Friday, May 27th

Dick’s Creek Gap (69.2 mi) to Standing Indian Mountain (87.4 mi)

Hiking Miles: 18.2

Total Ascent: 6,097.3 ft

Total Descent: 3,287.1 ft

Total Grade: 512.1 ft/mi

Steps: 48,279

I got up early and spent some quiet time in the lounge area with a few cups of coffee. As folks came in and out, I chatted with two hikers named K2 (a coffee person) and Hiker Bling (he was not a coffee person). The two of them were hiking together on trail, and K2 commented to me how heartwarming it was that Stevie and I were hiking the trail together.

After breakfast, Stevie and I packed up all of our belongings, paid our incidentals bill, grabbed & ate a banana, and headed out for the shuttle. We also decided to buy a bear can from the hostel store after continuously hearing about all of the bear activity ahead. It was long and cylindrical, unlike others we had seen up to this point. Lisa gave us a ride to the Dick’s Creek trailhead and we headed off on trail. 

Stevie filled our bear can with food and secured it on top of his backpack. It was an awkward can however he balanced it nicely and commented that it wasn’t all that bad to transport. As we saw the bear warnings posted on trees, it assured us that we made a wise decision to purchase one.

About 9 miles in, we passed the GA/NC border and completely didn’t see the sign. Stevie had seen the large rock on the lefthand side of the trail across from the tree having the sign, but missed the pipe and the sign to our right. About 0.1 mile after, we ran into K2 and Hiker Bling at a water stop and they asked if took our pic at the sign, and that is when we realized we completely missed it.

So we dropped our packs and headed back for our pics. When we returned, we talked a little with K2 and Hiker Bling, and again they mentioned how impressed there were that we were a Father & Son team hiking the trail together. The cool thing was Hiker Bling gave us both a metal “AT” hiker tag that he made (and sold on ETSY) for us to hang on our backpacks. Hiker Bling was a mechanical engineer and he asked where I had graduated from when I had replied that I was a mechanical engineer as well. K2’s daughter was a civil engineer (like Teresa) who had graduated from Duke University.

Soon after, another hiker named Andrew who also stayed at the ATB Hostel, stopped by. We stayed and rested just a bit longer after the other 3 hikers moved on. When we started back up, we immediately hit a steep and long climb that screamed “Welcome to North Carolina”! 

We hiked from 8:30 am to about 6:30 pm, and reached the top of Standing Indian Mountain, a wide open campsite overlooking breathtaking views of the mountains, greenery and water below – 5440 foot elevation! We had a perfect view of the sunset looking out to the west. And directly behind us through the trees, we looked forward to a morning sunrise in the east. We figured being this high up that no bears would be bothering us. The two reported “bear-active” shelters were either behind or ahead of us. 

Andrew, K2 and Hiker Bling all showed up shortly after we arrived, and we all had dinner together. Stevie and I had lasagna, mashed potatoes, and ramen bombs. I video called Teresa and showed her the awesome views. Back home, she had a good day – temps were in the 60’s, much more comfortable than our cold and windy stay on the mountaintop. 

Stevie placed the bear can in the woods and we both retired to our respective tents after trying to catch the last glimpse of the sunset through the clouds. My feet were very sore – my blistered toes continued to flare up so I slept without socks, despite the cold, to allow them to breathe. Overall, it was a good day, especially crossing over into another state and ending it with spectacular views!