The Treacherous Albert Mtn Fire Tower

April 19, 2025

Bo and I cruised to Albert Mtn Fire Tower, where we were met with a nearly vertical rocky climb to the top. There were lots of downed trees to cross, which presents a challenge when your dog is attached to your waist and wants to go under trees that you cannot fit through with a huge pack on your back.

It was very steep up to the fire tower, and I nearly stumbled backward a few times. Bo made the ascent look easy and kept looking back at me, wondering why I wasn’t keeping up with him. When I got to the tower, I climbed up, only to realize that they had bolter the hatch so that people couldn’t get to the observation deck. They kept the tower in descent shape to allow hikers to visit it. Had I not been attempting a tbru-hike, I likely would have tried to climb up and over the outside of the railing of the tower to get to the top…”Magnum” said the same thing when he got to the tower. We both decided we didn’t want to be a headline in the news. The tower marked 100 miles into the AT, and then we continued walking through the Nantahala National Forest.

After the tower, Bo and I zoomed through the next miles, along ridgelines. I met “Pooh Bear” from Texas at a miniature waterfall spring, who is a beekeeper and is staying at the same shelter as Bo and I tonight.

My feet have been killing me, and I may need to get new shoes. The arch and heel pain is nearly unbearable. I’ve had 4 days of 11 and 12 miles… that could also be part of the problem, but I’m excited for a rest day in Franklin. Bo and I were the 1st to get to the shelter for the evening. I struggled with the bear hang for at least 30 minutes today, I kept getting caught in the saplings surrounding the tree limb I wanted. After dinner, the crew all sat around the campfire (minus any fire in the pit) and chatted, while Bo rolled in the dirt and ate dirt, then proceeded to demand pets from people.