NESCO BABY!!

So after drooling over Pyro and Hemlocks yummy dehydrated dinners and lunches over our recent back pack trip in early June, I knew I wanted to get a dehydrator. Well imagine my surprise and gratitude when Pyro offers to let me borrow her NESCO dehydrator!! YEAH!! WHOO HOO!! Thank you so much Kellye!!!(Pyro), I really, really, REALLY appreciate it. Now let's hope I can concoct some good (edible) eats for the trail like you guys had.


Well, I actually was able to dehydrate a couple of "easy" items. I bought two cans of mandarin oranges and 3 apples that I sliced up and sprinkled with cinnamon. I wanted to start out slow. hahah! I laid out the oranges on one tray then the apple slices on the other four trays. I plugged the one set temperature dehydrator on before I left for work and let the magic happen.

When I came home that night, it was still running smoothly, but I knew the fruit had a couple more hours, so I went about my nightly routine, (change clothes, fix dinner, catch up on DVR) and by 8pm, I checked in on the dehydrator again. I calculated that I had it on for roughtly 12 hours. The fruit looked dried, so I turned it off and let the trays cool down a bit. The apples were perfect! The mandrin oranges could of used a bit more time, but they were yummy. I can't wait to try them on my backpack trip this weekend! Once I get my own dehydrator I'm so experimenting. I was kind of scared to dehydrate some chili on Pryo's dehydratoor. I'm afraid I'll ruin it. haha! Got to go! Off to research some freezer bag cooking websites! Til next time... GET OUTDOORS!!!

Day 4 and car camping in the Smokies

This morning we all woke up early and in good spirits. In fact, Pyro was so happy, she was skipping around so I called her Happy Feet the rest of the day. Today was our last day on the trail and our reward was a fat juicy burger at the NOC! After breakfast, we hit the trail at 8am. We finished up the Bear Creek Trail and hopped onto the Lakeshore trail and headed towards my car. There were a couple of small climbs on the Lakeshore trail, but nothing to crazy. We could tell we were getting closer to civilization b/c we were running into groups of very clean looking people in full make up and hair. haha! We came upon a group that was out with a guide. They were on their way to a campsite along the creek to have lunch. Well, they had stopped for a snack break and were really interested in our packs and where we came from. Hemlock and I happily answered their questions, until the rest of the group showed up. Later on, Pyro told me all she could do was stare at the cooler of fresh grapes they had. hahaha! Those grapes would of been so good too. Hemlock and I agreed to hike to the car as a group, so we asked either Turtle or Pyro/Happy Feet to lead us on. It was nice to just pace ourselves and talk to one another. I get in such a focused mood when it comes to hiking, that somethings I forget that every trail doesn't have to be a work out. I could take it slow and try to really enjoy the surroundings.

When we turned another bend, we must of scared this poor woman to death. She was sported out in some clean white sneakers, full hair and make-up and dripping in diamonds. I said hello and flashed her a smile. She asked if we were backpacking and where we came from. When we told her, she said, "that's far isn't it?" We laughed and someone said it was 3 days away far. We kept plotting along until we finally got to the end of the trail and to the 1/4 mile tunnel. All you could see is this tiny hole of light on the other end. We entered into the darkness and I yelled hello, just to hear my echo. It was so cool! After I got the other side, I ran up ahead to get some good photos of everyone coming out. Then, that was it. We had finished up our 4 day backpack trip into the smokies. I opened up my car and we all piled in, stuffing the backpacks and boots in the back of my car, and we zoomed down to the NOC, the Nantahala Outdoor Center for lunch.

The drive was about 30 minutes long, and when we got out the car, we could feel our bodies stiffing up from all the hiking we did. I stretched as we walked over the pedestrian bridge to Rivers Edge restaurant. Like most girls do, we headed straight for the bathrooms and washed up. I tried to finger comb thru my 4 day neglected head of hair. But it's not happening. I just threw it back into the ponytail and shoved my ball cap further down my head. No helping my hair today. The waitress comes to take our order and we all get burgers while Hemlock gets a crab cake sammie. After a yummy (and quiet) lunch, we head over to the outfitter and duck in for a quick second. It's absolutely freezing cold in there so we head back to the car, just as the sky starts to open up on us. It's time to get back to Fontana Dam, and to every ones car. When we get there, we say goodbyes and hug. I'm a bit sad that our trip is ending. I really did have a nice time. One by one, the girls pull out the parking lot and leave SHOE and I behind.

When everyone is gone, SHOE asks if I want to check out the Fontana Hilton. The famous AT shelter that I've always read about. HELL YA I wanna see the Hilton! So we drive over to the overlook, park the car and hike down some stairs and a road to reach the shelter. It is probably the cleanest, most pristine looking shelter I have ever seen. It's a double story, double entry way shelter with a perfect fire pit and view of the lake. It's really nice. I snap photos, relax, and read the registry for a bit before we head back to the car.

SHOE and I finally make our way back to Cherokee and decide to check into a hotel, air out our gear, get really clean, and do some laundry. The Hampton Inn fits the bill. We showered, cleaned up, then headed out for a celebratory dinner. We chose an Italian restaurant in Bryson City and ordered waaay to much food. hahaha! and I had two glasses of Chianti with my meal. Oops... haha! We ordered a bruschetta, then we both ordered an entree that came out with a huge side of pasta on the side. After stuffing ourselves silly, we waddled back to the car and back to the Hampton Inn to do some laundry. Around 9pm, we were all done and I think I passed out, cause the next thing I knew it was morning. We got up to grab the complimentary hot breakfast, then packed up our packs, and headed over to Smokemont Campground where we were meeting up with 8 other dames for 3 days of car camping and day hiking in the Smokies!

When we checked in with the ranger at the campground, we were told that someone has already shown up. So we drove out to the group site and I get to meet Cathy, who was there setting up her tent. We exchange hellos and I start putting up my hammock while SHOE set up her HUGE tent. Just as we were about to leave, Jiffy Pop pulls up. I introduce myself and we chit chat a bit before we leave to go into town for some supplies. SHOE and I do some grocery shopping and buy some tarps to go over the campsite. When we got back, we set up the two tarps tents just in time for the rain to pour down on us. After the rain, we venture out Jiffy Pop starts to make a fire. I finally pull out the giant marshmallows I found at a local Mexican grocery store and we all giggle at how enormous they are. I mean they are the size of a man's fist. After chit chatting a bit, we call it a night and head back to our little homes.

The next day, Pyro and Janet show up around 8am. After they set up, and we have breakfast and decide to go on a 4 mile day hike. We hike up the Bradley Fork Trail then walk up the Chasteen Creek Trail to a spur trail that overlooks a water fall. The trail was so muddy and slippery it was like an obstacle course just trying to walk up it. hhaa! On the way back, a few of us decide to push it a bit more and add another 4 miles to the hike. We all walk up the Bradley Fork Trail to the intersection of the Smokemont Loop trail. While Pyro, Janet, Cathy, Jiffy Pop and I head over the bridge onto the trail, SHOE decides to head back to camp and take a nap. So we say good byes and go our separate ways. We start out pretty nice and flat, then it starts climbing up for a couple of miles. We climb 1,200 feet in two miles and then at the top decide to take a break and eat a snack. While we are at the top, we run into another group, hiking the same loop, but the opposite way, we tell them it's all down hill from here, and they say the same thing for us. After our break, we head down and of course the sky opens up and it begins to pour down on us. We slip into our rain gear and continue on. By the time we get back to the campground, the rain has stopped and the sun is out. When we get back to camp, Sherpa, and three other Trail Dames have showed up and are putting up their tents. We run into town for quick dinner supplies with a stop at the visitors center to buy some maps and trail books on the Smokies and when we get back there is only one lone dame around. We ask what happened to the other Dames, seems as if there was a crazy thunder storm with lightening that scared the other ladies away and they hightailed it to a hotel room for the night. Well, the worst has passed cause the sun peeked out and we had nice weather the rest of the night. Pyro and Jiffy Pop were actually able to make a fire with all the wet wood. The rest of us got dinner put together and boy did we feast! We made steak kabobs, baked potatoes that we let get hot in the coals of the fire, corn and black bean relish that Janet made (so good too) and how can I forget the appetizers that SHOE made from ritz crackers, sharp white cheese, and apricot and blackberry preserves. Tasty! Just when I felt like I would explode from all the food we ate, we broke out the giant marshmallows and had a proper s'more. Oh man.... I thought I'd pop a hammock strap if I tried to lay in there after dinner, so a few of us actually played around with a frisbee that Pyro and Janet brought. When the sun went down, we all gathered around the fire and just chatted most of the night away. We finally went to bed late.

The next morning, I had my mom on my mind. She was sitting at my house so I felt I needed to get back, but at the same time, I was conflicted, cause I wanted to stay and hike around some more with the Dames. But, after a quick chat with Cathy, she convinced me that I needed to be at home with my mom. Call me a big baby, but I wanted to be with my mama. So that morning, with a heavy heart, I said good bye to the Dames, packed up my hammock, and headed home.

Over all it was a great weekend. I got in some good backpacking, hung out with fellow outdoors women who GET the outdoors and aren't afraid of a little dirt and sweat. Sometimes I think I live in such different worlds. But that's the beauty of going into the woods. You get to leave all the bullshit at home and just BE. Just be easy, natural, simple, calm, freeing, void of all responsibilities that the real world demands. I learned that Hemlock can really educate me about the outdoors and challenge me as a hiker. I learned that Pyro is a great fire starter and can make soggy pieces of wood blaze up "White Man Fire" style (inside joke.) I learned that Turtle is an amazing person and I remember why I love hiking with her. She is always so positive. I learned that SHOE and I's friendship is alot stronger because of what we went through and I feel like we "get" each other alot more. (SHOE, your my hiking soul mate! haha!) I learned that viewing the outdoors through brand new Dame's eyes can be such a reality check. Jiffy and Cathy reminded me of how far I had come, and how much I can teach. Not saying I know it all, cause lord knows I have a lot to learn. But their innocence and enthusiasm for the outdoors re-ignited my love of the outdoors. All in all I had a good time, Oh, and I found out I can get a free 100 mile pin from the GSMNP visitors center by showing them my trail log book! To date, I have 113 miles logged in. Whoo hoo! Next pin is at the 250 mark. So you know I'll have some more adventures in the Smokies soon. Til next time... GET OUTDOORS!!!

Day 3 in the Smokies

We woke up this morning just knowing it was going to be a tough day. We had a deep and long water crossing, a looooong 3.5 mile climb, and a total of 9 miles. By 8am we were ready to go and we all hiked the 1.3 miles of Hazel Creek Trail down to the water crossing together. The water crossing was an adventure all in itself. I was the first to wade over the river so I could get some good photos and video of the rest of the girls. It took about 1/2 hour to get everyone over safely and I later found out that Pyro was deathly afraid of water crossings! She braved it and made it look easy. Well, we were now officially on the Cold Spring Gap Trail and this trail was all up hill for the next 3.5 miles.

Since I had my boots back on, I went ahead and started the climb first. I was actually pretty proud of myself. I didn't stop at all until about an hour later. I got to the really super rocky section. I mean it was so rocky that it felt like I was walking up a dried up creek bed instead of a trail. The trail continued like this for the next 20 minutes and it really slowed me down. Hemlock had caught up to me on this section and we hiked on together. She was like a child in a candy store with all the flowers she found. She spotted some really cool orchards hiding in a little cove off the trail that I would of never seen if she hadn't been there. By this point, my legs were getting a bit fatigued from the constant climbing and I asked if we could take a quick break. So right on the trail, we dropped our packs and had a snack and a quick rest. My legs starting feeling like jello, so I knew I needed to get to the top and stop for a real lunch break soon. I hoped this never ending mountain would come to an end quick! We kept an eye out for a piped spring, because that was the last place to get water and it meant that we were only .33 miles away from the top. Well, we didn't see a piped spring. We just kept climbing and climbing, steeper and steeper. I thought it would never end when all of the sudden Hemlock goes, "we made it." I look past her and see the trail intersection sign! We did it! We climbed 3.5 miles straight up! We high fived and plunked down our packs. It was around 11:45am, but I was hungry as hell. We decided to have lunch and take a long break and wait for everyone. An hour later, after lunch, Hemlock and I realized that we needed to back track down to the water source to fill up because there was no water til camp and we were still a good 5 miles away, AND we had little to no water on us. She must of seen the desperation on my face b/c she offered to back track while I watched the packs. I swear I thought angel wings sprouted out from her back. I didn't think I could make it back up if I went down that mountain again and the last time I saw water had to of been at least a 1/2 down! Hemlock was really worried about leaving me here with all the food, cause she feared a bear would come and fight me for my noodle packets. hahaha! Aww... so sweet of her. But I told her not to worry about me, I can hold my own. So she unloaded her pack and took all of our water bottles and off she went. I put on my rain jacket cause it was getting cold and I was soaking wet from sweating up that climb. The next thing I remember, I was awoken by her cheery voice. I was so exhausted that I fell asleep! I think I pushed myself really hard on that uphill that I tired myself out. Hemlock said that she saw the rest of the group at the water source. YAY!! We were both worried cause that climb was a true beast!

Soon, everyone dribbled in and you could see the exhaust on their faces as they flung their packs off and plunked on the ground. We chit chatted a bit and they tell Hemlock and I about the huge rattle snake that scared them on the trail! So lucky I didn't see or hear it. Wow. We agreed to meet at the top of the spur trail for High Rocks. So while Turtle, SHOE, and Pyro had lunch and a well deserved break, Hemlock and I hopped onto Welch Ridge Trail and hiked on to High Rocks spur trail. And yes, the trail climbed up, a gradual up, but still up. We finally make it to the spur trail turn off and Hemlock says she's got to take a bathroom break. So I tell her I'm going to go ahead and start climbing the .33 miles up to the top of High Rocks, where an amazing view awaited us. Well, not more than 10 feet in on this trail and I had to stop. It was so overgrown with blackberry bushes that you couldn't see the trail. You literally had to bushwhack your way thru. It was disgusting! I had scratches and pulls all over my arms b/c at one point, the bushes had overgrown taller than me! Thank goodness I wore pants today. As I make my way up, I hear Hemlock call my name and I turn around but can't see her through the jungle of weeds, thistles, and blackberry bushes. She finally pops into view and when she steps out of the bushes, I see that she is wearing her rain pants. Now, it has GOT to be at least 85 degrees out. The sun beaming down on us and there is no breeze blowing to cool us off. I feel so bad for her, it must be suffocatingly hot to wear rain pants right now, but I think I'd be wearing them too if I had shorts on during this bushwhack hike from hell. The bushes were just out of control! We make it to a small clearing where we see some stone stairs. We take goofy pictures on the stairs and climb up them. We climb a bit more and then we see the pylons where the fire tower used to be and as we walk towards them, the brush opens up and there is an AMAZING view. I grin from ear to ear and completely forget about my scrapes and scratches on my arms. We had hauled up our packs all the way here and fling them off. We just stare in awe and silence at this view and I mention that we are so fortunate to be one of the lucky and few people that will ever be able to see this. After some photos, we decide to take off our shoes and sunbathe on the rock for a bit. It felt so good to have the sun warm up my back and let breeze swirl around my toes. I almost fall asleep again! I got a good picture of Hemlock in full on chilling mode. She was leaning on her pack, feet crossed, hands behind her head, and sipping on her bladder tube while she was enjoying the view. It was so peaceful and quiet. Just perfect. A few minutes later, I was half dozing off, when Hemlock goes, "Did you hear your name being called?" I didn't, but we both figured it was SHOE making her way up the trail. I yell for her and she follows my voice to our chilling spot. I can't believe she climbed up here in shorts! After her pictures of this amazing view, she too peels off her boots and socks and relaxes a bit. 15 minutes later we decide to explore a bit and look for the old cabin that is supposed to be up here. We find it and it is in some serious bad shape. We take quick photos of it and decided to head back down to meet up with Turtle and Pyro. So we bushwhack our way back down. Hemlock and I take ridiculous bushwhacking photos one another and laugh at the things we do in the name of fun. When we get back to the trail intersection, we meet up with Turtle and Pyro, who are completely happy to just be relaxing in the middle of the trail with phone service. Haha!

We all start out together and finish up our section of the Welch Ridge Trail (which we have to do some bushwhacking thru), then turn down the Bear Creek trail towards campsite #75 which is about 3 miles away. It's a long, slippery, muddy way down to the campsite and because I tend to hike faster on the downhill, I take off. As I'm hiking along, I see some strange tracks that look vaguely like bobcat tracks. I think I scare myself silly cause I start to slow down and then actually stop and sit on a stump, waiting for someone to walk up before I get eaten by a bobcat. Hemlock and Pyro roll up and we hike on together for a bit before Pyro decides to take a quick break. The rest of the way down, Hemlock and I hike together til we get to camp. This campsite, #75, is great! It has an awesome creek running thru it, lots of space for everyone to find a spot, logs set up around the fire ring for us to sit around, logs already cut for the fire, and two perfect trees for me to hang from. I set up camp and relax while we wait for everyone to file in. That night we had a great fire thanks to Pyro. We also got to catch a glimpse of a cute little family of wild boar. It was a mama and papa boar who were all black, and two little piglets that were both light brown. As soon as they heard us, they scooted over the ridge. I was closest to the ridge that night, so I hoped they wouldn't comeback for me later. haha! That night, Pyro gave me some of her dehydrated black bean and ground beef burrito. It was really good and made me really want to get a dehydrator. Hemlock had also been dehydrating all her food and it looked so good and healthy for you. I think I'm going to be getting a dehydrator soon and testing out some recipes. I'm getting tired of my noodle side packets. Turtle also shared a swiss roll dessert with everyone, which hit the spot after dinner that night.

After filtering water and bear bagging our food, we all retired early after a long day. Today was a good day. A challenging day with the water crossing, tough climb, and crazy bushwhacking, but it was a good day to be outside. I, once again, slinked off into my hammock to play some trivial pursuit and drift off into lala-land. Til next time... GET OUTDOORS!!!

Day 2 in the Smokies

This morning we got up early cause we had a LOONG 9 mile (plus an optional 3.6 mile )day planned. After breakfast, Pyro and I were the first two ready, so we set out for the first 4.4 mile section on the Lakeshore trail at 8am. Within a 1/2 mile we started climbing up, and up, and up. Pyro knows lots about trail fauna too, so she showed me what wild strawberries looked like and we checked out blackberry bushes lined up along the trail. When we got to the top of the climb, we stopped for a water and snack break and within 10 minutes, Hemlock arrived, and 10 minutes after that Turtle and SHOE showed up. Pyro and I chit chatted a bit with everyone and decided to keep moving along. Well, according to the map and book (Hiking Trails of the Smokies), the climb on this section of the trail was over, we should be just coasting with little bumps to the next trail intersection. Um... no... that did not happen and on top of that, the map said it was only 4.4 miles to the next intersecting trail, but the book said it was 4.9 miles. hahha! So we climbed another big mountain and the entire time I kept telling myself the "the book lied" and when I saw the look on Pyro's face, I tried telling her that the book lied too, but she wasn't having it. hahha! Oops. But we get over it and finally catch a glimpse of campsite 88, where we had thought about hiking to last night. There was no way we would of made it to this campsite last night in the daylight. The last two big climbs we had were beasts. Thank goodness we all agreed to stay at site #90 yesterday.

As we round a bend, I see a side trail, unmarked, and wonder if this is our intersecting trail. I tell Pyro to take a rest and I'll scout up ahead to make sure. Well, 1/2 mile later, I decide to turn around when the trail starts climbing up. I start to worry and decide that we should wait for everyone before we move forward. As I walk back I'm reminded of how I really hate walking the same piece of trail twice. To take my mind off the extra mile I'm walking and to cheer me up, I decide to pick a pretty wild rose from the abundant rose bushes along the trail and stick it behind my ear. As I round the bend, I see that everyone is there already.

Well, when I get up to everyone, SHOE asks what are we doing. I tell her we weren't sure if the unmarked trail was where we had to turn off or not. But before I can finish, she yells, "the trails are marked with signs! You don't stop! why are you stopping!" Not sure why she was so upset, so I try to explain, but then she snidely whispers under her breathe to me, "you're not suppose to pick the flowers". That was all it took. If you push me, I push back. I was already frustrate at not knowing what to do with the unmarked trail, I was hating the extra mile I walked to scout out up ahead and now I was being talked to like a 5yr old. So I yelled back. In hind site I should of kept my cool and just let SHOE rant, but it would of eaten me up if I didn't speak up. I let my Latin temper flare up and I spued out that "I wasn't a effing 12 yr old and there was no need to talk to me like that." Well, she got pissed off and walked away mumbling something. I hiked with the rest of the group and I apologized to them for having to witness that. That was such an unlady like display of behavior and I'm embarrassed that it happened. I made a mental note to talk to SHOE later when I saw her.

Within 5 minutes I was fine and over it and Hemlock and I hiked the last couple of miles to the Calhoun house, where we stopped for lunch. This was the creepiest looking house I had seen in a while. From the outside it looked nice and well taken care of, but when you walk inside, it was full of rat or bat droppings, major water damage, old fixtures and just has an all around creepiness to it. Hemlock loved it! haha! As we are eating lunch, we see a couple of park maintenance guys working. They are clearing up an area and mowing another. I spot an older gentleman and he walks over to us. We find out that he actually lived on Mr. Calhoun's property, went to school just across the creek, and lived just a few yards down the trail. He sometimes catches rides with the maintenance crew to come out here and visit his family's cemetery. This guy was a true Smokies historical relic! If I had more time I would of loved to have sat down and talked to him about his life here in the Smokies. I bet he had such an interesting story.

After lunch, we hop onto Hazel Creek trail for the last 4.5 miles up to our campsite, #83. Pyro and I take up the rear, at least I thought we did. Seems as if Turtle went to check out campsite #86 and comes up behind us. So the three of us are walking together when Hemlock catches up. She was taking some photos of some plants. We all walk for a bit together and that's when they ask if SHOE and I will be OK. I tell them it will, that it wasn't a big deal, just a misunderstanding and that I was fine and over it. I can sense that they seem a bit uneasy, so I make the effort to ensure that the group is comfortable and I tell them I'm going to hike up head to catch SHOE and "hug it out." This seems to make them feel better. So, off I go, hiking like a bat out of hell to catch up with SHOE. Thank goodness the terrain is so easy. Just a gradual up hill the entire way up on a nice wide path. About 30 mins. later, I spot SHOE's backpack at campsite #85. I figure she went to use the bathroom so I plunk down and take off my pack and that's when I see her. She's actually sitting along the creek, wading her feet in the water. I hop down to her and when she sees me I say, "are you ready to hug it out yet?" Then at the same time, we both say we are sorry. We sit and talk a bit, realize we just let our tempers get the best of us and we are grown up enough to get over it too. We discuss the whole Flame and Coal analogy, (inside joke/story) and I tell her that the rest of the girls were worried about us and we both laugh. We are too good of friends to let a small scrap get the best of us. Shit happens, and what happens on the trail, stays on the trail. We are back to normal again. We walk back up to our packs and find everyone else trickling in. We break for a bit then get back on the trail to find out campsite.

Hemlock and I make it to campsite #83 first and scout around for a good spot to set up our backcountry homes. I find two good trees for my hammock, and she gets a great private spot along the creek. Soon everyone is there and setting up their tents. We filter water, relax and just enjoy being at camp. SHOE decides she wants to hike the 3.6 mile round trip out to the Bone Valley trail and cabin. She asks if I feel up to it and I say sure. I actually had plenty of energy. Besides the two big climbs this morning, today was a nice terrain day. So off we go, with our crocs, cause there are 5 river crossing we have to wade thru. After our first crossing, we decide to just hike in crocs, which works out great cause the trail is flat. We make it the 1.8 miles out to the cabin spur trail and I decide that I need to water the leaves before I head over. I tell SHOE to go ahead without me and I'll catch up. So I walk behind a tree and I am in mid stream when I hear SHOE scream and run back in my direction. Scarred out of my mind, I quickly pull up my pants and find out what's going on. She said that when she was walking along the boardwalk over to the cabin, she heard a rattle and hightailed it back. We decide to try one more time. After all, we hiked all they way out here and if we ever want to see this trail again, we would have to backpack in another two days just to get to this point! So we were going to try it again. This time, SHOE is pounding on the boardwalk with her trek poles and I am right behind her. Well, we get the very end and are about to step off onto the high grassy area, when we hear this loud rattle and see movement. We both do a 180 and run down the boardwalk. The rattlesnake is still angrily rattling at us even though we are on the other side, a good 25 feet away. We decide not to be stupid and just take our pictures of the cabin from a distance. Damn snake. We head back the 1.8 miles back to camp. and after our last river crossing, we start to pick up some firewood for Pyro's fire tonight.

As we pull into camp, Turtle, Pyro, and Hemlock tell us they saw a bear! and that the bear went down the trail we were just on! We didn't see it and lightly tease them that there wasn't a bear at all. haha! We did tell them about our snake adventure though. Later on that night, a group of rangers come by and warn us about a BAAAAR (bear, don't you just love the mountain folk accents? haha!) in the area. We thank them and continue making dinner. About an hour later, guess what we saw? A BAAAAR! Another bear was loping down the same trail that SHOE and I had hiked earlier! We all grabbed our camera's and started snapping away. Pyro and Turtle actually moved up closer to try to get a good shot and poor Hemlock didn't move at all. She doesn't like bears. After dinner, we decided that if a bear did come, it would get Pyro first, cause she was the closest to trail. haha! Turtle even moved her tent, which was set up on a nice seculded piece of creek front property, to be closer to us. haha! After relaxing around the fire, we decide to call it a night. I slinked snugly in my hammock and played trivial pursuit til my eyes couldn't stand to stay open any longer. I think I conked out around 10pm.

Todays events were alot like a trail. It had it's ups and downs, but through it all we persevered and all made it to camp safely, and most importantly, together. By the end of the day, I had calculated I had walked 13 miles. Not a bad day, and I still felt like I could walk more. All in all it was a good day. Til next time... GET OUTDOORS!!!

Day 1 in the Smokies

After staging cars and grabbing some good Mexican food, we camped out at Smokemont campground Saturday night. It was me, Hemlock, SHOE, and Turtle. The next morning Kellye (Pyro/Happy Feet) met us around 8am and we all piled into two cars and headed up to Fontana Dam to start our 4 day backpack trip. I had never been to Fontana Dam, so that was an experience in itself. It was so cool to walk across the dam and get to the Smokies sign. I've seen so many pictures of this sign is several thru hikers galleries b/c it's the first notice that you are entering the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, and the anticipation, not to mention the reputation that the GSMNP has, can be exciting. It's known as one of the toughest sections of the AT, as well as having THE highest mountain on the AT. So it can be a bit intimidating. Plus, I heard the climb out of Fontana Dam can be a beast! Luckily for us, we were hitting the Lakeshore trail.

After crossing the dam, we climbed a gradual graded road .8 miles up to the intersection of the trail. To the left, the AT continued and straight ahead was our trail. We hopped on it and pretty much had a nice smooth steady graded trail for about 2 miles, with the lake peeking in and out of the trees. Around the 2 mile mark we saw some old abandoned 1930's Bonnie and Clyde looking cars. I snapped some pic's and Hemlock took one of me behind the wheel. A half a mile later we started a gradual uphill climb. It was over pretty quickly and not bad at all. I was hiking with Hemlock today. She's a fast and strong hiker and she really made me step my game up. It was a nice challenge to just keep up with her. Plus, she dropped some knowledge when it comes to all the plants, trees, and flowers we passed along the trail. Hemlock's a smart cookie too. She's got her doctorate, is doing research at UGA, and has plans to thru hike the AT next year. So it was fun, as well as educational to hike with her. There were times when she would spot the smallest flower off the trail and I would think, how in the hell did she SEE that? I mean it was about 20 feet off the trail, behind a log, hiding underneath leaves, and so small you didn't even know it was there! But she found it. In fact, Hemlock found several species of plants, some old, and some new ones she's never seen before. I felt like we were on some exploratory plant discovery trek and I was her eager assistant. It was pretty cool.

After the abandoned cars and the hill, we descended for a couple of miles down to finish up our 6mile day and into campsite #90. We got there pretty early, around 2pm, and decided that when the rest of the ladies showed up, we would hike on down to the next campsite, only 3 miles away. As we sat on the log, eating lunch, I saw a little gray blurb scurrying away. I walked over and discovered it was a baby mouse. I chased it around a bit and showed Hemlock my new friend. As we watched the mouse, a couple that was setting up right on the lakeshore walked over. We chitchatted a bit and I found out they were from Wilmington NC (my fav beach town in NC). I found out he lived right on the coast and kayak's out to Masonboro island often, so I talked about my recent Masonboro kayak trip and he was amazed I even know where Monkey Junction and Masonboro were. haha! Small world I guess. Anyways, I found out he and his girlfriend had driven 6 hours just to go on a weekend hike. It made me realize just how lucky I was, to be only 3 hours away from both the coast and the Smokies. I guess I take my location for granted sometimes.

We head back to the log to chill some more when I spot the tiniest little frog ever. He was smaller than my pinky nail. He was soooo cute. I pick it up and Hemlock gets a good picture of it. After a while, we decide to do some exploring, and walk over a creek on this log bridge and find an amazing campsite. It's right on the lake. So pretty and quiet and pristine. Hemlock wants to camp over here and I agree, it's a great site. We decide to just load up on water and continue to wait for the group. I borrow her filter and I pump 4 liters of water. I drink up 1 liter right then and there and filter some more. When I get back to the log, we discuss maybe scouting out to look for SHOE, Turtle, and Pyro. We hope they came down the right trail. Just as we decide to walk up the trail a bit, we spot Pyro coming down to the campsite. Whoo hoo! It's around 5pm when the others trickle in and we all collectively decide to just set up camp and stay here for the night.

Well, as soon as we start to make dinner, it starts to rain, no POUR on us. I invite everyone to sit under my tarp with me and as the rain is beating down on my tarp, and a river is starting to flow next to us on the ground, we eat up our dinner. When the rain lets up we venture out and explore a bit around a small trail along the shore line. Pyro decided to build a fire and after several attempts, she got it going. We lazily sit around the camp fire catching up and then around 9:30pm, we spotted some blue fireflies. I made sure I told Hemlock, who was in her tent for the night, to poke her head out to catch the fireflies. The rest of us decide to call it a night. After bear bagging our food, we headed to our respective homes for the evening. I ended my day snuggled up in my hammock and playing a quick game of trivial pursuit on my celly. All in all it was a good day, even with the rain. Til next time... GET OUTDOORS!!!