Daniel and I waited until the last minute to pack our gear Friday night - we are such procrastinators. We knew we would have to be up to leave by 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning and that we really needed to be in bed early, but we found ourselves packing until midnight... so much for good intentions.
5:30 a.m. came way too soon. My hot shower did little to wake up my senses, but for some reason I volunteered to drive the first leg to the Smoky Mountains. I was hoping to make a quick stop at Starbucks on our way out, but of course we were running behind and Starbuck's wasn't open yet.
It is strange to be awake and driving so early. There was no one on the road. The humidity was awful and I couldn't get the inside of the windshield defrosted properly. Finally the combination of windshield wipers and freezing cold air blasting seemed to help. I felt bad for Daniel, he was curled up under a blanket, freezing, while trying to sleep.
I drove for what seemed to be forever. When the sky is dark, there is not much to focus on except the road. As the sun begin to peak through the clouds, fog became a problem. I finally had to stop for gas and to give myself a break. We swapped drivers so that I could get an hour of sleep before we met our friends.
I woke up to a blinding light - that is what it seemed like anyways. The fog was really heavy in the mountains, so heavy that you almost couldn't see and the sun was blasting through the fog so that everything was an intense white and blinding around us.
We made it to Gatlinburg and managed to get to our favorite Pancake House, while avoiding the strip. I hate the strip in Gatlinburg... it is the same as the one in Niagra Falls or Myrtle Beach. Daniel and I try to avoid these places where the throngs of people are so intense... if there is a Rippley's Believe or Not Museum, chances are it is not a place we want to visit for a prolonged period of time.
Anyways, we met Gwynn and Chuck for breakfast. I love the opportunity to catch up with friends over pancakes and coffee - this is one of my personal joys in life.
Soon we were headed on to Cosby, TN and our trailhead, the Gabes Mountain Trail. There is a loop here that includes Maddron Bald, but you need 2 nights to complete it and we only had one. We opted for an out-and-back trip which would have a total mileage of 10 miles.
Gabes Mountain trail does not offer spectacular views, but it was a nice walk in the woods. I was amazed at how green everything was, even though like North Carolina, Tennessee has not been blessed with much rain this summer. The mosses on the rocks were vibrant green and oh-so-soft.
The walk to camp was 4.8 miles with an extra 0.2 mile detour to a waterfall. The waterfall was a good place to break for a late lunch of tuna and crackers, but due to the lack of rainfall, was little more than a trickle. At the waterfall, we met some "frat boys" or as Daniel called them, "The AA Members of Tomorrow" (they were each carrying at least one 6-pack with them). They were headed on to campsite 34 that we would also be calling home for the night.
When we walked into camp, there were so many people - lots of the "frat boys" setting up tents and chopping up firewood. Big, burly guys that loved to make their presence known. They also had a radio playing a ball game. The whole sight made me cringe... I walk into the woods for peace and quite, not for the chaos of other people.
Thankfully Daniel and Chuck found some sites further down that were away from the chaotic scene before us. The site was nice and quiet and secluded from the rest. There was one other couple at a neighboring site and later in the evening a lone guy would sleep in a spot above us. I was happy that we would have the peace that I crave when in the woods.
Daniel and Chuck set up the tent while Gwynn and I gathered firewood. I would put sticks in piles and Gwynn would carry the piles up to camp. When I finally came back with a pile, Daniel wanted to know why Gwynn was bringing so much wood to camp and I only came back with a few sticks! I had to explain that I had been making the piles that she brought into camp.
Soon we were cooking our dinners and then making fire for the evening. We were under some really big trees, but above the trees you could see huge clusters of stars in the sky above. We enjoyed our campfire until 9:30-ish before finally bedding down. It was cool out, but warm enough to leave the fly partly off. I love to be laying on my back looking up at the stars.
I am always amazed at night noises. The symphony of bugs lasted well into the night. There were a few rustlings of something, probably small, poking around our campsite. Our food was hung in the trees so bears could not get at them. The night noises paused briefly for a few hours, before the early morning birds took up the chorus again before sunrise.
When sleeping outside there is an alertness that is always with you - especially when sleeping in bear territory. The adrenaline is always there, ready, just in case you need to use your instincts to fight or flight. It is a strange feeling, but it makes you feel alive in ways that you don't experience at home in a bed.
Morning brought more nice weather. We boiled water for chocolate coffee and soon were frying spam... what backpacking trip would be complete without fried spam? We were soon breaking up camp and Daniel and I headed up to the "frat house" to pump water from the creek.
I felt bad to learn that a father and daughter had had to camp beside all of the frat boys. The daughter could not have been older than 12 - if we had known, we would have invited them down to the lower section that was quieter.
Everyone was breaking up camp and we were all soon on our way, back down the trail. We took our time, stopping occasionally for pictures and just enjoying each others company. Hiking in the morning was nice - it was not so hot and the temperature was bearable... 80+ degrees in October is a little much (especially when our sleeping bags are rated for zero degrees).
Back in the parking lot, we encountered a couple whose car battery was dead. Daniel and Chuck helped to push the car into a place where it could be jump started. Ever since Daniel and I were stranded with a dead car in the middle of Pisgah Forest and we had to hitch hike out (with most people ignoring or refusing to help us), Daniel feels a calling to help others in need (I share this feeling and I am thankful that we can help out when possible).
Overall, it was a great trip. Hot showers and hot food always taste and feel best when you first come off of the trail. Sharing our backpacking experiences with others is always special and I am truly looking forward to our next walk in the woods.
