Boars not Bears

Brandon called today from a campground near Interstate 40. They had hiked in to re-supply with food and were talking with other hikers and planning to continue on today and perhaps hike into the night. They have hiked a couple of nights and have found their head lamps work well. I know they are hiking hard to meet up with Meaghan and her mom who will meet them with a cabin in Hot Springs NC. They will enjoy showers, beds and decent food… a nice rest stop after 18 days of hiking and 10 days of no shower!

They have completed the Great Smoky Mountains National Park section of the trail. There you must sleep in shelters; mostly because of bears. Night before last they slept in a 12 person shelter with 16 folks. Cozy ! Brandon said they have not seen any bears, thankfully, but have seen quite a few wild hogs. I asked him what they do when they see them; he said yell at them and make noise so they run away. They saw three in Georgia and another BIG one in Smoky Mountains. So big he said they thought for a bit it was a bear!

The trip is “cool” in his words, just what they expected except a bit more rain than they hoped for. The views are beautiful when the days are sunny, but it was very foggy and rainy as they crossed over Clingmans Dome so no good photos from the highest point. They are meeting a lot of thru hikers, sort of leap frog… they pass then get passed so they stop to visit and get trail reports. They have hiked the past 2 days with a kid from Texas. This week there have been a lot of Spring Break hikers on the trail. Brandon says the spring breakers typically pack too much food and have been giving he and Ricky what they won’t use as they hike out. Food has worked out well for what they planned except the rice. They thought they would eat a lot of rice but Brandon said it is too messy and takes way too long to cook. It takes over 45 min. on the camp stove and that is too long and wastes too much fuel. They have loved the couscous, eating the entire two quart container they took. It is fast, so they add the chicken and tuna packets to that rather than rice. He promises me they are taking their vitamins every other day as agreed and eating fruit, the first days of resupply, and a Snicker’s candy bar a day for good measure.

When asked about a typical day… They wake up about 7:30, eat, begin hiking about 9:00. They make a stop for lunch and at shelters to talk with other hikers, get a break from the wind ( it has been windy a lot), hike into the afternoon getting to destination about dark or dark thirty. Dry shoes and pants around the campfire, dinner and to bed. They are having fun!

He loves the comments on the website so keep them coming.