Appalachian Trail (day 28) - Jenkins Shelter to Dismal Falls / mile 613

"I know it's a bit hard to believe, but I almost got peed on by the bear in the Smokey's" Paint Stick

Day of the firsts, very exciting (as far as hiking goes of course.)

First priority of today was to get to Brushy Mountain Outpost which served burgers and fries until 2 PM Monday to Friday (today was Friday 3rd of May, 2025) Considering it was 11 miles away it was very doable but I decided to be there as soon as possible not only to beat the crowds and/or satisfy my ever growing "hiker hunger" but primarily: "just in case", and boy oh boy, have my spider senses did not fail me this time!

I've started walking at 6 AM and reached the Outpost at 10:30 AM after a fairly easy section of the trail. I've ordered a gigantic Brushy Mountain Burger (containing a pavement slab of belloni), fries and a black coffee. I have not managed to finish the burger and so I've packed it for dinner. Right about that time the owners informed us that they will be closing for the day at 11:30 AM as they had an hour's drive to a doctor's appointment they had to attend. It meant that a whole lot of hikers would have their day ruined once they arrived here, realizing they not only can't have hot food but can't even buy a snack or a soda. As much as I felt sorry for them I congratulated myself for being here so early. I've packed half of the belloni slab for later and moved on.

Weather was great and the elevation profile wasn't too up and down, in fact as far as mountain elevation levels go, it was fairly level. It meant that with the help of 3000 burger calories, I was cruising through this section.

At 4 PM I saw something I was waiting for a long time. Twenty metres ahead of me a juvenile black bear jumped right across the trail and started to run away downhill, I've seen it very clearly for about three seconds before he disappeared in the brush and could hear him running away for another 20. There was no time to take a picture or even point a camera in the right direction. It is the common thread of all my bear encounters so far, they are usually very short and unpredictable but on the other hand super exciting and satisfying! It's such a pleasure to see those big, clumsy balls of fur in their natural habitat.

At this point excitement took the drivers seat and I've decided to make it my longest day on the trail so far. I had a good pace already, I just kept on walking until I've covered 32 miles. It was first time I've done over 30 miles on the Appalachian Trail.

In the process, I've scared momma mouse crossing the trail with her kids, she dropped one of them while fleeing, I hope it got picked up later on. All sort of bugs were getting stuck to me while I was brushing the undergrowth including a tick which I managed to spot in time and throw away.

I've stopped at a big campsite by the river, only one more person was staying here tonight, it might have been due to the fact that few miles prior was a popular hostel and hikers wanting to spend the night in this area stayed there.

I was planning to have another early start tomorrow in order to reach the town of Pearisburg. Elevation was getting steeper though so the plan could have ended in a fiasco but no matter what I had enough food to keep me going.