Date: 2016-04-18
From: Peck's Corner Shelter

To: Davenport Gap, Off Trail
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: clear sky

Today we got packed up and hit the trail pretty early. We even had time for an oatmeal breakfast before heading out! We knew it could be a long day...it was about 13 miles to the next shelter or about 20 before leaving the park. We decided to make the decision when we came to the shelter at 13 miles whether to go on. Knowing that there was a possibility of a 20 mile day we wanted to get an early start! While packing up, we were chatting with some section hikers from Illinois. They realized that they had too much food and gave us an extra mountain house macaroni and cheese dehydrated meal. WOW. That was probably the best Mac and cheese we have ever eaten. Hard to believe it was dehydrated. We purchased dehydrated meals from Mountain House, Alpine Aire, Backpackers Pantry, and Harmony House. The Mountain House recipes are by far the best. Backpackers Pantry is decent for variety. Alpine Aire needs to hire someone that knows how to mix flavors. Harmony House specializes in selling bulk dehydrated individual vegetables but also makes soup mixes. We haven't really cared much for the soup but have found that if we add them to the Alpine meals, the mix is tolerable. While on the trail, you become somewhat of an opportunist when there is free food. We were also talking to "redirect" (named because he walked 3 miles in the wrong direction one day) and he told how he spotted a banana on a bench at Clingmans dome the day before. He eyes it to see if anyone was with that banana. After a few minutes, he walked over and grabbed it. Upon reflection, he told us it reminded him of how street people behave. He is retired and well to do. We could relate. Yesterday, while hiking near Newfound gap, We saw some weekend hikers finishing up, and asked if they had any extra food. Scored a half pack of whole wheat tortillas. You would never think to do something like that off the trail, but it feels natural here for some reason. We got to the Cosby knob shelter at 13 miles early in the afternoon and decided to press on. While resting there, we ate a delicious meal, she took her shoes off and froze her feet in a stream to massage them, and we both got lectured indirectly by a passive aggressive hiker. He was talking to his buddy loudly so that he could be overheard, about how people shouldn't push too far in one day because they can hurt themselves. He knew we are planning to go 20 miles and we were only ones within earshot. The last 7 miles were basically downhill which made for a very easy hike. Towards the end, we called a shuttle and caught a ride into Newport, Tn to begin a side trip! A hot shower and laundry facilities were very motivating for completing those miles.Reflecting on our time through the Smokies, we had really hoped to see a bear. While calling for a shuttle, another hiker passed us. At the pickup location, we saw him again and he told us that he had just seen a momma bear with her cub and had scared them off right before we got there! Guess that's what happens when you talk on the phone instead of enjoy the outdoors! He also told us that there was going to be a huge party at a hostel 4 miles up the trail to celebrate "4/20" with lots of drugs. We were thankful to be away from the trail for that day. One of our friends quipped, "I guess that's why they call them the Smokies". His coworkers told them that all the second hand smoke was giving us munchies. Not so! We are hungry because of the exercise! We finished the ~70 mile section of the AT thru Great Smoky Mountain National Park in 4 and a half days. Pretty good time. A ranger named Ethan told us that it takes most people 20 days just to get to the entrance to the park, and here we had them almost finished by then. This was encouraging for us. Now we are off the trail for a few days to go to a wedding. Update: we did see bears in Cades cove and enjoyed Dollywood! See you next week!