Day 24

I blame the bears. Because of their aggressive behavior the Cosby Shelter was closed. That meant on day 23 I had to hike 15.6 miles up and down real mountains to get to the Tricorner Knob Shelter.

I started the day from Gatlinburg with my thumb held out. I had never hitch-hiked. I told myself I would only get in a car with a woman in the car too but after 45 min of feeling quite rejected by the passing vehicles I didn't hesitate to accept a ride from a single man. I did notice Ohio license plates and a New Testament lying on the back seat. Turns out he was from Cincinnati area and had hiked the entire AT in 2005.

I walked strong all day. I seldom had to stop to catch my breath or rest my leg muscles. I don't take breaks longer than 5 or 10 minutes. I saw few hikers. Coming up to eleven hours of continuously walking I knew I was tired but also I was happy with how well my body was doing. But it's usually at the end of the day when you're tired that things happen. About 30 min from the shelter I stumbled and fell hard. I lay there for a few minutes assessing what was hurt. It was my right knee. I struggled up with my pack and limped slowly to the shelter which was filled with about 12 men. The Ridge Runner for the Smoky Mts was there too. He's the guy who's job it is to walk back and forth on his section of the AT making sure all is OK. I told them about my fall but I didn't think I was hurt too bad.
I left before any of them in the morning at about 7:15. I knew I would be walking slowly and I had 16 miles to go to get out of the Smoky Mts. My booklet said this was the most remote section of the AT in the Smoky Mts Park. The trail leaves the park at Davenport Gap near I-40 right where Nina, Terry and I crossed the AT on the way home from their mountain home. Cool I thought.

One of the gifts of the day were the large, pink, rhododendron blooms. The flowers fall to the ground while they are still pretty so the trail was often covered in pink flowers. It was enchanting; like a princess walking down an aisle covered in flower petals.

I walked carefully because I felt another fall would be destructive to my injured knee. The trail was filled with uneven rocks big and small. After 6 miles I met up with four forest service workers and ate lunch with them. I was hurting. One of them had military medical training and when he saw how swollen my knee was he scared me by telling me it looked bad to him and I could do permanent damage if I continued to walk on it. They wrapped my knee in an ace bandage and suggested I take a side trail of 3 miles to a forest service road where their truck was parked. The side trail was about another mile north. They also took most of the weight out of my pack and promised to bring the stuff to me when they finished their work in a couple of hours. I decided to follow their advice and left the white blazes of the AT. I called my daughter, Alicia, and told her what was happening. She was coming to get me. I made it to their truck just minutes before they arrived and they drove me to a nearby campground where I rested on the ground with my knee held up on a picnic table seat. Alicia drove 12 hours straight to get me and take me home. What a wonderful daughter. She has sacrificed so much to help me on this quest.

Judy McGarvey called her friend an orthopedic surgeon who kindly looked at my knee 8 a.m. this morning. I may have an ACL tear or something else but nothing requiring immediate surgery. I'm getting an MRI next week and we'll go from there. In the meantime he has me in a brace as a precaution. I doubt this will end up being anything too bad.

So this is the end of my thru-hiking the AT. I have mixed feelings. I came within 6 miles of walking past all the white blazes from the beginning of the AT through the Smoky Mts National Park and those are the hardest miles on the trail until New Hampshire and Maine. I was feeling strong and I hate to give that up because it's a lot of hard work to get so each step isn't a struggle in your lungs and your legs.

I find I like the hiking but I don't like the camping. What I really want to do is take serious pictures of the beauty not just take snapshots as I walk past.

Still there is something that calls to me from the AT and I find myself plotting how to get back to the trail next week. (Could I take a bus to Gatlinburg and a shuttle to the campground? Hmmm) Sounds like an addict not common sense.

I never saw a bear but I still blame them for the end of my quest.
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