Bears, Catfish and Thunder, oh my!

We dragged our feet getting out of Damascus. We decided to take it a bit easy, and stopped for a late lunch before heading out of town. We ate at a restaurant called "Fatties," and had some Carolina Style BBQ. Then we started the long, hot climb out of Damascus, eight miles to the Saunders Shelter.

The next morning, we woke to a foggy sunrise. About a quarter mile from the shelter, we heard a commotion in the forest, and a bear cub darted up a tree. He was so cute, and our first instinct was to grab our cameras. Only, we then heard more noise downhill in the undergrowth, and Don't Panic saw another cub going up another tree but momma was no where in sight. We could hear her, huffing and puffing down below us, but had no idea where she actually was. We quickly got out of there and kept moving. The rest of the day was spent climbing and climbing to the top of Whitetop Mt. It was foggy and cool, and a bit drizzly the whole day, and we still had to climb to get to Thomas Knob Shelter. We were soaked and a bit cold by the time we got there. But we saw a bunch of wild ponies! A mother and her foal had come up to the shelter looking for food, and since the red beans and rice we made was too salty for us, we dumped it on a rock and watched them try to eat it (they were hesitant at first, avoiding the dish and just licking the rock instead!)

We again woke to a foggy morning, but knew that it would probably burn off, so we got moving. We descended down to a beautiful valley filled with more wild ponies (and day trippers). We somehow missed a turn, and had to backtrack about a half mile before finding the trail again. At least the terrain and weather were pleasant, so it wasn't too big of a deal. We eventually made it to Fox Creek, where we were able to hitch in and grab some dinner at the local restaurant. Fried catfish and okra, mmmm! We then packed out a 12-pack of Yuengling, and carried it 3.3 miles to the Hurricane Mountain Shelter. We then surprised about seven hikers with the beers and of course shared!

We (everyone in the shelter) woke up in the middle of the night to a wonderful light show put on by a thunderstorm. The next morning, we woke bright and early because we knew we would be spending the night at the Partnership Shelter, where one can order a pizza and have it delivered! No, seriously, we are in the wilderness. This shelter also has a shower, and there is a Visitor's Center nearby where the pizzas are delivered to. We all had a pizza party and enjoyed a good chat around the fire.

We then pushed ahead to Atkins, where after putting in about 12 miles, we decided to call it a day. The terrain was relatively easy to what we had been doing, but the heat was bearing down on us, and we needed a rest.