Date: 2003-04-28
From: Birch Spring Gap Campground

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: clear sky

(Craig Says) We thought we heard a bear trampsing through the brush last night. Erin and I both woke up at the same time and listened. I felt a small surge of adrenaline. After a short while, Erin finally spoke, "Did you hear that?" "Yep" I replied. We waited for a few minutes, not saying a word, then went back to sleep. What could you do?...The morning was nice and cool. The sun was still tucked behind a mountain as I made Foldgers while Erin caught some extra zzz and enjoyed the peace and quiet. I could tell it was going to be a blistering afternoon so I tried to soak in the coolness the best I could.Erin left about 20 min. before me per usual while I 'took care of business' (you can figure that one out on your own)Later on the trail, trudging along, looking at my feet, lost in my thoughts, when I had that split second feeling that there was an animal in my presence. A big animal, you know different than the birds, squirrels, and chipmunks. A big buck with fresh velvety antler buds came down the trail in opposite direction. We both stopped at the same time. He was huge, His could have met mine. He looked healthy, aware, and generally unafraid. Moments later a lighter, more delicate doe came around the bend in the trail from behind the buck. She stopped and looked much more tenative and nervous. There was a few moments of silence. Then the buck made an unexpected move toward me. It scared me a bit. Made me flinch. I yelled at it "Stop" (because I know that dear of course understand English) Now I know its just a dear but still, it's wild and very big and much too close to me. My general rule is, Always give wild animals plenty of room for even a racoon if its angry and aggressive can put a hurt on you. The doe lept down the slope but the buck stood its ground. He stuck his nose in the air and sniffed around then took a few more steps toward me. "Hey!" I yelled again. I dropped my pack and reached in for the tiny pair of scissors in the top pouch. What was I going to do, clip it's ears? It was about ten feet away. Finally, leisurely, and without a hurry (and after a few more steps closer) he sauntered down after his mate. Then I remembered. No hunting in the Smoggies. There not afraid of humans here. Fifteen minutes later I ran into Erin and she yells to me, "I just saw three dear." We shared almost identical stories.We climbed (coincidentally) over Doe Knob (3,842) and rested at Mollies Ridge Shelter where most of the people we knew had spent the night last evening. Legend has it that the area was named for a cherokee maiden who froze to death looking for a lost hunger and that her ghost still haunts the ridge. Cool story but entirely not scary under the blazing mid-day sun. Continued over Devils Tater Patch (4,775), Little Abrahms Gap and through a great grassy bald with crooked flowering trees that looked oddly like a New England apple orchard, and finally to Spence Field Shelter. James Spence cleared 100 acres here in the 1830's for cattle grazing. Also a man named Tom Sparks was murdered in a cabin near the present shelter in 1926 in a fight over liquor. Now that's the southern legends I like to hear about. The guide book says the shelter is frequently visited by bears. Yay.