It was early November, 2017, when I was on my way to hike to the top of Mount Cammerer in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. A friend I went to church with said she thought I would really like this hike because there is an old fire lookout station at the top which provides amazing panoramic views. Apparently there is a trail up that allows for horseback riding, or at least did at one time.
I moved to Tennessee after my divorce was final in 2016. I fell in love with the mountains and I tried to go hiking as often as I could. Hiking was significant for me because a few years earlier I had been in a hospital bed with chest pains. Tests showed that I had not actually had a heart attack but I needed to make some changes or I would. I really believe that the symptoms were caused by the tremendous stress I was under during the last few years of my troubled marriage.
This hike was going to be challenging because during the first two or three miles the trail climbs over 2,800 feet. Then it meets the Appalachian Trail the rest of the way to the observation tower. Up and back would be a total of 11 miles -- not for the faint of heart.
It was an absolutely beautiful morning as I drove on Interstate 40 towards the North Carolina border where the exit was. However as soon as I got off the freeway I found myself driving through a dense fog that I can only describe as creepy. Mount Cammerer was in my GPS. I was following it deeper into the forest and farther from civilization. After a time my GPS said, "You have arrived." I was on the road in the middle of nowhere with the slope going up to my right but no trailhead or anything that even looked like a trail.
I realized I had simply put Mount Cammerer in my GPS but not the trailhead. I hadn't even looked up to see where the trailhead was. Of course I had no cell phone signal, so I had to find my way back into town where I could get enough signal to find out where the trail began and then find my way there.
The trail actually started at the Cosby Campground in North Carolina. By the time I got there, it was about 9:30 in the morning and the sun was fairly high. I was actually hoping to be on the trail by around 8:00 because I knew the days were getting shorter and I didn't want to be stuck on the trail after dark. The strange thing is I never made this mistake before and was shaking my head and even thinking about how creepy the fog was that morning. As I was musing over all of this, I suddenly sensed the 'still small voice' say something to me:
"I'm going to show you something when you get to the top."
It could not have been more real if it had been an actual audible voice. Now I was filled with excited anticipation. I also had a little bit of trepidation because I thought of God taking Moses up to the top of Mount Nebo to show him the promised land but then he died up there. I somewhat wondered if this was how it was going to end for me. I figured if it was, then I would simply be ushered into the presence of my savior so it would be fine.
About halfway up, the trial meets the Appalachian Trail and continues for another 2 miles or so. Once you are on the trail it levels out a lot which is good because after 3 miles and climbing nearly 1,000 feet per mile I was feeling my knees. At this point I caught up to a couple of women. One of them seemed to be about my age and the other quite a bit older. We hiked together for a bit and then I noticed that the older lady dropped back a ways leaving me with the younger woman who I learned was her daughter. She seemed to be enjoying hiking with me and we were having some really good conversations. I began wondering if this was what God was intending to show me.
We continued together the rest of the way to the observation tower and when we arrrived we somehow ended up separated. I went inside and looked around. It hasn't been used as an observation tower for a long time but it is maintained for trail hikers to be able to stop for the night. I went outside on the outer deck and looked around. The views were quite amazing but I found myself wondering about the voice I heard. Maybe God just wanted to show me some beautiful scenery or maybe I had simply imagined it all. I was convinced that a future wife was not what God intended to show me. She was nice and attractive but I was still licking wounds from my broken marriage and just didn't have it in me to have a relationship at this point. I didn't know if I ever would be able to and in reality, I was enjoying my single life and had no interest in changing that.
Generally people get to the tower about lunch time so there was quite a group of people there eating lunch. Some of the hikers had come up another way and told us that the trail they had come up started in the Cosby campground as well. It was a couple of miles longer but the slope was more gradual and therefore easier on the joints. That kind of appealed to me but I didn't want to be alone on the trail. There was another couple that decided they would take the Lower Cammerer Trail down and we agreed that while we wouldn't actually hike together we would keep each other in sight.
So we started down the other way which meant another few miles on the Appalachian Trail. At around 2:30 we got to the trail where the homeward trail branched off. I reached it first. I read the sign which said, "Lower Cammerer Trail, Cosby Campground, 7 1/2 miles." I turned to the couple behind me and said that we had a long ways to go and only about 3 hours of daylight left. We were going to have to hustle!
We didn't waste any time! We maintained a very brisk walk and didn't stop to take pictures or enjoy the vistas. The gentleman was somewhat upset because we were told it was a couple of miles longer when it reality it was five miles longer. One thing was true, the trail descended much more gradually which did make it easier on the joints.
We kind of 'leap-frogged' the rest of the way. Sometimes they were in front and sometimes I was in front, depending on someone needing to step of the trail briefly. Towards the end we actually were hiking together. I found out the lady was a marathon runner and the gentleman regularly worked out. They commented that I seemed to be in pretty good shape and asked what I did. I kind of joked that I sometimes drive past a gym. The fact is that I mainly I work a physical job which helps me stay in shape.
We finally made it back to the campground just after the sun had gone below the horizon. In another 30 minutes it would be dark. There were still some cars in the parking lot so I said goodbye to the couple and said I was going to wait and see if there were more people on the trail. After some time people started coming to their cars and it was apparent they were picnickers and fishermen just hanging out nearby, so I decided it was OK to leave.
It was dark on the way home and I could barely feel my legs by this point. After I got onto the interstate I started musing about thinking I had heard the 'still small voice' tell me he was going to show me something at the top. All of a sudden I heard the voice again, clear as a bell:
"I did show you something. I showed you another way down."
I was puzzled, but the voice continued:
"Three years ago you were in a hospital bed with chest pains not sure if you had a heart attack or not. But today, at 51 years old, you just hiked 16 miles, climbed and descended more than 2,800 feet in just over 7 hours. Not bad for an old bull. The truth is, you have a lot of life and a lot of living left in you. You are not even close to the finish line."
It was a little hard to drive the rest of the way home with tear filled eyes. I had not realized how much the previous several years had taken out of me but I knew I was feeling better and stronger than I had in a long time. I also felt encouraged that God wasn't finished with me yet and I was now looking forward to what he had in store for me next.
Well that was 5 1/2 years ago and I'm still going strong. I met the love of my life (not the woman on the trail) and married her a year after this hike. God has given both of us health and vitality and a good bit of work to do so it is good that he has kept us as strong as he has.
I am totally convinced that God does speak to us. Generally, I am skeptical when I hear someone, even myself, say that God told them something. We shouldn't discount it but we do need to test any word we might get. In this case, I think time has shown that this really was a word from the Lord and he took me up to Mount Cammerer to show me that my story wasn't finished yet.
I hope you are encouraged and inspired by this story of mine.
