Date: 2018-04-29
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Davenport Gap
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: clear sky

Last night I basically stealth camped. It was somewhat within the shelter area, but across a creek and down a hill next to the woods. I chose that spot because the view of the mountains from there was breathtaking. Also, I¢m over the whole sleeping in a shelter thing. They are great if the weather is bad, but if it¢s nice outside I prefer my own little space. Off to the side of my tent I created a living room. My living room was basically made up of a contractor sized trash bag and my thermalite sit-upon. It was a perfect spot for me to relax and journal while basking in all of the natural beauty around me. I slept like a baby! One time I woke up to pee. I¢m only telling you this because I put on my crocs and walked to the nearest tree. That¢s another great thing about stealth camping, you don¢t have to worry about being seen. Anyway, I went back to my tent and took off my crocs before putting my feet inside. Somehow one slipped out of my hand and went rolling down the hill! Ugh! I thought about it for 2 seconds before I zipped my tent shut and went right back to sleep.  My alarm clock today was the song of morning birds. I heard them chirping and the sun was just beginning to rise. It was time to sit in my ¢living room¢ and watch it happen. I grabbed my bear bag and runaway shoe before I sat down. I ate breakfast while watching the show. Today¢s photo is of this mornings glorious sunrise. I feel so blessed!  My knee felt much better this morning, but I¢m still taking things slow. It was nearly 8:30am before I was packed up and ready to go. Then I had quite a hike just to get back to the shelter and eventually the trail.  I only had 7.9 miles of hiking left to exit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Papa Big Swig would pick me up at Davenport Gap. I was a little sad because now that the weather is good, I¢m loving the Smokies! My hike was fairly uneventful today. I started with a large up, but the last 4 miles were down. Oftentimes it was a solid trail of rocks, but it was down. I frightened a black snake with my trekking pole. It accidentally landed right on him. He slithered up the grassy side of the trail and gave me an I¢m aggravated look! He was sticking his tongue out even. I¢m confident he wasn¢t hurt though because I had no weight on my pole at the time. I uploaded a picture of him. It¢s not a great photo, but he was about 4ft long. Before I knew it my Great Smoky Mountain adventure had come to an end. The first half of the mountains was a bear (tee-hee), and the second half was awe inspiring. The class of 2016 thru-hikers left trail magic for us at the park exit. It was a cooler with our choice of pop, beer, or Gatorade, and chips or candy. They had written messages on the cooler congratulating us on completing the Smokies and cheering us on to Maine. I chose a fully loaded Coke and some Cheetos. Then just as Papa Big Swig arrived I grabbed a Twix. There¢s something special about candy when you¢re on the trail.  Papa Big Swig dropped me off at the camper and left for Black Mountain to pick up Hugs. She¢s back!!! It¢s a happy sad moment. Turns out it¢s not just plantar fasciitis. She has a fractured calcaneous! That¢s a heel bone for my non medical readers. It¢s a rare thing to fracture that bone. Her hiking days are basically over and we¢re both sad. I say basically because I¢m going to do a little leap frog with her and we¢re planning to take a short hike and spend the night at Max Patch mountain under the stars on Tuesday. Yes she¢s doing this with a fracture! That was one of the things on her to do list for her thru-hike so we¢re making it happen. She¢ll be saying goodbye for good on Wednesday, and I¢ll miss her smiling face. To my surprise I had an early Mother¢s Day package waiting for me in the camper from my girls. They both put a lot of thought into my gifts. It brought me to tears. I often think of my children when I¢m hiking. I¢m so proud of the wonderful human beings all of my children have grown up to be. I¢m a lucky mom!  Not sure if I¢m hiking big miles or little miles tomorrow. My left knee is swollen again and quite painful to touch. Either way, my boots will be back on. Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018)Where¢s your faith?