Date: 2015-04-20
From: Davenport Gap Shelter

To: Brown Gap
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: light rain

In my time in the Smokies I learned two critical things in the realm of camping:1) I don't like shelters2) All you can do when people snore is laugh and poke fun at them with your neighbors.That being said I have come up with my three favorite AT shelter snorers for your reading pleasure:1) The Australian - They snore with an upward inflection at the end like they're asking you a question.2) The broken lawnmower - You know that sound that your lawnmower makes when you pull the cord and the engine doesn't fire?3) The Geyser (AKA The Sleep Apnoea) - They start off quiet then make one or two crazy loud snores and breathe heavily for a few seconds then stop breathing altogether. You can set your watch to the intervals. This one is impossible to sleep through because even though you know it's coming it still startles you.I'm a light sleeper so this is what I did at night in the Smokies to pass the time. We had 'The Geyser' in the shelter last night and I eventually pulled my iPod out, found an empty radio frequency and fell asleep to white noise. Diehard and I had some laughs yelling "here it comes!" before we decided we'd rather be sleeping.I thought today was going to be a short 3.6 mile walk to Standing Bear. I woke up at 7:00, heard the thunder and rolled back over. We finally left around 8:45.As we finished the last mile of the Smokies the sun came out. We left the park and the 1.7 mile walk to the Pigeon River was one of my favorite stretches. It was downhill and followed a creek that eventually became a waterfall. Everything at that elevation was green and lush. It was great.Diehard and I made the right turn, went under I-40, climbed the hill and ducked back into the woods. We finished the last mile to Standing Bear Farm in no time.Standing Bear was an interesting place that looked straight out of the 60s. Very rustic and a hippy vibe. We met the caretaker and learned the ropes. Before I knew it I had cooked and eaten an entire pizza. Then three sodas and a Gatorade. All while having a long conversation with Gorp Gobbler about his 911 rescue from Muskrat Creek. He has a trail journal and I'm sure the details are there if you're interested.While I was eating I looked outside and saw a cat run by. Why was the cat running you ask? Because the rooster was chasing him. Seriously.They were having a party tonight with a band and what looked to be 8 amazing pork butts. I probably should have stayed but the sunshine pulled me back to the trail. I got my resupply, charged my phone, paid my tab and left. I still haven't washed clothes or had a proper shower in a week. I also read on Facebook about the speculation of weight loss so far. They had a scale and it said I was down 20 lbs. This was after the pizza and soda. So, if you want to eat whatever you want all you have to do is go up and down mountains all day with 30 lbs on your back.I walked back down the hill and what did I see? Trail magic! What they had looked great but I was stuffed. I did eat a couple of bananas and grabbed a ginger ale for the road.The climb out was around 4 miles and just shy of 3000 feet. At the top was Snowbird Mountain with a grassy bald and an FAA VOR tower. The aviation nerd in me spent far too long checking it out.The 2.5 miles to the shelter flew by and it started to rain just as we got there. I suspected 100% chance of geyser there tonight and pushed the next 2.5 miles to the gap. Old Eagle got here a little later and confirmed my suspicion. It rained for about 20 minutes on the way and now the wind is whipping around the mountains. It's going to be a chilly night.Tomorrow is Max Patch, a bald mountain with a grassy top and 360 degree views. I'm not sure yet where my destination will be but I have 23.3 miles left to Hot Springs and need to get there Wednesday to spend a zero with Mrs. Rock Boat on Thursday. So I'll be looking at 15-20 miles tomorrow to make Wednesday even easier. Sturkie, I havent forgotten you. I looked into hammocks and my problem was that I'm typically a side sleeper. Hammocks are generally designed for back sleeping. They make some that do support side-sleeping but I didn't care for them much. Not many people use hammocks out here but the ones that do love it. If anyone is looking to start backpacking I would definitely give them a hard look.I'll also dig the YouTube link of Fiddler up and post it from Hot Springs. I generally write these entries at night from my sleeping bag and it's rare that I have service. I still have it on my camera and watched it today. I miss that guy. Not sure where he is but I'm guessing somewhere in the Smokies or in Gatlinburg with Airlock and crew.