Date: 2004-05-18
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Farm
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: light rain

Starring Off from Mt. CammererStart: Cosby Knob Shelter @ 0749Finish: Standing Bear Farm @ 1328Miles: 10.4Weather: Cloudy/Damp in the morning, sunny by afternoon, rainy late afternoon, sunny in the evening, rain all nightBreakfast: Strawberry CIB, Chocolate Poptarts, Bagel & Cheese.Lunch: Trailmix, Orange Gatorade.Dinner: Lipton noodles & chicken, pint of Ben & Jerry¢s, couple bites of hamburger.Trail Conditions: Nearly all downhill. Nice climb up Mt. Cammerer and into Standing Bear Farm. Lots of horse poop on trails.Animals: Rabbit, millipedes, birds, snail, rotweiler, moths, insects.People: Maria & Curtis, Bellows, Carp, several other thru-hikers. Today was Brad and Peters last day on the trail. This was their first ever hiking experience and they choose to trek it thru the Smokies. I hiked the past week with them and had a great time. Watching those two hike and hearing about their days adventure makes me think back to my first hiking trip. As discussed in an earlier entry, many things went wrong, but the kind actions of a few made so much go right. For the first time I felt I was in a position in which I could give the same help to others. The people that saved my hike will probably never know how much their actions influenced me, and perhaps I¢ll never know the influence I had on Brad and Pete. All I hope is the answers I gave to their questions, words of encouragement spoken, and laughter had, can fuel the same passion in them for hiking as the actions of others did for me. Best of luck to both you guys as you finish up at UNC. As you now know, hiking is a wonderful pastime and will create memories that last a lifetime. Keep on keeping on, hopefully I¢ll see you on the trail again.I got a fairly early start and we trucked along to the Mt. Cammerer watch tower. Lauren and I chilled for about an hour soaking up the incredible views and taking pictures. The view from the tower was by far the best in the whole park. After our break we continued the downhill hike out of the park. After consulting the guidebook and determining our pace, I calculated that we should be able to hit Standing Indian by 1320. I called it right and we made it at exactly that time.Standing Indian Farm is a cool little place. I would recommend it over Mountain Mommas anyday! Maria and Curtis are nice folks and really take care of their hikers. I did my laundry, took a nice shower, aired my gear and relaxed under a roof as it rained all afternoon. Around 7:00pm, Curtis drove us all to the convenience store for a snack run. With goodies in hand, we chowed down and chatted outside the bunkhouse back at the hostel.An older thru named ¢Carp¢ is here with us. He spent his career with the Australian Special Air Service (SAS). He is an incredibly intelligent person and had some great stories to tell. I really picked his brain about a lot of military things as it is a major interest of mine. We'll be hiking the next couple of days together. I am looking forward to more great conversation.I am off to bed now. It is midnight and we¢re getting up at 0530 to begin a 19 miler. We want to beat the rain. Goodnight.One Year Reflection