Miles: 243.3 | Freedom tastes like strawberries, red Gatorade, and cold beer at Davenport Gap. Leaving the Smokies behind brings trail magic, waterfalls, road walks, and a laid-back stop at Standing Bear Farm before a steep, humbling climb toward Hot Springs. The day ends with aching legs eased in icy creek water, cards by headlamp light, and falling asleep to rushing streams — one of those rare, perfectly balanced trail days.
Day 39: Out of the Smokies, Trail Magic, and Creekside Camp
We stopped next at Standing Bear Farm for a late lunch. We got a frozen pizza that we cooked on site, cold beers, another red Gatorade (electrolytes!!!), and some yogurt for Murdock. Tang and I put our feet in the creek by the fire pit and relaxed. We met some other hikers that were staying there, too.
We hiked out of the Smokies, finally! It was a beautiful day. We awoke at different times and all hiked alone for the morning. When I caught up to Josh and Tang they were at Davenport Gap with Tina, a trail angel! She brought free Mountain House Meals, cold drinks, snacks, and fruit!! I had 5 strawberries, a banana that I shared with Murdock (Josh's dog), a red Gatorade (I had been CRAVING), and a bag of chips. After our snacks we went on our way up out of the gap.
Our walk from Davenport Gap turned into an interesting part of the trail we went from walking past beautiful water falls (one of which Josh fell into...) and then some road walking:
Standing Bear was adorable and very relaxed. We decided we didn't need to stay, after our long weekend in Gatlinburg. We left late in the afternoon and climbed out toward Hot Springs, NC.
Our bellies full, we took it slow out of Standing Bear. It was so much steeper than we expected. We made it to the first campsite, a triangular sliver of land between two streams.
At least 20 people camped there that night. It was a beautiful campsite. Tents and hammocks dotted the hill. I soaked my Achilles and my knee in the cold stream. It was finally warm enough to use the cold streams as ice!
We ate dinner under the Shade of Josh's tarp. After dinner, Skywater brought over his playing cards and we set up Cackles' and Tang's Luci lights on some Trekking poles as it got dark. We played the card game bullshit for a while and chatted around the game. Blade, Cinnabun, Cackles, Skywater, Ghost, and Josh all sat around with me until 'Hiker Midnight' we resigned to our tents after and slept well that night. The sound of the creeks lulled me to sleep.