I find that I gauge how difficult a days hike will be on the same scale that I did when we first started. This means, today for example, that I expect to get my ass kicked and leave camp early, and then finish my hike at 2pm.
I left camp and walked along the road back to the dam, but this time continued across it. Immediately on the other side I saw the sign declaring me as arrived at the Great Smokey Mountains.
I knew today included a 3000 foot climb over 12 miles, and admit to a mote of trepidation. That was unnecessary though, because today's hike felt like a breeze. I finished with sore feet, and everything else feeling fine.
The first campsite was closed due to bears, and they were sitting there when I walked by. Barabus was coming back from trying to get water down at the site, and told me he saw the mother and her cub. We moved on quickly; better to be thirsty for a few miles than disemboweled I always say.
Barabus and I had lunch (actually second lunch) at the shelter before he moved on to the next. This shelter was very nice, made of stone with a tarp front wall and fireplace.
No one else arrived for 3 hours, so I set out my solar charger, pitched my tent, and listened to Sacre Bleu on Audible while laying in the grass. The Houston crew arrived first, followed by Dick Flap, Meta, Stonechair, Optimus, and Mr. Fantastic. Once dinners were started Philly and Tapeworm trundled into camp as well.
Dick Flap showed off some of the great footage he got of a couple rattlers he found just off the trail. Day one in the smokies and shit just got real. There is a somewhat massive list of creatures that make there home here, and I hope to see many.. from a distance.
This is the first shelter I've been to that doesn't have any form of privy. There's just a sign pointing to a private hill, a little wasteland of used toilet paper. Pack in pack out people! Thankfully there's a great water source, and bear bag cables.
Tonight's activity was solving riddles that Mr. Fantastic posed. It began with a riddle left by Aspen Glow in the hiker log at the shelter, moved forward with a riddle from Optimus, and concluded with a series directed by Mr. Fantastic. I tried to abstain, as riddles frequently annoy me, but when it's a group activity it can be difficult. It was an entertaining and frustrating activity.
We all plan to be in Gatlinburg on Sunday night, so I brought up The Avengers to gauge interest. Everyone jumped at the idea, so we should have a rather large group of smelly vagabonds ordering massive quantities of popcorn and clearing isles. Mr. Fantastic and I also plan to make sure that wherever we stay either has HBO or wifi to catch up in Game of Thrones. Brief excursions into society will always have a soft spot in my heart. We both look forward to taking a zero in town. A hot shower, clean laundry, and air conditioning sound damn good right about now. Hiking in the 85 degree sun between trees too dense for a breeze makes for a sweaty day.
There's a thunderstorm rolling by off in the distance, so I think I'll try to fall asleep before it arrives. Here's to a soggy morning.
