Hey Bear – Days 111 thru 115

Day 111 – NOC / Gorgeous Stays to Cable Gap Shelter

I slept great last night. Who wouldn’t, on a real bed in an air conditioned room. I didn’t even wake up to take a leak.

Wendy got us back on trail before 6. The air was still and very humid. The first 8 miles are pretty much all up hill. I have heard many hikers complain about the climb out of the NOC.

This part of the trail was not as hard as everyone has said, yes there were some steep spots, there were even some rock scrambles. We still got over 22 miles in less than 11 hours, including breaks.

Early on we saw two hikers from Amsterdam. They are out for several days doing a loop that includes part of the Bartram Trail. The woman used the word “moist” to describe the constant state of her clothes since getting on trail. I said mine have been flat out wet since we got to Georgia.

There is major construction going on at Stecoah Gap. The road is being widened significantly. We were about out of water and were hoping there would be a water cooler for the workers. No such luck. A foreman led us to the nearby spring. When we got back to the road the pilot car driver was returning with four cold bottles of water. The trail provides.

In a few years hikers will get to cross this busy road.

We met Roger as we were approaching the campsite. He is pushing 70 and is out here doing about 150 miles. He works in food service at a horse show center in Florida. He said the buffet line is over a quarter mile long. I want to see that.

Tomorrow will be a short day. Resupply, then hanging out at the Fontana Dam Shelter aka the Fontana Dam Hilton. Rumor is that the shelter has a hot shower.

Day 112 – Cable Gap Shelter to Fontana Dam Shelter

No alarm this morning, it’s going to be a short day. We woke just after 5 and we’re on the trail by 6. The plan for the day is to resupply at the Fontana Village and stay at the Fontana Dam Shelter, aka the Fontana Dam Hilton.

The hike was pretty easy, we were at the marina before 9, well before 9. We had time to gulp down a few sodas and sports drinks before the front desk at the village open. The front desk managers the shuttle into the Village.

Resupply options were not bad at the general store. They had everything we needed except oatmeal and coffee. However, if you are planning on thru hiking, mail yourself a resupply here. This was the most expensive resupply we have done.

We did hang out in the village for awhile. At lunch at the restaurant, got ice cream, figured out dinner for tonight and breakfast for tomorrow. We finally made it to the shelter at 3 PM.

This shelter has a full bathroom very close by, so I got a shower and shave. Then people started showing up at the shelter.

First Dennis who told us all about his adventure getting here from Springer. Then a bunch of guys from the same family. Some had been backpacking, some boating, they all converged here for their last few nights of vacation.

We enjoyed talking to them all, but I have a feeling it is going to be loud late. We are getting up early, so they will get to deal with that.

It was nice taking a little break today. I am looking forward to the next one.

Millions of hikers have taken this exact photo.

Day 113 – Fontana Dam Shelter to Spence Field Shelter 

It was loud late last night. The last relative arrived around 10 PM and the reunion went on until at least midnight. For the most part it was a very happy reunion and the conversation had a nice tone. On of the younger boys, however, got the throw ups and vomited several times near the shelter. I managed to sleep a little bit.

The alarm was supposed to go off at 4, but Meriwether was stirring at 3:45 so that’s when we got up. Later in the day she said I opened and closed the bear resistant garbage can many times. Those cans make a lot of noise and are right next to the shelter. I don’t recall doing that.

We did not hear any water this morning. I ate packaged muffins, cranberry juice, and cold brewed coffee, actually instant coffee made with cold water in the empty cranberry juice bottle. Yum. The point is, we were able to get going much quicker.

We walked in the dark to the visitor center, over the dam, down the road, and into the woods. I think we covered half our miles today in the dark. Needless to say, we got our 10 by 9.

We heard a bunch of bears in the woods. Meriwether saw two cubs. We also met some more neat people.

A grandfather taking his grandson on his first backpacking trip. “Just Don” is a retired State Trooper from Virginia. John, his grandson, just graduated from high school.

A young new couple. Tara thought I was a bear tracking her for about a third of a mile. She yelled “hey bear”, I yelled back “how’s it going”. We laughed at dinner. Justin, I think her boyfriend, a recovering lawyer from Louisiana now a raft guide and backpacker in the Smokys.

Magic pack, keeps food safe from the bears and mice.

The weather has been beautiful today. I wish we had gotten more miles in. The next shelter is closed due to aggressive bear activity, the one after that a bit too far. Oh well, we were up early, this is a good chance to get to bed early and hopefully sleep a bit better.

Day 114 – Spence Field Shelter to Mt Collins Shelter 

At about 1 AM I was woken to the chorus of “hey bear”. This was no dream. I think Tara started it. Meriwether says she hear the loud crash only a bear in the woods can make. I joined in with the shouting and banging. I did not see or hear the bear.

A little more than a couple hours later Meriwether was stirring. I looked at my watch, 3:45, I’m supposed to get another 15 minutes. Oh well, might as well get dressed and get going.

The miles were hard today. I don’t know if it is my poor breakfast, there was no oatmeal at the general store so I’m eating honey buns for a few days. It could also be two nights in a row of frequently interrupted sleep. In addition to the bear, the second floor iof the hostel was a mouse freeway. They were back and forth all night long. We were on the first floor.

Clingman’s Dome was packed with tourists. We decided to venture to the top of the lookout tower anyway. Upon reaching the top I was approached by a young Indian man who wanted to know if I was hiking the Appalachian Trail. I responded yes and spent the next 15 minutes answering questions from members of his family. Where do you sleep? What do you eat? Where do you get water? I had a blast talking and explaining.

We got to the Mt Collins Shelter later than I thought we would. Carver, AT class of 2012, was already here. A ranger showed up a bit later. The ranger explained why we shouldn’t tent, I presented our perspective, he said stay in the tent.

In the Smokys camping is only allowed at the shelters and permits are required. If there is space available in the shelter, tenting is not allowed. Thru hikers must yield space in the shelter to section hikers. I did not want to yield space at 11 tonight. You have seen the photos, I need my beauty sleep.

We talked to Carver for way too long. The shared experiences were too many and we all had fun reliving them. Carver is also very familiar with the trail down here and provide some good information on what is coming up.

I’ve not written at all about the wild boars in the area, this is a sleeping area for one or two.

Tomorrow we will hit mile 1700 for us. Less than 500 to go. There are only 29 more hiking days before Meriwether needs to be back at school. That math leads to a bunch of high mile days. Fortunately the trail feels familiar and will only become more familiar over the next couple weeks.

Day 115 – Mt Collins Shelter to Cosby Knob Shelter

Meriwether woke me up last night to tell me that Carver yelled “hey bear”. She didn’t hear a crash in the woods. I hadn’t heard the yell. I had been sleeping so well. The temperature was just about perfect.

We had almost a half mile back to the AT from the shelter site and we started hiking in the very early hours, so it was dark. At 10 we had hiked 9.9 trail miles, add in the extra 0.4 and we got another 10 by 10.

After passing Newfound Gap we started seeing many people. Most of them women. We saw a group of 10 women out for a multi day trip. Meriwether was so excited to see so many women on the trail.

One reason the trail is so nice.

The trail was much easier today than yesterday. We ended up at our original destination just after 3 and decided to push on to the next shelter, another 8 miles. We hiked a total of 28.3 trail miles today, our biggest day yet.

I was exhausted when we got to the shelter. I just wanted to eat dinner and go to sleep in the shelter. Meriwether has heard one too many shelter mouse stories and prefers the tent. We have heard the mice, even seen them, but they have never bothered us.

Today I am thankful that we only have 9 miles tomorrow, not 17. We are staying at a hostel and I am looking forward to eating all afternoon.