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First snag after chores was that we walked past the permit station. We are entering Great Smoky Mtn NP and need a permit. We will also have to follow their camping rules which means that we will have to stay at shelters. If shelters are full then we are allowed to tent at the shelter site. Thus, our mileage will be dictated by shelter locations. I think the trick will be to arrive when the shelter is full and then put up our tent.

Weather is warm and partly cloudy with a nice breeze...perfect! Hiking continues to be from gap to gap (saddles or passes in the mtns). We know between the gaps are knobs, balds or ridges. All are steep climbs up then back down. My favorite is cruising along the ridges with drops and views through the trees to both sides.

We got into campsite 113 at 5:30 and planned to camp for the night. A bear was right in camp 60' away. We took pictures. She stayed. We filtered water. Still there. Next shelter was 5.5 mi away. We hiked like whirling dervishes and got there at sunset, cooked and camped in the dark.

We hit our third state, Tennessee, but haven't really left the second. We are hiking the TN-NC border for the next week or more.

It started to rain as we packed up this morning. It turned into a real downpour. We waited for it to slow down to simple rain before we left. The weather cleared up by noon. The weather behind the front was cooler and drier.
I ate Sees candy today that I received in the mail as a Mother's Day gift. Wow! I am so civilized in the woods.

Silers Bald Shelter was a new and clean shelter. As we approached the shelter we saw 3 deer grazing in the meadow in front of the shelter. We stayed in the shelter with 2 gentlemen from South Carolina - an architect and kitchen designer.

We had another bear encounter. As we hiked off Thunderhead Mtn we met another hiker who had seen a sow and cub. When we got to the ridge the sow growled to let us know she was there. We kept talking to her and quickly walked by.

We got up to the coldest morning we have had on the trek. We started with fleece and windbreakers. Eventually we took off the fleece, but wore windbreakers all day. It was a chilly wind.

The trail today was rough. Lots of ups and down. And the trail had lots of washouts and tall steps. We climbed to the highest point on the AT - Clingmans Dome, 6643 feet. We had great views just south of the dome.

We spent our third and last night in a shelter. To get to Mountain Momas Inn we hiked down almost a vertical mile from 6000' to 1400'. Mtn Momas was a rustic backwoods cafe, just outside Great Smokey Mount ion Nat'l Park, with $3 showers, lunch and a few groceries. We had dropped our box off when we drove by on I-40.

We saw a deer on the trail early in the morning. She didn't see us and kept moving closer. Being impatient thru-hikers we finally took our pictures. The deer walked slowly and patiently below the trail as we passed her.