I had lost count of the nights spent in the tent by the time I went on this trip in late 2021. I had just returned from a camping trip to Wyoming with a bunch of other Scout owners when Levi from Old Iron Offroad invited me down to the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee. Levi was hunting for the ghost town of Mcfarland, Tennessee, or what little remained of it.
The small town of Mcfarland emerged toward the end of the 19th century with the development of the Old Line, a 47-mile railroad built to connect Tennessee to Georgia. Today there are barely any signs the town ever existed, and we nearly missed it entirely when the road we thought we had to take came to a dead end. On our retreat we spotted the remnants of one of the dilapidated structures through the foliage. We found the short path down to what was once a concrete mixing plant, the only real sign there was ever anything there.
With the town of Mcfarland ticked off our list, we spent the rest of our days driving rough forest service roads to other points of interest in the Cherokee National Forest. We would set up camp each night and pack up each morning before heading back out to the trails, but not until after I had made cappuccinos with my stovetop Moka pot and steamer.
One question I always get on the road is “How do you get the dog up in the tent?” Luckily, as the Tamarack has access on each end, I can lift the dog up onto the hood where he can then scramble his way up onto the roof and into the tent. It might not look graceful in action, but it works!
