It was cold waking up. Really cold. Don’t want to poke your head out of the sleeping bag cold. Definitely don’t want to put on hiking clothes and go for an 18 mile walk cold. 

But the women on the platform above me were chattering away loudly and there was no going back to sleep. So I slinked out of my sleeping bag, skipped breakfast and hit the trail. Wearing every piece of clothing I had packed.

The first mile or two were frigid. Even with gloves on, I kept having to stop to warm up my fingers. But as I walked longer, I began to warm up. And soon the sun came out and the day turned lovely. 

McKay and I rounded a corner and saw a beautiful lookout. Since we had skipped breakfast, we agreed that this would be the right place to have a bite to eat. We sat down and laid out our food bags, trying to decide what to feast on.

A minute later Julia joined, followed by Haribo. And then Jack Rabbit. “this is so AT of you,” he said mockingly before joining our meal. 

Much of the rest of the day was a downhill climb out of the smokies. Mile after mile of downhill (except for a quick uphill to the poorly named Cosby’s Knob) led to a fast day but one that was tough on the knees. 

Right before we got to the end of the day we came across a sign that said “trail magic ahead”. But when we came out to the road we saw them closing up shop. “Someone called the police on us,” one of the women told us. “The sheriff was lovely but technically this is illegal so we have to shut down. Grab a pop tart but that’s about all we have.”

We thanked her but it was a much longer hike up the next hill knowing that we had just missed ice cold Coca Cola. Also, we seemed to be hiking in the unofficial poison ivy capital of the east coast, so each step had to be well planned and executed. 

Mamas Boy had recommended the standing bear hostel a few nights ago. He told us they let you set up a tent in the back yard. And so that’s what we did. We came in and set up tent and hammock and immediately ran into mama’s boy, Salt Daddy, Jack Rabbit, Boots (yay!) and Boots’ owner (not yay).

The rest of the evening was filled with frozen pizzas, beer, finding out that Jack rabbit is only 23 and learning that Salt Daddy managed to crash a bike and break his face and didn’t even get a minor concussion from it! 

While I will miss the beauty of the smokies, it feels great to be out of the shelters and back in my hammock. 

Key stats:

Miles:19

Elevation gained: 2600

How my knees feel: geriatric