Friday, May 19, 2017 (Day 16)
There was a lot of climbing today. My feet ache. I saw a wild turkey, and a buck here at the shelter. Apparently you are not supposed to hunt deer or buck here, so it is more common to see them.
Everyone is settling in for bed now. Maybe I should settle in. The idea of staying in a shelter is growing on me a bit more.
I will still be glad to re-enter the woods free of restrictions. I will hitch in to Gatlinburg, TN tomorrow to resupply. I should try to get an early start. It is in ten miles. I am down to protein powder and Chia seeds.
I hope the hitch back to trail is not too difficult. I hope I see a bear soon.
There were beautiful views today. Just before the shelter the smell of pine trees was overwhelming. I buried my nose in the largest one and inhaled deeply.
Staying in shelters has heightened my concern about filtering my water.
My eyes are heavy. I am going to go to bed now.
Brooke: In areas of animal sanctuary, where the deer are not hunted, they do not fear humans. Indeed, some people feed them directly from the hand, although I’ve been told deer are able to smell meat-eaters. I actally had a group of deer approach me recently while hiking a popular trail in maryland called sugarloaf mountain. The deer were 20 feet from the trail and thought I might have food, so they came closer. I quickly moved on. Why? The bear-human phenomenon… Bears are usually only shot by Rangers after they have scored food from humans; at which point bears become more aggressive since they understand that humans are not a threat and have incredibly tasty food. It’s really not the bear’s fault. I’d hate for deer to suffer the same fate.