Another gorgeous warm sunny day for our fifth and final day in The Smokies. We could not have wished for better weather through this section of the AT, it could not have been any more perfect for this time of year. We never had a night that went below freezing and had warm sunny days. We had heard so many horror stories of hikers suffering in really bad, bitterly cold, wintery weather conditions in The Smokies. The weather gods have been very kind to us so far!
We had a very lazy start this morning, the sun was shining through the trees and warming our tent which was a lovely change to the other colder mornings we've had. By the time we'd had breakfast and packed away it was 10:40. Today's trail was basically three miles of uphill followed by just under six miles of downhill to Davenport Gap, all easy gradient paths again though. We passed a few day hikers on our way down, they always smell so clean. Smells of freshly laundered clothes, deodorant, perfume etc. I dread to think what we smell of after five days of not showering! That's the longest we've gone so far without showering or laundry, just a quick baby wipe wash.
At the gap there was a well designed sign highlighting the consequences to bears of throwing rubbish on the trail or parking areas. Unfortunately the stupidity or thoughtlessness of humans leads to bears having to be put down through no fault of their own. The forest is their world, we are the guests. Just after the Gap we passed out through the northern boundary of The Great Smokey Mountains National Park, we've loved every mile of it.
From the Gap we crossed over Pigeon River and then under Interstate Highway 40. We sat in the sun for a few minutes on the other side of the highway watching the traffic go by, a few truck drivers bipped their horns and waved at us.
From there it was a mile up and over to Standing Bear Farm hiker hostel where we are staying the night. We were greeted by Rocket and his dog Duke and shown around. The owners Curtis and Maria have an amazing place, very rustic, full of character and country charm. They have a resupply shack that has everything a hiker could possibly need, and more, for the next few days to get them to Hot Springs the next town along, plus food to cook whilst staying - we're having 3meat pizza sat outside by the open fire! There is a self catering kitchen area and laundry room - laundry hand washing old style though with a washboard and mangle... they do have a tumble drier though. We are staying in their 'Cabin', like something out of 'A Little House on the Prairie' with rocking chairs out front and a stream running beneath, very quaint, they also have a bunk room. We have yet again another great place all to ourselves tonight.
There's a few hikers coming in a day or two behind us as most of the hikers we met in the early Smokies stopped off in Gatlinburg half way through to get food resupplies. A couple of faster hikers are already ahead of us. Gatlinburg is home to 'Dollywood', Dolly Parton World and a big tourist town, a good party town for the youngsters but too much temptation to spend money there. It's all 'Fudge' as Tritan put it! We had enough food supplies with us so carried straight on through to save a bit of money. We're looking forward to zeroing in Hot Springs instead in a couple of days time.
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