Tri corner knob to Bear Mountain Hostel

Soooo, remember the ridge comment I made about the Smokies yesterday? Well, ridges on a rainy, windy day are a whole different ball game. You can hear the gust coming across the valley, so you dig your poles in and lean in to it to keep it from blowing over. Crazy! After all the rain last night, the trail was basically a stream. We'd planned on going about 15 miles today , but discovered if we went a few miles more we could be OUT of the Smokey Mountains and into a hostel where we could dry out our wet gear and bodies.

Standing Bear Farm is where we ended up. Very interesting place! If I'd heard banjos, I would have been out if there!! Spent the night in a bunk room with about 20 others, but we were out of the wind so I was happy. Actually it was pretty cool in a freaky sort of way. All the buildings were made from recycled materials and they had beer, so can't complain. PBR of course!!

The office

The beer shack

The bunkhouse

Al, Mike and me with the owner of the farm and Rocket(the caretaker/beer man)

Places like this are a big part of what make this journey so memorable. Staying places and meeting people outside your normal life. Good stuff.