Story Time

Out of 380.5 miles I have never seen a bear. Though I would love to see a bear………. In the Smokies there was 3 instances where a bear came in the camping area.

This instance that I’m just about to tell you I didn’t tell my parents and my man because I knew they would go into over protective stress out because of this.

I was at Russell Field Shelter, the second shelter in the Smokies heading north, and I just gotten in my tent for the night and I have heard another hiker holler out to alert the other hikers that there was a bear and possibly a cub.

He and another hiker ended up scared the bear off. About hour later there was another bear from a different direction that walked right through the camp and one or two hollered at it to get out.

Same bear? I don’t know. Though I wished I had stayed out for 5 more minutes for the bear meandering so I would be able to see the bear. But I didn’t because of I needed to wind down for the night and it was getting close hiker midnight. And this is the night before I hike 9 miles in thunderstorms, another story in it’s self.

The next bear camp meandering I didn’t hear about it until couple days after I got out of the Smokies. This one took place at Tricorner Shelter, 3rd shelter from the north end of the Smokies. The night that I and two hikers, who told me about it, stayed there was packed at that shelter due to bear activity at the next shelter.

During the night the bear came in and walked right pass the tents of the two hikers, who had told me about it, and walked through the camp. They where at one end of the shelter/camping area and I was at the other end of it, and the bear walked some where through there. I have no idea what time when the bear came through or if anyone else saw/heard the bear, my guess there was around 50 people maybe little more and little surprised that no one sounded the alarm. Again I don’t know when the bear came through the camp and if it was before or after the hiker midnight.

Out of my 380.5 miles on the AT, Tricorner Shelter is and the only shelter that I have seen TONS of people. The most that I have seen was about 25ish people at one shelter pretty early on, at the shelters and stealth camp sights that I have stayed at it has been around 10 people including myshelf. But that night was insane with that amount of people there.

Stay tuned more stories will come.