"Beans"...back on the trail.
Slightly overcast and expecting more rain tonight.
Received some "trail magic " this morning.
(...trail magic is when something you really want or need is provided by others as if as magic...trail magic can be as small as a candy bar when your's are depleted, or as large as a ride to the next town or hostel when you can't take one more step for the day...)
My trail magic came in the form of fresh fruit.
An ice cold slice of watermelon, and apple and a banana.
Since fresh fruit and veggies are rarely found along the trail (...except in offerings from those who wait by crossroads or in gaps called "Trail Angels"..)
This bit of Trail Magic is well received!
Leaving Mollies Ridge Shelter the first notable area comes up quickly (about a mile) and is called
Devil's Tater Patch
Which as far as I can tell, is just another (albeit bleak) moutain top.
These seem to be a recurring theme. Or as another hiker called them along the way- PUDS (...pointless ups and downs...)
Through Little Abrams Gap to
Russell Field Shelter
Where we found the first of these signs
And there I was, moments before, thinking how nice this area looked if you were thru-hiking and needed an overnight.
Maybe not.
But we have (virtual) miles to go today...so onward.
Taking the Eagle Creek Trail to Spence Field Shelter.
The chain link fencing and gate that covers the front is not an accident...and apparently they do have a real bear issue in this area. Mostly black bears who have been fed by humans and now recognize them as a source of handouts.
Many nuisance bears are, sadly, euthanized every year along the trail because they have learned to view hikers as food providers.
Do NOT feed the bears.
At 5,440 feet we now don't have to
"...wish we were on Old Rocky Top..."
Because...here we are.
Rocky Top Tennessee
Yeah...I'm just not feeling it.
Must be a Southern Thing.
(...or maybe just too much of that jarred corn...)
Down the East peak of Thunderhead
Thunderhead Mountain
(...this reminds me of the Scottish ABC designation- Another Bloody Castle...through the Appalachian Trail it would have to be ABM- Another Bloody Mountain...)
Through Beechnut Gap
and Sugar Tree Gap
to Derrick Knob Shelter
Whose opening also sports chain link bear fencing to be closed at night.
Up another 5460 feet to Silars Bald Shelter
and at last where we will be stopping for the night-
The Double Spring Gap Shelter
Great accommodations including a water source and a privy!
https://youtu.be/T4i0un6PDa0
Only 2 miles from Clingman's Dome...we will be there in the morning...and 10 miles to Gatlinburg where we will be taking a Zero weekend!
love,
Beans
(...and, as if on cue, the rain has arrived...)
