Date: 2008-04-22
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm Hostel
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Arose in time to catch the end of the sunrise. The night was freezing and I slept badly but the day was warmer from the start. Oatmeal, now going by ¢Wild Oats¢, as she¢s been dubbed by Daisy, went up to the Mt. Cammerer lookout tower to take photos and I flew on down the trail. The view from the trail was striking, the whole valley laid out below. The gently rippled hills contrasting against the extreme topography of the Smokies. The day warmed up quickly as we dropped in elevation. Flowers ¢ which had been absent above 5000 feet--began to reappear. It was a wholly beatific morning. I reached a trail juncture and there was a whitetail doe standing at the crossroads. I stopped to watch her, and her fawn trotted out into the trails 10 feet away before ambling away. Another hiker coming behind me down the trail scared them away. I pushed on quickly leaving the park and entering the free world once more. The trail dipped down to run along a gorgeous little creek... I got some welcomed water & strolled along enjoying the mossy¢green creek and the masses of wildflowers. There were dwarf irises, wild geraniums, trillium, redbud trees, dogwood...colour everywhere. The trees were beginning to unfurl their leaves. Once the trail hit the road near the Pigeon River, it was a bit of a tricky road walk under I-40, but after some confusion, I made it back into the woods. The pine forest around the trail was hot, dry & fragrant. I was dripping sweat and glad to see the sign for Standing Bear Hostel. It was only 11 AM, so I sat and talked to Taz, a guy named Forge & Cheeseburger. Oatmeal & Blue Water showed up a bit later along with Adam, who has been dubbed MeatSack, & Doxie, So Live & a bunch of others. Curtis was kind enough to let us do work-for-stay so we did a bit of landscaping for him. Then we did our laundry with washtub & wringer. We got glorious hot showers & cooked some tasty biscuits. So Live had just finished his Vonnegut book,we so I finished mine & we exchanged. Picked up some silnylon to use as poncho and some hot cocoa from the hiker box. A guy named Dave had called to say he wasn¢t coming, so his mail drop was fair game. We got BBQ chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, Oreos & Fig Newton¢s. This was a great score. I picked up some snacks at the little resupply shop and bought food for breakfast. We've planned a feast with Forge for tomorrow. We made some cocoa & sat around chatting & playing with Chief, the German Shepherd. Rock Hound & Curtis drove everyone to the gas station on a beer run, then started a great fire. It was a clear night, everyone having a good time. MeatBag & Big Ease took turns playing the guitar and singing off key. The meteor shower was supposed to be peaking, so Oats, Blue Water & I walked to the top of the ridge to look for shooting stars. Only saw a few and spent most of the time talking. It was a perfect evening. It was after midnight when we returned, but we¢d had too much coffee, so we cooked some spaghetti while Blue Water heated himself a pizza before bed. The moon was like a spotlight through the window and it was nice to sleep on a soft bunk.