I left Fontana Dam at 10:00 in the morning, a bit late for me to start, but I had tried to wait for Sly and Boundless. They were nowhere to be found so I expected that they had started hiking already. So I hitched a ride back out to the trail where I had stopped the day before and started hiking. The trail connects back up with the road and you walk down this sidewalk over the dam. You get a beautiful view of the resevoir and the river down below (pictures will be up soon).
It was a nice hot day so as soon as I had got some pictures and admired the engineering feat, I headed up into the Great Smokies. I hiked about 13 miles- rolling up to the ridge line. I was walking along enjoying the feeling of freedom and the sensation of my body being used, knocking the rust off the ol' joints. I started whistling Be Still My Soul, a church hymn, just for fun (it had been rather quiet that day- i think the birds were a bit shy of the sun). As I started whisteling I looked up towards the top of the hill to see just how much more I had to climb and I saw a big black figure crossing the trail. At first I thought it was a boar- the most dreded encounter on the trail. As I watched it start running, I noticed that it was bobbing up and down (a sign that a pair of legs were shorter than the other). This is a sure sign of a black bear. He went tearing off through the woods as I sood there in amazement. It was the first bear I had seen without the protection of a vehicle. I waited a moment to listen for more activity and seeing that there was none I moved up the hill towards the shelter. I counted steps and the bear crossed the trail 21 paces ahead of me on the trail. It was a great start to the Smokies.
The vegitation up there was sparse, the trees didn't have their leaves yet. The sun beat down pretty hard, but it made it so I could see some cool birds. I got a decent picture of a Piliated Woodpecker (like Woody the Woodpecker). They are pretty rare from what Bird Nut says. And he would know.
I saw another bear on my 4th and last day in the Smokies and actually had the presence of mind to take his picture. Handsome little devil! I can't wait to put the pictures up because there were some great views that telling about just doesn't do justice.
It was a nice hot day so as soon as I had got some pictures and admired the engineering feat, I headed up into the Great Smokies. I hiked about 13 miles- rolling up to the ridge line. I was walking along enjoying the feeling of freedom and the sensation of my body being used, knocking the rust off the ol' joints. I started whistling Be Still My Soul, a church hymn, just for fun (it had been rather quiet that day- i think the birds were a bit shy of the sun). As I started whisteling I looked up towards the top of the hill to see just how much more I had to climb and I saw a big black figure crossing the trail. At first I thought it was a boar- the most dreded encounter on the trail. As I watched it start running, I noticed that it was bobbing up and down (a sign that a pair of legs were shorter than the other). This is a sure sign of a black bear. He went tearing off through the woods as I sood there in amazement. It was the first bear I had seen without the protection of a vehicle. I waited a moment to listen for more activity and seeing that there was none I moved up the hill towards the shelter. I counted steps and the bear crossed the trail 21 paces ahead of me on the trail. It was a great start to the Smokies.
The vegitation up there was sparse, the trees didn't have their leaves yet. The sun beat down pretty hard, but it made it so I could see some cool birds. I got a decent picture of a Piliated Woodpecker (like Woody the Woodpecker). They are pretty rare from what Bird Nut says. And he would know.
I saw another bear on my 4th and last day in the Smokies and actually had the presence of mind to take his picture. Handsome little devil! I can't wait to put the pictures up because there were some great views that telling about just doesn't do justice.
Great posts Adam! Can't wait for the pictures. You're awesome.
ReplyDeleteDitto about those pictures Jessica. And I'm glad I stumbled onto your blog Adam! I'm also glad that you didn't get eaten by that bear. It would be terrible if you went from Achilles the red to Achilles the dead... :)
ReplyDeleteHaha, keep it up, live the dream, you're doing great! Give a shout out when you get closer to connecticut.