Day 4

Fontana Lake on our clear morning



Dad walks across the Fontana Dam at the foot of the Smokey Mountains


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Day 4:

1st day in the smokies. Startlingly clear morning really allows you to take in the mountains ahead. Can't help but to think that you're on the verge of a great adventure: stopping on the dam, looking at your target 4k feet above. I'd bet the first thousand was easy. I am getting comfortable wearing the pack longer and longer. Dad is kicking it into gear today. We don't need to stop as often and hit the campsite 113 by lunch. Thought that was the top of the climb but nah... probably about 750ft more. Told the old guy he was at the top. I'm an ass. Oh well, topo maps suck and we'll never see him again. Dad and I are way too fast. met 3 Michiganders. Played tag on the trail all day till about 2. Saw 4 bear on the way to the Russel Field Shelter. 1st ran off into the woods. 2nd two were together + took some yelling to get them to leave. 4th ran so fast away I just glimpsed his head. When we got to the site there [were] signs of DANGER BEAR ACTIVITY and the shelter had a human cage to keep the bears out. 4 Texans showed up, then 3 more bears. They sauntered S[outh] to N[orth] on the east side of the camp where "chairman's" tent was just pitched. Despite the warnings and laws, he doesn't want to hit the shelter. We'll see how he fares this evening. Looks like 8 in the shelter. We can still hear the bears to the east. Longest day tomorrow for Dad... I think he's ready.

Day 4 Amendment

BEAR! Hell 15 yards from the fire before we heard it. Momma bear, took some rocks and noise. Mom climbs a tree. Still poking around.

HAHA! Make that 9 in the shelter.

Momma bear showed up w/ cubs in tow at 12:45 am and attempted to get inside the cage. Lots of growling, banging, and photo ops! Weird being inside the zoo getting your cage tapped on.

By the way, found my underwear.

*Trail names will start appearing more often in these entries. People obtain trail names during their trek from fellow hikers. Chairman's name is Chairman because he works at a chair factory. Most trail names involve such kinds of craftiness in their inception. The AT involves walking on the ridge of the Appalachian Mountain Range as it snakes it's way Northeast from Georgia to Maine. You'll spend days walking on top of the ridge with small elevation changes, but the trail drops in altitude to meet towns and bodies of water. Hiking up from the Fontana Dam is a pretty tall order. The bears we saw at the shelter, as we discovered later, are known problem bears and have probably been relocated by now. Loyal had a nice run in with mamma bear the day after we passed through. Our crew's only casualty was the handle of one trekking pole which was chewed off through the fence. The funniest part of the bear attack was that the common response was to shuffle deeper into one's sleeping bag, but only after whipping out a point-and-shoot. No one was about to be a hero and go yell at the bear, myself included!



Russel Field Shelter and the Human Cage



I can haz sum hikerz?!