Date: 2016-05-25
From: Tennesse 91 at mile 447.3

To: Shook Branch Recreation Area
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: clear sky

Today she really wanted him to experience the coffee shop in Elizabethton before they were out of range so we decided to plan our hike strategically so he could go to lunch! We had a quick cereal breakfast and headed to the Wilbur Dam Road to drop him off with plans to pick him up at Shook Branch...a quick 4.4 mile hike. The morning hike was southbound back to the shook ranch recreation area near our camp site. It was basically a walk around the lake and near the dam. There were signs posted warning about bear activity. Just after crossing the dam, he heard a very large creature in the woods and didn't slow down to investigate. Meanwhile,. she enjoyed a book in the hammock while waiting for him. After she picked him up they headed in to Elizabethton to The Coffee Company for lunch. There were no empty tables and this sweet couple offered to share their large table with us. We got to chatting and it turns out they have a farm where they lodge A.T. hikers! We were sad that we have already passed them and didn't get a chance to stay with them. Their names were Mike and Peggy and they run the Cantarroso Farm! They have bees and chickens. They also do some organic gardening! We really wish we'd heard about them sooner. She remembered as she was talking to Mike and Peggy that she's seen a link to their website on the Hiker Shuttle website. What's more notable, they shared a couple bites of their dessert with us, and they even paid for our meal. Some trail magic off the trail. Thank you so much to our "off trail" angels Mike and Peggy for lunch, it was so nice meeting you and getting to chat with you both! We hope to come and stay at your place when she does the section she's missed so far! After lunch, she dropped him off at mile 447.3 on Tennessee 91. Thankfully some of these trail crossings are well marked! She plans on picking him up at 8:30 tonight! Until then she'll enjoy reading again! This lifestyle is sure enjoyable for us. We're loving getting to spend so much time with each other and with little distraction. We know that God has blessed us by granting is this sweet time together to start our marriage. We pray that God is using this time in our marriage for his glory. This section of the hike was also Southbound back to the place she had dropped him off in the morning. The same forboding bear warnings were posted at the trailhead here. It said don't camp, eat, or even linger. How are hikers supposed to go 16 miles without even a break? Early in his hike, he came to a solitary tombstone. It bore the saddest epitaph imaginable, "Lived alone, suffered alone, and died alone". The man who had these remarkable words engraved on his headstone was named Nick Grindstaff, an orphan who had a series of unfortunate events and became a hermit living on the mountain. So sad and so unnecessary. Jesus promises rest to all who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens if they will just come to Him. (Matthew 11:28) Continuing through the woods, he met an older northbound hiker he had seen at the waterfall the day before. The hiker looked a bit shaken up. Chatting with him, apparently the hiker had seen a bear a couple miles back that wasn't very afraid of people and an ominous rattlesnake warning scribbled on a sleeping bag tag left on the trail. It was obvious that the hiker was ready to get away from this section. Treading carefully, Sherpa approached the area with the rattlesnake warning, but fortunately there was no snake in sight. Continuing on, he met another group of hikers. They too had seen a bear. Surely it wasn't the same one? Sherpa picked up a few rocks in case. Continuing on, he ran across some hikers setup for camping. Before he could finish warning the group, they began telling of a bear exactly matching the description given by the previous hikers about a mile away. Why camp near a bear that obviously is somewhat accustomed to people? Sherpa proceeded with extreme caution. Bears are supposed to be afraid of people. Make lots of noise so they know your approaching. He hit his trekking poles together and dragged them through the brush as he walked. Exactly where the bear was last seen, a bear came running across the trail. Only instead of running into the woods afraid like bears are supposed to, this one went about 10 feet past the trail, stopped, turned, and just stared as if to say, I dare ya to come closer. Sherpa was about 50 yards away. It is no secret that bears exist along the Appalatian Trail. While some old timers swear they are mythical creatures like unicorns because you can hike for years without seeing one, the area is famous for its black bear population. At nearly every trailhead, there is some type of reminder on what to do if you see a bear. Over the years, advice has changed. For example, in the past, if a bear approached, people were taught to drop their bag and back away (we learned this from an old timer). That approach trained a lot of bears to approach people for their bags. Another example is that the shelters in the Smokies used to have fences guarding the entrance so that you could stay safe from them at night. Kind of like being the zoo exhibit. This also trained bears that people were good places to obtain food since people brought their packs into the shelters, ate in them, etc. Sherpa and his younger brother remember staying in one of those shelters back in 2004 and the wonderful safety they provided from the curious animals (excluding mice of course) making their nightly visits. Those fences have now all been removed and hikers are trained to not camp in a way that trains bears to associate people with food. These practices include hanging your food bag well away from your camp site. Never leaving food around camps. Unfortunately, careless hikers are killing bears by not following these simple practices. When a bear learns to associate people with food, it quickly loses its fear of man. We heard several stories of people who cooked their dinners only to have a bear walk right up. Who is going to argue with a bear? There was a hiker a couple weeks ago who was bit through his tent at night in the Smokies. The bear raided several other tents as well that night. The bear was put down as a result. We have no firsthand knowledge and hope it isn't true, but were told by fellow hikers that despite news reports to the contrary, the hiker was sleeping with food in his tent. So what do you do if you see a bear? Make loud intimidating noises of course to scare it off! "Bear!!! Go away!!!". Beat your trekking poles furiously. Thrash them against nearby trees even! Sherpa tried these all to no avail. So instead he called his wife and had a nice long conversation (albeit not very private, being watched by bear and all) for over half an hour. She laughed at his yelling attempts. Apparently they weren't all that intimidating. He wasn't frightened, just frustrated that the bear was so comfortable around people. He prayed that bear would just walk away. Right when he prayed, the bear walked behind a tree. Approaching to see if the path was clear, bear was only a few more feet off the trail, still too close to pass. Rocks in hand, Sherpa waited, secretly hoping the story wouldn't end with a dead bear... Interestingly, God gave animals a wonderful gift after Noahs flood, called the fear of man. He placed it on them for their own protection. He gave mankind a much better gift, the right to eat those animals. The account is given in Genesis 9 if memory serves. Fear of man is very healthy for animals. The dodo bird lacked it for some reason and quickly went extinct when coming into contact with us. Apparently the bears this year are much more active than normal. The fall acorn crop wasn't great and the bears went to sleep hungry on average. Awaking from hibernation under weight and with no berries for another month, they are having to get very creative with food sources. A record number of thru hikers, a few of them careless, seem to be training some black bears to identify people with food. As the standoff continued, a pair of northbound hikers approached walking a delicious dog snack on a leash. Sherpa warned them of the bear and they just laughed and shouted "he won't hurt you" as they walked up to bear to snap some pictures. Sherpa decided bear would be much more interested in the dog treat then a big stinky hiker so he passed as they stood there taking photos. The whole event cost precious time. With several miles to go, even walking full speed (about 3mph) was now going to put him back at the trailhead after dark. For some reason, this is the best (or worst depending on your situation) time to encounter wild life. Jogging where safe, making lots of noise, he prayed that he Lord would restore the fear of man on every bear in between him and the car. 10 minutes to nine, 20 minutes after the sun had set, 4 more bear sitings, several deer sitings, and a few intially terrifying chipmunk encounters later (hey they make a lot of noise when startled), he was back at the car. He won't forget his head lamp again...