Appalachian Trail Day 32 - Whistling Gap Campsite to Uncle Johnny's Hostel, Erwin, TN - Bear encounter in camp! (mile 331 to mile 344)

This morning is a repeat of every morning on the trail: chilly in the late 40's and overcast.  No rain is in the forecast, so maybe this is a representation of the microclimate of temperate ridge in Southern Appalachia. 

Tang is the first one out of camp. She packed up so fast and does an amazing amount of stretching before I even got out of my hammock. I see her depart, and decide to settle back into my pile of down fluffiness for a little while longer.

GG took down the bear bags while I pack.  Since I don't eat breakfast in camp, I am actually the second one on the trail at 7 am!  I keep hoping that if I get out in front, I will see a bear!  They tend to be nocturnal when it gets warmer, and bed down during the heat of the day.  So far no luck.  I need to clarify that while I want to see bears in their natural habitat, I would like to do so very safely! No angry mommas protecting their cubs, and at an appropriate distance, please. 

GG taking down her tent at Whistling Gap

One of the reasons I am out quickly is because I am still wearing my sleeping clothes.  I hate to change into my cold and wet hiking clothes when I am toasty warm in camp in the morning, so I hike a half-mile and then stop to change once I get a little warmed up.  Most hikers (me included), only pack two changes of clothes: one to sleep in, and one to hike in.  An absolute rule of responsible hiking is to ALWAYS have a change of dry clothes to change into when you get to camp, in order to prevent hypothermia once you stop hiking. 

My nasty looking coffee

The elevation profile today is a little up, then a little down, then more up, then way more down, then up, and then a lot of down. We have about 2k of gain, and 4k of down before Erwin. 

My body is still adapting to hiking day after day.  This time of year, I am a little more out of shape than normal, since I don't do as many long distance hikes over the winter and early spring at home.  The first week of a long-distance hike I typically don't have the best appetite and I am so thirsty ALL THE TIME: I frequently wake up to guzzle water at night.  So far on this section, I think I am adjusting to trail life more quickly because my thigh and calf muscles do not feel very tight and sore this morning, and I didn't feel like I was walking on sharp objects when I first got out of my hammock. 

My breakfast is an instant coffee and chocolate protein powder with milk powder and sugar for added fat and carbs, and for health I add ground oats, flax, and chia.  This mixture is super thick when I start out, but as I drink I add more water, making it last for an hour or so.  Between meals,  I am eating a half a Lara or Kind bar every 30 to 45 minutes. 

I can go uphill a little faster than just a few days ago, but I still have to stop and hydrate and just get some heavy breathing out of the way as I go through this adaptation phase.  I am starting to get hungry!  I try to eat my snacks on the crest of the ridges, nibbling as I go downhill, so my digestion doesn't divert energy from my muscles, but I need to fuel as I go.  After lunch I will drink electrolyte powders once it gets hot and I start sweating buckets. 

I reach Spivey Gap and meander across several streams on small wooden bridges, thick with foliage of water-loving rhododendron.  The mountain laurel is now in bud, so we should see some pretty flowers in the weeks to come.  GG catches up to me as I am filtering water.  We meet two young men who are thru hiking and we chat for a bit before heading up out of the gap.  

The trail here is very narrow with a drop off on one side and a mountain on the other.  Two young ladies are hiking the opposite direction.  They stop to let me pass since I am heading uphill, as is the custom when hiking.   Day hiker yields to backpacker, downhill yields to uphill, all yield to someone faster.  Basic trail etiquette.  As I hike by, I thank them and let them know my friend is just behind me and be careful because she has lots of stuff hanging off her pack.  "I wouldn't want you to be knocked downhill,"  I say jokingly.  I turn around to see them literally grabbing the trees for dear life as she passes.  I laugh heartily, wishing I had taken a picture. 

We crest the first ridge as the sun rises. The elevation profile makes this look a lot harder than it actually is. I was anticipating knee jarring descents today, but the trail is lovely. 

This morning I see reishi and chicken of the woods mushrooms.   American hemlock trees (not to be confused with the deadly water hemlock plant) line the trail, and I nibble on the fresh bright green twig tips, enjoying the tart pop of flavor while getting some extra vitamin C.  I stop to grab a stinging nettle leaf which, when rolled a certain way,  is edible and also loaded with vitamins and healthy goodness.  GG reaches down to grab the plant, thinking its jewelweed, which is the antidote to nettle stings, and often grows in the same area. I stop her just before her hands get stung. 

This tree narrowly missed the trail!

We stop for a leisurely lunch at No Business shelter, about 5 miles from the Nolichucky River.    I eat a yummy high-fiber tortilla with a packet of Spam topped with a packet of mayo and relish. Bear Chaser is here, and he offers me some Mountain House freeze-dried spaghetti.  I don't refuse food as a rule, so I accept and eat the entire ziplock of food, in addition to my lunch

No Business Shelter

The water source is down a hill.  I check out my water situation.  A half a liter remains in my bladder in my backpack, and 12 ounces in my shaker bottle, which should be enough to get to town. We have about 1000' of gain remaining, and about 2000' of loss.  We should be at Uncle Johnny's by 3:30!  As we get ready to leave, Kodiak arrives. We discuss our plans for this afternoon and tomorrow.  We are going to shuttle into town and eat Mexican!  I am already craving nachos and margaritas!

I ate way too much, and I feel bloated and gross on the hike uphill after the shelter.  The trail is rocky with lots of big roots twisting and snaking their way along our path.  I have to be alert so I don't trip and fall.  

On the descent, my knees are talking to me.  They say "please, please give me a rest," but town is calling and I can't stop thinking of a shower.  I pop 600 mg of ibuprofen and sip on the last of my water, mixed with a disgusting mixture of electrolyte powder, instant coffee granules, and EmergenC as I slog down the hill.  This beverage is a 0/10 on flavor, but will give it a 7/10 for giving me the energy I need to carry on. 

Soon the trail veers sharply left a short distance downhill and a break in the trees reveals the Nolichucky River below laying across the landscape about 700' feet sharply down. The river is clouded in a little afternoon haze.   I'm on the edge of a cliff, so I step back to take pictures. I can see cars on Interstate 26 to the left, but it's too far to hear them. Across the river, the land rises quickly to a ridge that is about the same elevation as the one I am on now. That is what I will hike tomorrow. 

I get a call from Kodiak.  She is a mile back and pulled her quad muscle in her thigh.  She thinks if she rests and takes ibuprofen she can keep walking downhill.  I offer to drop my pack and come back uphill to help her down.  She declines, so I continue to the hostel.  I ask her to keep in touch and I will come back up to help her down if she needs any assistance.  Of course, I am tuckered out and the thought of another 2,000 feet of gain and another 2 miles makes me cringe, but I would do it for someone who needed help. 

I get to Uncle Johnny's hostel to find GG on the front porch.  We go inside the small but well-appointed store and check in, electing to camp out once again.  We collect our resupply boxes and go to set up.  I just bought a new Winter Palace Tarp from Hammock Gear and I had it shipped here.  I need to get it rigged before we go back on the trail, but don't feel like it right now.  GG sets up her tent in front of the hammock shelter, which is an older version of the one at Nature's Inn.  I love this! So nice to set up under a shelter, but I get the comfort of my hammock.  If only these shelters were present along the trail. 

Other hikers roll in and we are pleased to see Ragnar and Mochila.  I can never remember her trail name, just that it is the Spanish word for "backpack."  I keep wanting to call her Chinchilla. She said it's okay to call her by her name, Lauren. We catch up while they set up camp right beside GG.  

We meet a group of ladies thru-hiking together. They appear to be our age.  I love meeting other women who are living on the trail.  Team old ladies!  One of them is named Foxy.  She is recently retired from Massachusetts.  If Foxy completes her thru-hike, she will be the oldest woman of color to hike the entire AT at age 67.  She is with a woman who is closer to my age, and has purple hair and clothes.  She introduces herself as Purple Haze. 

"Wait! Not THE Purple Haze that was bitten by the bear on the butt at Cosby Knob Shelter?"  I ask. She confirms she is the one and only.  She had to start a round of rabies injections until the bear autopsy confirmed the errant bear was rabies free and she was given the all clear to continue her thru-hike.  I get the impression she is uncomfortable for her trail notoriety.  EVERYONE know what happened to her.  Amazing how fast word travels on a trail!

Kodiak limps in a short time later, once we are freshly showered.  I am wearing some clean and comfy loaner clothes while my clothes are being washed.   Kodiak elects to sleep in the bunkhouse and claims her bunk. GG and I decide to go to the grocery store today and hit the Mexican restaurant tomorrow.  Kodiak is staying behind and resting her leg.  She isn't sure if she will be able to hike tomorrow, so GG and I come up with another Plan B.  We contacted a local shuttle driver and decided to do a slack pack tomorrow, where we will be dropped off north of here and hike back, allowing us to stay another night!

My hammock on the left in the hammock area. GG's tent in foreground

Soon we load up into the huge 15-passenger van out in front.  This thing is ancient and so beat up we have to slam the door several times to make it close. The van is loaded with hikers heading to town to eat and resupply.  The air is pungent with the odor of bodies in serious need of a shower and the open windows do little to alleviate the smell. Thankfully the ride is short.

The van returns within an hour, and we have an armload of beer and fresh fruit as we pile back into the van.   We head back to the hostel and say good night within an hour.  It's about 10 pm and pitch dark, and I sit in my hammock and read with my earplugs in, winding down for bed, when I see a lot of activity in my peripheral vision.  People are running around the tents just beside GG's.  I can hear muffled yelling.  I take out my earplugs and can hear people shouting "Hey Bear!  Go away bear," frantically.  This is like yelling "fire" in a movie theater - no other words get hikers moving so fast. 

A bear just walked in between the tents, just 30 feet from me, and I didn't even see it!! It headed straight for the large plastic trash can next to the bathhouse in the middle of the compound and knocked over the trashcan, which woke up Ragnar and Mochila.  They were the ones shouting at the bear. Thankfully the bear wasn't too habituated to people, because the commotion made it run off immediately. We righted the trash can, picked up the trash and placed it inside the bathhouse. Close call, for sure!  The campers who saw it said it was a big one!

Ragnar points out a bear print

I hope I can sleep after this!

Today's stats: 13 miles, 1700' Ascent (and 3500' descent)

Trail stats: 344 miles, 83k feet gain