  
  > eat the trail mix
  (first taking the massive bag of trail mix)
  It's sort of difficult to get stuff out of your pack when you're still wearing it, but somehow you manage to get your hands on the trail mix.
  
  > eat the trail mix
  You snack on a few bites of the trail mix.
  
  > examine it
  It's a massive bag of trail mix, full of all sorts of goodies. Not the sort of food one would want to rely on for sustenance all the time,
  but it'll provide plenty of energy for today's hike.
  
  > smell it
  The bag emits an aroma of yummy nutty goodness. Mmmm.
  
  For the first time, you realize that the sun is now directly overhead.
  
  > put it in the pack
  You seal the bag of trail mix and tuck it neatly away in your pack.
  
  > Close pack
  You wiggle around a bit, and manage to pull the zipper closed. It's so much easier to do that when you're not actually wearing the thing.
  
  > Stretch
  What do you want to stretch?
  
  > stretch calves
  Your calves feel a bit tight, so you walk over to a nearby tree and place your palms against the bark, enjoying the rough texture beneath your hands. You bend your left leg in a lunge and step back with your right foot, leg straight. Closing your eyes, you take a pleasantly
  deep breath and wait for some of the tension to subside in your calf, which it does.
  
  After stretching both legs a couple of times, you decide it's probably time to move on down the trail.
  
  > look at the socks
  Your Thorlos are designed specifically for hiking, with extra padding beneath the heel and ball of your foot for comfort. This particular pair of Thorlos are white; just the very tops of them are visible.
  
  > Smell feet
  The exterior off the boots smell like leather. You'd rather not smell in the inside of the boots.
  
  > look at the shirt
  You're wearing a dark brown long-sleeved t-shirt, the color of chocolate. It's cotton, which isn't always a wise thing to wear when hiking - fantastic when it's hot, but is miserable in the rain - however there's a brilliant blue sky and a favorable forecast, so you're risking it.
  
  > Smell shirt
  You glance at the sun climbing in the sky, then lift your arm and take a sniff of your arm pit. Not too bad... yet.
  
  > Leave
  You open the door to the fire tower and walk out onto the porch, closing it behind you.
  
  Mt. Cammerer, Outside the Fire Tower
  The fire tower has a commanding view of the surrounding mountains. You can enter the tower or simply return back the way you came. The trail departs to the southwest.
  
  > stretch the hips
  You're not quite sure how to stretch those bits. Maybe you should look into yoga.
  
  > stretch the legs
  Your calves feel a bit tight, so you walk over to a nearby tree and place your palms against the bark, enjoying the rough texture beneath your hands. You bend your left leg in a lunge and step back with your right foot, leg straight. Closing your eyes, you take a pleasantly
  deep breath and wait for some of the tension to subside in your calf, which it does.
  
  After stretching both legs a couple of times, you decide it's probably time to move on down the trail.
  
  > Go northeast
  There appear to be only woods in that direction, with no path among
  the trees. The AT continues to the southwest, or you can visit the
  fire tower by heading north.
  
  > go southwest
  You recommence climbing the Appalachian Trail. Just as with the previous stretch, it's littered with roots and rocks and excessive steepness, and makes you not such a happy hiker. "Oh well," you think to yourself, "it's making me stronger. Stronger. Yes. Stronger." You continue this rather ineffective little pep talk for about a half a mile, at which point the trail graciously levels out along the crest
  of a ridge.
  
  You find an easy, confident pace, and begin to notice how effortlessly your legs move on this type of terrain. The lack of obstructions in
  the trail allows you to take in the view as you hike, and incredible mountain vistas are present on both sides of the trail for a short while - successive waves of blue, smoky ridges trailing off into the distance.
  
  After a bit, the trail begins to descend off the ridge and into the trees... gradually at first, then steeper, and your pace finds a decrescendo as you carefully navigate the slope. Many people prefer a strenuous uphill to this, because descending can be fairly hard on
  your knees and ankles, but after the beating your lungs and legs took on the AT earlier, you are inclined to respectfully disagree.
  
  After a total walk of just over two miles, you encounter another trail junction.
  
  Trail Junction (Appalachian and Low Gap trails)
  Two trails cross here, in the center of what's called Low Gap, so
  named because it's the lowest pass through the mountains for over
  fifty miles if you were traveling along the Appalachian Trail headed north. The AT runs from northeast to southwest here, climbing toward Cosby Knob and beyond - all the way to Georgia. The Low Gap trail crosses perpendicular to the AT, descending in both directions: southeast, toward Walnut Bottoms and Big Creek, or northwest, toward the Cosby Campground and, for you, home.
  
  A sign at one side of the junction points the way and provides the mileage to nearby landmarks.
  
  Your socks have shifted uncomfortably in your boots, so you take a
  seat in the clearing to readjust them. Once you're finished, you
  decide the ground feels good enough to simply rest there for a bit.
  
  A cool breeze builds momentarily from the east, cooling your skin.
  
  > remove the boots
  You take your boots off and remove your socks. It feels great to get some air on your feet, but after a bit of a rest you decide it's best to get going again. You put your socks and boots back on, tie the
  laces securely.
  
  > examine the sign
  There are two signs on the post. The uppermost sign faces southeast, and is oriented so that you know it pertains to the trail that runs northeast-southwest; it reads:
  
  Mt Cammerer 2.1 ->
  Lwr Mt Cammerer Trail 4.4 ->
  <- Cosby Knob Shelter 0.8
  
  The other sign faces southwest and reads:
  
  Walnut Bottoms 2.5 ->
  <- Cosby Campground 2.9
  
  > look at the soles
  Wonderfully durable boots, size seven narrow. Their heavy leather exterior protects your feet from rocks and roots, they're tall for proper ankle support over rough terrain, the soles tend to keep you from slipping even on slick rocks, and they're lined with Gore-Tex to keep you dry. Your only complaint is that the company claims that the boots 'breathe,' when in fact they seem to keep your feet hot in the summer, freezing cold in the winter. So far, though, they're the best boots you've ever owned.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  You are carrying:
  some socks (being worn)
  some hiking shorts (being worn)
  a shirt (being worn)
  some hiking boots (being worn)
  a hip pack (being worn and closed)
  a watch (being worn)
  
  > look at the watch
  You glance down at your watch, a rather chunky and unstylish accoutrement purchased for fifteen dollars at the drugstore. Fashion critiques aside, it's a functional, water-resistant, glow in the dark timepiece.
  
  At present, it indicates that the time is 1:59 PM.
  
  The sun seems to glare down upon you, hot and unrelenting. When will
  it start to sink in the sky? Mid-afternoon is always the harshest time of day to be hiking on a clear day.