he other two campers, and were on the trail by 8:15am. We still had plenty of water from the night before, so we bypassed the stream and began the 1 mile climb up the mountain. We had 2 miles left on Meigs Mountain trail and that first mile really got our heart rates going. I was dripping with sweat in 20 minutes and it was only 68 degrees out! The trail leveled out for the last mile until we hopped onto Cucumber Gap trail, where we had another 1 mile climb followed rolling terrain for the next 1.4 miles. When we reached Little River Trail at 11am we decided to take a nice long lunch break. I was so stoked that we had already hiked 4.5 miles and it was not even noon yet! For lunch I ate the last of my be
ef jerky, baby babel cheese and shredded tortilla. After lunch, we had only a .5 mile walk to hop on Huskey Gap Trail, so we took it easy and decided to fill up with water after crossing a bridge. At the Huskey Gap trail, I knew we had only 4.1 miles left to go, but that the next 2 miles were all up hill. We start climbing up and I decide to try something that I read Mudd Butt does on her up hill climbs. I started to singing (in my head cause I didn't want SHOE to think I was crazy, and also cause I could barely talk let alone sing on an up hill climb) the "100 bottle of beers on the wall" song. I can't ever remember actually singing that song in it's entirety. But let me tell you, I sang it TWICE! Once singing it with "beer" and the second time replacing it with "icey diet cokes" (my biggest craving on a hot climb up a mountain.) And you know what? it actually worked! It took my mind off the climb, off my labored breathing, and off my screaming achey feet! hahaha!After about a 1/2 mile up, the trail leveled out for a bit and SHOE, who had been wanting to see some wild flowers this entire trip, was rewarded big time. We entered a small gap, that we dubbed FLOWER GAP, because of all the different flowers we found concentrated in this one little area. I mean we saw purple, red, orange, blue, and white flowers sprinkled every where. It was close to the #21 campsite. I wish I had paid more attention in the botany section of biology class in college so could identify at least one of them. Who am I kidding, biology was boring as hell. Anyways, I know one of 
them looked like an upside down lily. After the FLOWER GAP, the trail went up again. According to the profile of the mountain in SHOE's book, the trail was supposed to level out soon, then climb one last time. Well if it did level out, I missed it, and I am not counting that 5 foot section that dipped down for a second. It was a rough climb up and seemed to last forever. Fatigued and sweatin' bullets, we took a break right there in the middle of the trail. Just plopped our packs down, had a snack, some water, and had a nice long talk about organic foods, Jillian Michaels, and the "Oprah Pose" for taking pictures. At 1:30pm, we decide to get our butts up and finish the last 1 mile climb up. We finally get to the top of the mountain and read the trail juction sign that informs us we only have 2 more miles of our 9 mile day left. YAY!! and it's all down hill! WHOO HOO!!!
them looked like an upside down lily. After the FLOWER GAP, the trail went up again. According to the profile of the mountain in SHOE's book, the trail was supposed to level out soon, then climb one last time. Well if it did level out, I missed it, and I am not counting that 5 foot section that dipped down for a second. It was a rough climb up and seemed to last forever. Fatigued and sweatin' bullets, we took a break right there in the middle of the trail. Just plopped our packs down, had a snack, some water, and had a nice long talk about organic foods, Jillian Michaels, and the "Oprah Pose" for taking pictures. At 1:30pm, we decide to get our butts up and finish the last 1 mile climb up. We finally get to the top of the mountain and read the trail juction sign that informs us we only have 2 more miles of our 9 mile day left. YAY!! and it's all down hill! WHOO HOO!!!With renewed energy (and with the end in sight) we coast down the trail. SHOE tells me to watch out for some larger boulders on the trail, b/c that is our 1/2 way point. OK, so I'm walking down, keeping an eye on the trail to make sure I don't trip on any roots or rocks, when I round a bend in the trail and come within 25 feet of..... not just one, b
ut three BEARS!!!! A mama, and two cubs! My initial reaction is to turn and run! but my body is frozen. The mama bear stands her ground and stares at me and I watch the two cubs scramble up a tree. (In retrospect, those cubs flew up that tree!) Thank goodness I read an entire article on what to do when confronted by a bear. I stayed calm, but I turned my back on it and walked back up the trail a bit, instead of just backing away slowly. I remember yelling for SHOE, like twice before she finally answers. In the mean time the mama bear gallops closer to her cubs. SHOE answers and all I say is "BEAR." She comes racing around the bend, pulling out her camera at the same time. She asks if I had taken any pictures, I tell her no. With an excited look on her face she tries to move closer to the bear. (all I'm thinking is she's gonna be bear bait if I let her get to close.) I grab her arm and tell her not to get too close, but she's already snapping away and on the move. I yell, "Go away Bear!" and the mama bear slowly starts climbing up the mountain, the cubs are scrambling to catch up with her. She stops and stares at us and I yell again, "Go away Bear!" When she is far enough away, we continue down the trail and SHOE goes, "that was my first be
ar!" I say "Me TOO!", then she goes, "I don't mean to sound mean, but.... you said "go away bear" too nice. I laugh, cause I was probably to scared to realize I wasn't aggressive enough. (*note to self, next time you encounter a bear, don't be so nice.) hahaha! :) We finally get to the road at 3pm and warn another hiker about the bears we just saw. 10 minutes later we are relaxing our legs in SHOE's car and headed to Sugarland Visitors center for a pit stop and an icey diet coke! After the visitors center we are off to pick up my car. We decide to take a quick break and soak our feet in the cold river that winds along the road. As we're soaking our feet we enjoy watching tubers float/struggle by. The water level is so low that some of the tubers get stuck and have to either drag themselves or get up and walk over to a deeper section of the river. We finally make it to my car, we change clothes, and decide to grab dinner before driving back home. As we're coasting up the mountain, we get stuck in traffic b/c i
t seems like bear has come out of the woods in search of something to eat and everyone with a camera stops to take it's picture. I'll admit, I stopped to get a picture too. In another part of the park, there's another traffic jam, this time it's due to an ELK. More pictures snapped and we are off once again. My gas light comes on and I know we are still 30 miles away from any gas station AND we are still riding UP a mountain. But not to worry, I get to the top of Newfound Gap safely, and coast down for 20 miles without hitting the gas pedal til I find a gas station. We come to the 441 and 19 highway road junction and decide to eat at Prime Steak buffet b/c we have to travel in opposite directions on 19. After dinner we say good byes and at 7pm and start our drives home.
ut three BEARS!!!! A mama, and two cubs! My initial reaction is to turn and run! but my body is frozen. The mama bear stands her ground and stares at me and I watch the two cubs scramble up a tree. (In retrospect, those cubs flew up that tree!) Thank goodness I read an entire article on what to do when confronted by a bear. I stayed calm, but I turned my back on it and walked back up the trail a bit, instead of just backing away slowly. I remember yelling for SHOE, like twice before she finally answers. In the mean time the mama bear gallops closer to her cubs. SHOE answers and all I say is "BEAR." She comes racing around the bend, pulling out her camera at the same time. She asks if I had taken any pictures, I tell her no. With an excited look on her face she tries to move closer to the bear. (all I'm thinking is she's gonna be bear bait if I let her get to close.) I grab her arm and tell her not to get too close, but she's already snapping away and on the move. I yell, "Go away Bear!" and the mama bear slowly starts climbing up the mountain, the cubs are scrambling to catch up with her. She stops and stares at us and I yell again, "Go away Bear!" When she is far enough away, we continue down the trail and SHOE goes, "that was my first be
ar!" I say "Me TOO!", then she goes, "I don't mean to sound mean, but.... you said "go away bear" too nice. I laugh, cause I was probably to scared to realize I wasn't aggressive enough. (*note to self, next time you encounter a bear, don't be so nice.) hahaha! :) We finally get to the road at 3pm and warn another hiker about the bears we just saw. 10 minutes later we are relaxing our legs in SHOE's car and headed to Sugarland Visitors center for a pit stop and an icey diet coke! After the visitors center we are off to pick up my car. We decide to take a quick break and soak our feet in the cold river that winds along the road. As we're soaking our feet we enjoy watching tubers float/struggle by. The water level is so low that some of the tubers get stuck and have to either drag themselves or get up and walk over to a deeper section of the river. We finally make it to my car, we change clothes, and decide to grab dinner before driving back home. As we're coasting up the mountain, we get stuck in traffic b/c i
t seems like bear has come out of the woods in search of something to eat and everyone with a camera stops to take it's picture. I'll admit, I stopped to get a picture too. In another part of the park, there's another traffic jam, this time it's due to an ELK. More pictures snapped and we are off once again. My gas light comes on and I know we are still 30 miles away from any gas station AND we are still riding UP a mountain. But not to worry, I get to the top of Newfound Gap safely, and coast down for 20 miles without hitting the gas pedal til I find a gas station. We come to the 441 and 19 highway road junction and decide to eat at Prime Steak buffet b/c we have to travel in opposite directions on 19. After dinner we say good byes and at 7pm and start our drives home.I had a wonderful weekend in the woods of the Smoky Mountains. I stayed at my first AT shelter(with rats), backpacked 9 miles each day, had a great hiking companion, and got to see my first bear(s). All in all it was a great weekend. Til next time. GET OUTDOORS!
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