Friends, wow we snored last night! They had the chainsaw up and were sawing some logs. Needless to say, the sleep wasn’t very good. But it got me up early and allowed us to start the day.
On the trail before 6:30am, I needed to turn on the lights for the first hour or so until the sun was bright enough to illuminate the trail and all the rocks. We were on the wrong side of the mountain to get a good view of the sunrise, but we were treated to a very nice full moon sky, or at least close to it.
It finally transforms into a captivating glow highlighted by orange and pink colors, with a blue sky as a background.
cotton candy skies
Going down and screaming wood
The hiking theme of the day was down, all the way. We started with a short climb, which was most of the climbing we had during the day, followed by almost a full day of descending. Much of the descent was quite rocky, which was not my favorite as balance can be difficult and abuses the feet over time.
Getting off can suck
However, Queso and I were motivated to travel miles so we could get out of the park and enjoy some amenities. Our first break was a few hours at the next shelter, the Cosby Knob Shelter. Where I filled up on water, made myself some hot chocolate, and ate practically an entire bag of Fritos. It was a delight!
As I continued walking, I noticed many landslides where the trees seemed to be still alive, which I assume occurred recently. One blow shattered three large trees in a row in one piece, which was quite certain.
There were few good views from the mountains, overlooking the surrounding valleys and rivers. Finally, in the early afternoon, we reached the edge of the Smokies at Davenport Gap and dropped our hiker permits in the mailbox. Officially ending this stage of our walk. But this didn’t complete our day of hiking, we still had a couple more miles left at the Pigeon River Bridge where we were going to be picked up.
Davenport Gap and Magic Trail
A long way to go…
We hiked the last 2 miles and as we reached the trailhead we noticed a bit of commotion next to the road, nothing short of some trail magic! Nomad, was organizing some magical trails, which we gratefully accepted. I bought pulled pork, honey bread, a beer, and an iced coffee. The whole combination. They also offered a replenishment opportunity based on the donations they had received. Which was amazing and greatly appreciated. I was able to get enough to get to Hot Springs without having to get anything else for the next few days of hiking.
As I mentioned earlier, Becca was making some magic on the trails transporting people. She was going to pick us up, but was delayed by some slower than expected packers she was expecting. Which served us well, as we enjoyed a bit of the magic of the trails before Queso’s boyfriend picked us up. After that, we went to Bootleggers, a place that offers moonshine slushies. I got a Hillbilly Punch (fruit) and a pineapple dip, which was pretty good! Nice and cold, which was refreshing as the afternoon had gotten quite hot. A while later Becca arrived and after spending some time together, we went our separate ways.
Moonshine Slushies
I went to Newport, Tennessee, to spend the night in a hotel and enjoy a good meal. With the plan to hit the road again tomorrow morning, while Becca heads to the airport and flies home.
At the hotel I was able to wash clothes, which was very necessary. In addition to a shower, which was also very necessary. I also charged my devices and went to Ruby Tuesday’s for an all-you-can-eat salad bar, steak, and the biggest draft beer they had. A nice way to celebrate the completion of the Smokies.
Statistics for the 19th:
17.2 miles
2,005′ ascent, 6,565′ descent
Tri-Corner Knob Shelter to Pigeon River Bridge
11DSLC…
Stove use times: 4
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