Bud and Vicki Hogan's 1996 Appalachian Trail Journey
June 6
Birch Spring Shelter to Spence Field Shelter................................................9 miles
The hiking was getting easier. We ate lunch at Mollies Ridge Shelter. As we ate, a deer approached us. Got within 20 ft. of us. I knew it would bolt if I tried to catch it, but it was amazing how docile and tame this creature was. What if the bears had the same lack of fear as the deer? Oh, boy! We noticed that almost every shelter in the Smokies had a privy and that there were very few clearings in which to take breaks.
We passed Russell field shelter, where a ranger was laying out in the sun, reading a book. We stopped to talk. Another ranger was in the shelter. They told us they had just cleared a pesky bear from Spence Field Shelter and that they were after another bear that had been pestering hikers. I questioned him about bears and their habits and taste in food, and about what to do. I was soon at ease after being told that bears really would eat their own food and that most bears try to avoid contact with humans. A load off of my mind. I am much happier already.
At Spence Field we met 2 coaches from Gatlinburg. Today was the last day of school and they needed a break, we totally understand. Later that evening 6 guys on horses come riding into camp. The one who was the most talkative was a truck driver for Wal-mart. Not a Rhodes Scholar, but very friendly. He hollered out in a definantly southern accent, "Who wants a beer". I hummed the theme from "Deliverance", ever so softly. I couldn't believe that these guys had packed in beer. Not that I don't appreciate a good beer, you understand. But to bring it all the way out here. Well, why not. Their horses had to carry the beer, they didn't. This place was getting crowded.
At the shelters, we were beginning to have fun reading the trail registers. One of the entries here was to become an often used word in our vocabulary. "PUDS, Pointless Ups and DownS". We would use it often. Still later, two more young guys showed up. Vicki and I were in the shelter, trying to get some sleep. We had been hiking all day and were tired. The others had just come up from the road or ridden in and were ready to party. They built a roaring campfire, with one huge wind whipping smoke and sparks all over the place. Most of them stayed up half the night making noise. We didn't get a lot of sleep that night.
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