After a solid night of sleep, I took my time getting out of my tent. The cool mornings were great for hiking, but when I was all warm and filthy inside my sleeping bag, it was always tough to make that initial decision to get moving. The hike we were facing was 10.5 miles and a drop in elevation of 3,500 feet to Green Corner Road. On Green Corner Road was the Standing Bear Hostel where we would spend the night. I wanted to make sure I had enough energy to enjoy the hike, so I fired up my stove and made some instant oatmeal. When breakfast was done, I waited around a little while. I usually liked to get going right away, to get a few miles under my belt, warm up and enjoy the cool morning, but I decided to hang around for a little while. First of all, I knew we didn’t have that far to hike that day, also I wanted to see if I could use the privy before I left. With my privy mission accomplished, I hit the trail. Winding down the mountain, the trail was mostly wide switchbacks with a few challenging sections. About halfway down the mountain I had to negotiate a giant downed tree. I ended up tossing my pack over the top and slithering underneath it. Descending slowly out of the mountains, it was interesting to see how many leaves were out on the trees at the lower elevations. Even though it was the middle of April, it felt like Spring had finally arrived. Downhill hiking was not as tough on the muscles, but mile after mile started to take its toll on my knees. I stopped for a quick break and some Vitamin I (Pacecar’s term for Ibuprophen). As much as I enjoyed The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, it was a relief to get to Davenport Gap and out of the park. After the gap, the trial skirted along a gorgeous stream complete with little waterfalls.
Stream near Davenport Gap.
I stopped there and waited for my comrades who weren’t far behind. We took some pictures and then I pressed on to the base of the mountain. Shortly after the stream, I was suddenly spit out onto a backwoods roadway. It had become a gray afternoon and it appeared like it could rain at any moment. The white blazes took me along the edge of the road. It was bittersweet to come across civilization after being in the woods for so long. I was relieved to have completed such a challenging section of the trail, but it was sort of depressing to suddenly be in such a rural and lonely part of civilization. Then again the gray day may have had something to do with it. Once I was on the road for a bit, I had trouble deciphering where the trail went. Then I saw a small white blaze leading to an underpass. The trail went right under the highway. Exiting the underpass, I could see another white blaze on a guardrail near the off-ramp. I went and sat on the guard rail for a few minutes, eating a snickers bar and waiting to see if the other guys would appear. When they did not appear after a while, I figured they probably got held up taking photos at the stream. So I decided to continue to the hostel and peruse their wares. According to my trail guide, the hostel was supposed to be .1 miles off the trail at Green Corner Road. Walking down the gravel road, I felt like I had missed something, or that I wasn’t in the right spot. Suddenly on the right I saw a structure through the trees. Approaching the building I could see that it was Standing Bear Hostel, officially called Standing Bear Farms. In front of the hostel was a small porch with a low metal roof. There were a number of old beat up boots out front of the porch with flowers planted in them, it was pretty cool.
Flowers planted in old boots outside of Standing Bear Hostel.
Taking my pack off my shoulders felt amazing. I sat on the porch and waited for my compradres. Shortly after sitting down, I was greeted by “The Janitor.” The Janitor was a maintenance guy at the hostel for the farm. He gave me the rundown on the place. There was a large bunk house with plastic matresses, and a shed with typical through hiker food. Lots of ramen, instant potatoes, crackers and other things. Everything, was on the honor system. Just when I started to get concerned that my the other guys had lost their way, they rolled into the hostel. I bought some pringles and a frozen pizza. There was cool little shed that served as a kitchen, I cooked my pizza and ate a lot of junk food. In the late afternoon, some of the guys were going into town via the rusted old van for some mexican food. The grease of the frozen pizza had upset my stomach a little so I decided to hang back. Seth and I sat around the kitchen area and listened to some hiker I had never seen before talk about how he was in the CIA and then he was a contractor for Blackwater in Iraq. I could tell by his jeans and cleanliness that he was not a thru-hiker, even though he claimed to be. However, he probably worked for the CIA, because I saw him “kill” two Hot Pockets in under 3 minutes. Some other guy was arguing with him about the war or something. After getting all depressed listening to those morons, Seth and I went to our bunks. I grabbed a random book from the shelf and started reading. Since most of the guys were at the mexican restaurant it was peaceful and relaxing to just sit there and read. While reading my book, I could hear rain pounding on the metal roof. A few hours later everyone came pouring into the bunk house. There must have been 25 hikers in that room. Even with all those people, there was not one snorer. While it rained all night, it was comfortable and warm in the quiet, dry bunk house. I slept great!
The Navigator (Martin) holding the Standing Bear’s pet squirrel inside the supply hut. Plan B (Seth) approves of the situation.
Smooth's Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike 