There are BEARS in these woods!

We are relaxing and recovering in Hot Springs, NC right now and will be back on the trail this afternoon.  We wanted give a quick recap of our last week.

Day 22
Starting Point: New Found Gap 206.8
Ending Point: Tri Corner Knob: ??
Total Miles: ??

We had breakfast at the hotel and then walked over to the local outfitter that provides free shuttle rides back to the trail.  We met the shuttle at 10 and were on the shuttle with 5 other thru hikers.  We were expecting to see Doc and Tex at the shuttle but they ended up getting an earlier ride out to the trail.
We got dropped off back at the gap around 10:45 and started hiking.  The weather was beautiful but there was a forecast of severe weather and tornado warnings that night so we wanted to try to get to the shelter as soon as possible.

Our hike that day was relatively easy.  We spent most of the day ridge walking and didnt have a lot of hard climbs.  Overall it was a pretty easy day with great weather.

In the Smokey Mountains hikers are required to stay at shelter sites (unless the shelter is full, then thru hikers can camp).  That makes for very crowded shelters.  The one we stayed in that night had 27 hikers (the shelter was made for 12). There were even people sleeping on the floor.  I think the threat of severe weather caused a lot of people to want to stay in the shelter.  We were the last ones at the site so we were able to set up our tent.  We managed to avoid most of the severe weather.  We had some strong winds and rain through the night but we stayed safe!

Day 23
Starting Point: Tri Corner Knob:??
Ending Point: Davenport Shelter: 237.2
Total Miles: ??

We started off our hike in rain and wind.  We knew this would be our last full day in the Smokeys so we were motivated to get moving!  The profile on the trail was again relatively easy.  This type of terrain makes for fast hiking!  We were able to get to the shelter for the night around 4.  That was our earliest day by far.  At the shelter there were only 4 other hikers there.  We knew we would have to sleep in the shelter.  Davenport shelter is the last (or first if you are a south bounder) shelter in the Smokeys and still has chain linked fence around the opening.  All of the shelters in the Smokeys used to have chain linked fence but they have all been removed.  We have heard multiple rumors as to why they have been removed.  Some of them were: hikers were leaving food out to lure the bears closer or hikers have locked other animals in the fence.

After dinner we were all sitting around the shelter and Mike noticed a bear with two cubs eating in the valley about 100 yards in front of us.  Everyone started scrambling to take pictures and video of the bears.  Most people at the shelter hadn't seen a bear on the trail yet so they were very excited to see them.  The bigger bear continued to get closer to the shelter until it was about 10 feet away! It even put a hole in another hiker's rain cover.  At that point, I was very grateful to have the chain link protection!!

Day 24
Starting Point: Davenport Shelter: 237.2
Ending Point: Max Patch Camp: 255
Total: 17.8

Its a lot easier to get out of camp early when you dont have a tent to break down!  We were able to leave around 8:30 and get an early start on the trail.  We knew we had a long day ahead of us on the trail and thankfully the weather was looking really good!  During the first few miles of the trail we walked directly under I-40.  It was pretty surreal to know how close we were to home at that point.  Shortly after passing I-40 we ran into Wolf getting dropped off from a shuttle!  We hadn't seen him since the NOC so it was great to catch up and hear about how his hike had been going. 

White Blaze under 40 west

We had a 5+ mile hike up a pretty steep hill so it was nice to be able to talk with Wolf to distract us from the climb.  Shortly after the climb we ran into Doc and Tex as well!  We hadnt seen them since Hiawassee.  It was so fun to be reunited with a group that we were hiking with in Hiawassee. 

We all decided to push past Max Patch and camp at a campground close to the bottom.  Unfortunately, it started to rain soon after we finished dinner which forced us all into our tents for an early night.

Day 25
Starting Point: Max Patch Camp: 255
Ending: Deer Park Shelter: 270.7
Total: 14.3

We woke up to dry weather but it was still very cold and overcast.  We knew we had one more full day of hiking until we would be in Hot Springs, NC!  The hiking was pretty nice and around lunch time the sun finally came out.  We made it to camp around 5 and were finally able to catch up with Doc, Tex, and Wolf by the campfire.

Day 26
Starting Point: Deer Park Shelter: 270.7
Ending: Hot Springs, NC: 273.9
Total: 3.2

Today we were up and out of camp by 8 am!  We knew we would be in town within the hour and had plans for a huge breakfast at a local diner.  The trail runs right through the middle of Hot Springs and there are a lot of restaurants and shops that cater to hikers.  We had a huge breakfast with Doc, Tex, and Wolf and then checked into the Sunnybank Inn.  It is a Bed and Breakfast in a huge old house run by a former thru hiker that has owned the house since 1978.  The house is full with books, musical instruments, and lots of history about the town and trail.  It was a really neat experience to be able to stay in such a beautiful house.  

We hung out in town that afternoon getting most of our hiker chores finished (laundry, post office, resupply, etc).  We were then able to enjoy a nice afternoon walking around and enjoying the nice weather!

We are getting back on the trail today (5/3) after a great breakfast at the inn.  Our plan is to be in Erwin, Tn by Wednesday.

Happy Trails,

G & Z