Ok, time for bear story #1. First off, this is hard to believe, and almost no one thinks this actually happened, but this is all true. On the night of April 8th, I was sleeping in my tent, and at about 2:30am I woke up because something was touching my finger through the side of the tent. When I fully comprehended what was going on, I realized my finger was being held by teeth. Big teeth. My finger was in a bear's mouth. It was being very gentle and inquisitive. I had eaten trail mix before going to bed, and not washed my hands. This is what I imagine the bear's thought process was.
"Mmmmmmmmmm... smells like trail mix up against this tent. Kinda smells like human too. I love trail mix. Don't like human too much though. Besides, they kill you when you eat human. Like Bob... Poor Bob... I miss that guy. So I'm gonna see if this is trail mix or human, by gently picking it up in my mouth. Yep... Definitely, wait... Nope, yep, definitely human. I'll put that back now."
And it put my finger down. I started making a lot of noise and it ran away. Judging by the sound of it's feet hitting the ground, it was big too It was at least a few hundred pounds. It stayed around the camp for an hour or so, sniffing and looking around for food scraps. I went back to sleep after it went away. And no one believes me.
I passed the hundred mile mark on 4-12, and it was super cold for a couple days around then. It dropped down to the teens in the nights. I'm definitely glad I have a good sleeping bag rated to 15 degrees.
On 4-14 I had the best trail magic so far. A couple hours after starting my hike that day, I came down to a parking lot between mountains, and a church group was there making breakfast and it was amazing. Biscuits and gravy, bacon, eggs, fresh fruit, and delicious home baked brownies. There was other food but that's what I had. Then at 11:00 they switched to lunch and we got awesome burgers and soda. I was stuffed, so I thanked them and went on my way.
Then just 5 miles later, I came to another parking lot where people were doing trail magic. I walked up to them, and a guy named Tim (on the right in the picture) said, "You look like a guy could use a beer." You can't refuse free beer. It's in the bible somewhere. He kept giving me more as well. I had 3 cans, and I quickly learned that higher altitudes mean alcohol hits you harder. Then he served amazing burgers, which I had to make room for, and gave me a shot of real southern moonshine and I was on my way.
I flew up that mountain. I was feeling good. No pain in my knees or anything. It was an awesome day. Then at the top of the mountain there was a lookout tower with an amazing view. Fantastic day.
On 4-16 I finally got a picture of a butterfly. I had been trying to get one since the first day, but they are so ADHD that they never stop fluttering long enough for me to take a picture
On 4-17 I entered the Smoky Mountains. Ok, so bear story #2. I walked down to the campsite after a day of resupplying in town, and hiking, and I came around a tree and two big black things moved really fast and startled me. It was a black bear and her cub. The cub climbed the tree insanely fast to get away from me and the mother stayed at the ground protecting the cub. They were about 30 feet away from me. She looked at me for a while and decided I wasn't an immediate threat, so she sat down at the base of the tree. She looked calm, I felt safe, so it was picture time. I took half a dozen but only one came out good. I walked towards them a little to get a picture of the cub, but just then some hikers saw me and started yelling "BEAR!! THERE'S A BEAR THERE!!!" I said "Yeah thanks, I see it," but was thinking "no shit man." Anyway, the mother looked like she was getting nervous with all the yelling, so I backed away and couldn't get a picture of the cub. I went and set up my tent and they were gone by the time I was done.
On 4-19 I hiked to the top of Clingman's Dome, the highest point on the AT. The picture of me is from the summit. After that, the trail drastically changed scenery. I don't know trees, but they changed from something to a spruce and fir forest. It looked and smelled awesome. I have pictures of all of this, but it's all on my camera, and my phone is packed away all day, so be patient. You'll see them eventually. That night at the shelter two section hikers showed up with beer and guitars and made awesome music that put me in an awesome mood. That was a great day.
I spent most of 4-20 and 4-21 in Gatlinburg TN. It was... interesting. It is a huge tourist town that reminds me a lot of Las Vegas, only without the fun parts, like gambling.
4-22 to 23 was crazy weather in the Smoky Mountains. We literally had a snowstorm. It got down to the teens, and never got above freezing all day. I had to cut my hiking short on both days because my hands were literally too cold to continue without fear of frostbite. You don't mess around with the Smokies. When hiking, your body temperature stays safe, but your fingers and toes take a long time to warm up. I saw more snow in those two days than I did all winter in RI. It was insanely beautiful hiking through the snow, but I was glad to get out of the Smoky Mountains. The picture at the bottom is of the shelter when it had just started snowing, and the next morning there was inches. Everyone's boots, socks, jackets and anything else that got wet the day before were frozen solid. It's nice to be at a lower elevation where things are green again.
