Scat Bear - May 24

Welcome to the Smokies. With peaks up around 6600 feet and valleys down at 2000 feet I'm sure there are some great views around here. Problem is we can't see them. Rain and cloud cover has been our companion this week. But it's still all good. The forest up here at 6000 feet is so dense and dark and thick it looks like it stays wet all the time. Everything not alive is covered with green moss. Very cool.

Lots of bear sightings around. The closest i have come to a bear is the pile of scat left behind in the middle of the trail. Yesterday Best Wife was 10 or 15 minutes from camp when one growled at her from the wood. She picked up her pace.

We passed the 600 mile mark on Monday. We have a friend in Leesburg who is a monk. When we posted our 500 mile mark picture he joked that we should sign the next one in blood. Catsup is the closest I can get.

The picture of a blow down is the first one we've seen that broke in two at the crotch of another tree. Usually a big falling tree takes everything down with it. The tree still standing wouldn't have any part of that.

Lastly, I've done away with the 3/8" or 1/2" slice of beef stick on bagel. Why cut the beef stick when you can just bite it cave man style. Now it's all about the bagel and cheese in one hand and the beef stick in the other. Take one bite of each in whatever proportion feels good at the time and enjoy.