Day 26 - Davenport Gap Shelter to Brown Gap
13.4 miles
What an incredible day. Today was all the best trail stories I've ever read, rolled into one.
The stories of the day started last night when @toesalad got up to relieve himself in the middle of the night. He was about to open the door of the chain link fence that covers the front of the Davenport Gap shelter when he noticed two pairs of glowing red eyes a few yards from the shelter. Some of us in the shelter were awoken by his surprise.
Damien concluded it was probably two bears and needless to say, he wasn't interested in leaving the shelter after all. Nothing like the presence of glowing eyes in the middle of a dark night to creep you out (and make you thankful for the chain link fence you previously complained about).
In the morning everyone was anxious to get packed up and get moving. We were done with being squished into shelters like sardines.
A couple hours later as we walked into the clearing at Davenport Gap we met the YWAM gang doing trail support and ministry. It was so nice to meet them.
We re-entered civilization, walking under I-40, and proceeded to Standing Bear Farm where we restocked our miscalculated snack food supply (phew) and ate microwaved frozen chicken quesadillas at 10 am.
Standing Bear is a very unique place, the kind of place I hoped to discover on the Appalachian Trail. I loved the store with its boxes of USPS hiker mail stacked around the perimeter. (Standing Bear Farm is a mail drop location on the trail, hikers can have packages sent there.)
Our 50 minute stop at Standing Bear was a whirlwind of shopping and eating.
When we got back on the trail, fueled by quesadillas and the sodas we all drank at Standing Bear, we plowed up the mountain, gaining almost 3000 ft of elevation.
The weather today was sunny, a sprinkling of rain, followed by warmth and humidity and then we experienced an all out rainstorm as we reach the top of Snowbird Mountain. The wind was so strong it was beating the rain on us almost horizontally.
It was a unique experience to be on a grassy bald on top of a mountain. We were surrounded by fog so we didn't see much.
As we hiked today we heard rumors of trail magic at Brown Gap, which was motivating for us as we hiked through the afternoon.
We arrived at Brown Gap at 4:50 and we were not disappointed. Like many things so far on the AT, I haven't experienced anything like this.
Two former thru-hikers are camped in Brown Gap this weekend serving meals Friday night through Sunday morning to hikers. There's a make-shift latrine, cook tents, an eating tent, a large trailer where all the food and coolers are kept, bbq's, propane tanks, tables for serving food, and a huge fit pit. This is quite a production.
Apparently, this is an annual tradition and we just happened to be at the right place at the right time.
The whole scene is fabulous. Full plates of food - ham, salad (salad!), bread, asparagus (asparagus!), plus the usual trail magic fare of chips, sodas and cookies.
Because we didn't have to make supper, or fetch water, or wash dishes @toesalad and I had time to give each other foot massages.
We met another family tonight at camp, a father and son, which means that between the Kallins, James family, and the Wolfpack we've met all the families that we've heard about, so far, on the trail.
Some of the hikers here tonight are: Jack & Diane, Wolfpack, Smoking Bear, Lady Bug & Camel, the James family, Siesta, and more who I didn't meet.
Our kids have loved all this time hanging out with other kids.
Tonight I'm going to bed with many good memories from the day, new experiences, a full belly, massaged feet, and looking forward to a full hot breakfast tomorrow morning.
