#020 Cosby Knob Shelter to Davenport Gap Day 14: ATMM 231.1 – 239.1
Our spirits are high. We are hungry. We in disparate need a shower.
The final hike of the week is easy; a steep one-mile descent, followed by a steep one-mile climb, followed by a gentle seven-mile descent into Davenport Gap.
Passing the large family from Houston, “Good luck with the rangers,” I bid them.
Passing the family with the four kids, “Good luck with your long journey,” I bid them.
Passing Davenport Gap Shelter near the end of our hike, “Good luck with the bears,” I bid it.
It’s one of a few shelters on the A.T. with a gate at its entrance.
The gate is there because bears are attracted to that shelter.
Bears are attracted to that shelter because it is near a gravel road.
Nearby roads create easy accessibility to shelters.
Easily accessible shelters double as party houses.
Party houses generally attract irresponsible people.
Irresponsible people tend to trash places they go.
Abandoned trash equals bears.
Too many bears equal gates.
Irresponsible people + bears = gates on shelters. Easy math.
It’s better that irresponsible people never enter the wilderness.
We walk off the trail at Davenport Gap onto an old road on the TN/NC border. It is paved on the left of us and graveled on the right. This marks the end of our trek across the Great Smoky Mountains. It is an underwhelming finish as far as visual stimulation and fanfare goes.
Last week’s beginning consisted of crossing Fontana Dam with it’s mountainous backdrop, a walk cross state lines, photos with a big sign that welcomed us into the Great Smoky Mountains, beneath a big blue sky and a clean cool breeze, full of anticipation for the upcoming adventure.
Today’s finish is far less theatrical; we walk onto an old road with an identity crises, stand on the same state line, at mile marker zero, with a nondescript rock as the only landmark, with no sign to announce the Great Smoky Mountains lies behind us. There is only a small trail sign to indicate distant locations in all directions. The sky is white, the air is thick, we smell like wet dogs covered with week’s worth of sweat and grime, and our ride, JS, is on the other side of the mountain.
It’s not his fault, we just got our lines crossed as to where the true end-point is. We contact him and he picks us up within fifteen minutes, with orders to keep the windows down.
Despite the mediocre scene at our finish line, our spirits are high.
I call Mosey to inform her that we made it to the finish line and to check in with her about her family emergency. All is well there.
We are hungry. We are tired, We stink and are in desperate need showers.
After getting the others where they needed to go a few days ago JS hung around campgrounds waiting for us to finish. He drives us to a nearby whitewater rafting outfitter to shower. Since the outfitter is closed for the day the hot water is turned off. I will neither confirm nor deny that the three of us scream out in unison like little girls from our individual shower stalls as the cold water hits us.
JS drives us to a restaurant before we begin our seven-hour trip home.
When over half our crew got off the trail the hike lost something important. The three of us made it through alright, but we were missing the dynamics that we had as a whole. It might have been for the best though. The weather was not always great and the shelters were already packed. There’s no doubt that those who got off will return to finish.
As for me, I don’t plan on ever hiking through the Smoky section of the A.T. again. The only force that could drag me out there are my friends of if my son decides he wants to hike the A.T. The section itself is nice, but being forced to create and follow a planned itinerary doesn’t jive, at least for me, with what backpacking is about. To me, being in the wilderness is about the freedom found in the unknown. It’s about trusting the trail and having the liberty to let each day worry for itself.
With that section forever behind me I can begin planning my trip next year to fill in the ninety-mile gap between the Bly Gap and the Fontana Crossings.
This was a busy hike with many changes. It almost seemed like two separate ventures. Newfound Gap separates the South Smokies from north North Smokies. Newfound Gap separated our tribe, but not our friendships.
Two days after finishing this hike Becky and I left for a three-week train and road trip out west. We took The Empire Builder across the country into Portland, Oregon where we visited friends. We drove to The Pacific Ocean, hung out at Crater Lake, drove to Wyoming’s Yellowstone and The Grand Tetons, we stayed with friends in Boise, Idaho, and took part in their wedding ceremony in Cascade Idaho. We dropped into areas like Craters of the Moon and The Great Salt Lake as we made our way to Salt Lake City to catch a train back home.
It was deep winter before I slowed down to reflect on this hike. With the help of photos and daily notes scribbled on crinkled paper I was able to reflect on each day and write about my Great Smoky Mountain backpack experience.
Note to reader: The next few posts take a dramatic turn in our story. Many life changes occur. As Jimmy Buffett would say; “Some of it’s magic; some of it’s tragic, but I had a good life all the way.”
During and after those posts you’ll notice a different vibe in the stories as I struggle to recover from the aftermath of traumatic events.
👍 can't wait for the next story!