2nd Samuel 1 - 24
Cosby Knob Shelter to stealth campsite on Snowbird Mountain - 13.9 miles hiked - 245.0 AT miles total.
Got an early start and topped Mt. Cammerer (4950 ft) in a couple of hours. From there it was all downhill to Davenport Gap, the northern boundary of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. At the gap, we dropped off the 2nd half of our Smokey permits and were officially through that section , 72 miles of the toughest hiking I’ve encountered (yet).
The last couple of miles down included some amazing river and creek crossings, and stunning scenery. It seems like every section we pass through has new vistas not seen up to that point.
Leaving the Smokey’s, the trail actually follows a paved road for about 1/2 mile, taking us under Interstate 40. Just past that was Standing Bear Farm, an aging hippie commune that has transformed itself into a thru hiker hostel and resupply. We had lunch there (pizza) and did some minor resupply, but found most of the food to be well past expiration dates. Several of the older and younger crowd we’d come to know spent the afternoon there including Orlando, The Kid, Happy, and 9 to 5.
We headed out after a couple of hours, planning on camping along the trail later that afternoon. We found a spot on Snowbird Mountain (4263 ft) after climbing all afternoon from the Standing Bear (elevation 1761). Long day but enjoyable. Set up, dinner and bed by 7:30.
Until next time...
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