Day 21- Davenport Gap to Roaring Fork Shelter

Thursday May 26
Total Miles Hiked: 255.7
Miles Hiked Today: 17.5

We started the day at the hotel, taking full advantage of the breakfast options. After a couple plates of sausage gravy, I moved to the fruit loops and donuts to ensure a well rounded breakfast.

We went back to Davenport Gap and Nanna joined us for the first two miles of the hike. 

Shortly after we began, Nanna called out " Bear!  Bear!"  Sage and Nanna saw a bear up ahead on the trail.  

Nanna enjoyed a nice downhill section before we started the work of the day, Climbing for miles, dropping back down, and doing it again.

Our first climb of the day was long, very long. Every time you descend to a gap so you can go into town, the AT rewards you with a big climb the next day.

The first climb had a VHF Antenna or something along those lines, I read it is used by aircraft.  I'm not sure the brutal climb was worth it to see a small govt building. 

Notice there is a rattlesnake half way between Sage and I. Once again, Sage keeps trying to step on the poisonous snakes.

Sage and I still do not have trail names. Based on the rattlesnakes she has seen on the trail,  we discussed "Venom" as a possible trail name for Sage. 

Later in the day, Sage saw a second bear. 2 Bears and a rattlesnake in the same day, quite a day for dangerous critters.

By the time we reached Max Patch, I believe we had climbed more than any previous day on the trip. To survive the day's climbs, I did something I haven't done for the whole trip, I put in ear buds and listened to music. It really seemed to help distract me from the absurd physical exertion. It is great fun to have the stamina, strength and lungs to spend the whole day climbing.  The trail is a great way to get in shape for hiking the trail. Or put differently,  after a week or two if suffering...anyone can be a hiking machine.

Max Patch is probably my favorite location yet on the trail. Pictures simply cannot capture the beauty of this spot. I could definitely see bringing the family back here to camp and enjoy a sunset and sunrise.

Tomorrow we have another long day to Hot Springs.  From Max Patch you can see the next mountain to climb. 

A shower and dinner will be our reward, so we plan to hike hard on our last trail day and rocket up that mountain.

We hiked down from Max Patch,  once again, Sage was leading the way.

  We rolled into the shelter around 6 45pm.  At this point, Sage and I had our first significant disagreement of the trip. Up to this point we have been more like hiking buddies than Father/ Daughter. She wanted to press on and do a 21 mile day to the next shelter. Part of me wanted to do that too, but I knew it was unwise to hike a few miles in the dark after such a long day. I had to play the Daddy is in charge card.  To which she responded "Can I just go on without you?"  At these moments i have to remind myself that i was 14 once. At least I don't have to beg her to hike. I opted for roasting polish sausages over the fire and eating a large, delicious dinner to help fuel the next day's hike.

  After hanging our hammocks and dozing off for about an hour. WHAM! I hit the ground. For the second time on this trip, one of our Hummingbird Hammock straps failed, sending me abruptly to the ground. Time to change my Hammock suspension.  I apologize to anyone who has bought those straps based on my recommendation, they have worked fine for the past couple years. I'm assuming I got a pair with some kind of defect,  but 2 different failures in one trip is absurd.

    Hard to believe tomorrow is our last day. I feel like we are just hitting our stride. It's a great life on the trail, we will miss the daily challenges and scenery,  meeting new people and satisfaction of pushing yourself hard...and making it. 

Sage almost always beats me to the top of a climb.