Date: 2007-06-28
From: Tri-Corner Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm Hostel
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: 801

June 28th, 2007: AT miles hiked 18.1 (+ 1.2 to Mt Cammerer Tower) Richard was up at the Butt crack of dawn and hit the trail at 6:30am. The rest of us made it out at 7:30am. This was to be a tough day with the promise of a Hostel stay at the end. Hostels are usually very Spartan in nature. Yet they do carry items you can¢t have on the trail. Usually they have Soft drinks, food, laundry, and showers. Standing Bear Hostel had a reputation as an oasis in the wilderness. I was on a mission. Don¢t get me wrong. I love the trail and the outdoors but the Hostels are an AT tradition and I came to experience the AT and all that entails. As we left the shelter I yelled in the direction of the Frog "Hey frog...you awake?" The frog woke up and croaked. I then yelled again "Hey frog...how do you like me now?" Scott and Travis looked at me as if I were nuts. It was tough hiking till we reached the 10 mile mark and the side trail to Mt. Cammerer tower. That trail was 1.2 round trip to a rustic Forest tower with a spectacular view. I got there a little bit before Scott and Travis. Scott had stashed his backpack at the trail head. Travis saw the first Rattlesnake on a rock climbing up to the tower. The snake crawled into his hole right away. Richard showed up and said he was heading out almost as soon as he showed up. I woofed down my lunch and stretched out on the tower to take a nap. As we got up to leave I told the guys I was going to "Hot Foot" it to the hostel to make sure we all had a place for the evening in the bunkhouse. I passed Richard on the trail. He was treating some blisters that he had acquired today. It started to rain a bit so I donned my rain gear for about 3 miles down into Davenport Gap. I soon had to remove it when the sun reappeared. The exit out of the Smokys was un-ceremonial at best. There were no large park signs you would expect to see at a park entrance. You are still straddling the NC and TN state lines. The Road at the gap is paved on the TN side and gravel on the NC side. The first stretch, into the woods, beyond the Gap were a stark contrast to the Lush Smokys. The ground was dry and hard and the trees looked skimpy. Soon after I was treated to a series of cascades on a creek which I crossed several times on my way down to the Pigeon River. As I exited the woods I was a little confused on which way to go. When I discovered where to go I marked the road for my crew with sticks and stones and anything that would help. I went over the bridge that crossed the Pigeon River and was out of water. I did stop a moment to watch the rafters go down the river. I wheeled into Standing Bear Farm, which is 200 yards from the trail, dry and thirsty. The first thing I said to Curtis, the proprietor of the Hostel, was¢¦"water". I had covered 8 miles in 2.5 hours. I secured a spot for all 4 of us then I got busy doing the "Hostel" thing. I re-hydrated and downed a couple of soft drinks right away. I started my laundry then took a shower. I also cooked a frozen pizza in the toaster oven and ate the whole thing. Soon after that it started to rain very hard. Just as it started Travis and Scott came into the farm. They had been sparred the rain. I was worried about Richard. He had been having a tough day and now he was stuck in a downpour. A bit later he came into camp looking worse for the wear. He told us he was calling it quits. The guys got settled into the hostel, ate and started to relax. I walked over to Curtis with Richard and we arranged a shuttle for him back to Scott¢s SUV in the morning. For me this sucked because the best part of this hike was yet to come and I wanted Richard to experience it. I believe that Richard could have carried on even with the 60lb pack. It was those damn shoes that did him in. That combo of weight and shoes can put a hurtin¢ on the best of em. We met Chuck and J.T. from Lynchburg, VA at the hostel that night. The brothers from NC are also here. I found them an almost full fuel canister that someone had left in the "Hiker Box". Hikers leave things there they don¢t want to carry anymore for other hikers to use. I¢m lying in a bunk with a full belly and clean clothes. All should be right with the world but I dreaded Richard¢s departure in the morning. I felt responsible because I had laid out my hiking agenda months before not knowing they would be joining me. I had three weeks of the trail under my belt and this was 35 miles of tough hiking in their first two days out. It has been an eventful day.