Waking up at Pecks Corner shelter we did what we always do, ma de breakfast,broke camp and set up for the day.  The day was suppose to be a shorter day then before, just 13 miles to Cosby Nob.  After talking with the ridge runner I remembered we would be mostly on the ridge line for the day.  We stayed late relaxing as I caught up on my blog and ate.  Rushing and hurry weren’t in our vocabulary that morning.

Heading out we decided that if Kevin wanted to hike ahead he would wait at the lunch spot if he got lonely. As it turns out he preferred to hike ahead for a hour or so and wait for me to catch him at the tops of hills or turns.  This section of the trail turned out to be my favorite section of the Great Smokey Mountains.  Walking along the ridgeline was amazing, the ridge was about ten feet wide, with steep a drop-off on either side.  The trees stopped just before your line of sight, allowing you the most beautiful of views in all directions.

The miles disappeared under foot, the views distracting you from any and all inconveniences.  Every step led to another more beautiful view than the one before. This to me was the highlight of the entire Smokey Mountains, the clear sky gave you everything the mountains had to offer. Even with the smog that has collected in the mountains, range after range could be seen. The most amazing section of the trail was at hand and I couldn’t get enough of it.  I took photo after photo till I was of the mindset that there was no point in taking any more photos. If I spent all day trying to capture the beauty on film I would only have gotten a small portion of the area, there were that many views.

Following the beautiful ridgeline we came to an open bald at the top of a saddle.  The fresh grass mowed short, screamed for you to set up camp and enjoy a night here.  The only problem was in the smokeys you have to stay in the shelters.  Pushing on we enjoyed the moment and snapped a quick picture heading to the sheltef.  I really couldn’t tell you more about the section because of how great the views were. When we arrived at the shelter and talked with the other hikers, everyone had the same opinion as me.  Truly a magnificent section of the trail with view after view.

Coming into Cosby Nob Shelter we were greeted by a wonderful sign.  Bears are active in your area, humans have been injured….great.  No one took this warning lightly, we had all encountered a bear and or heard the stories about our bear. Apparently our bear may have ransacked a campsite two days after we saw him.  Everyone hung thier food, put away thier backpacks, slept with knives, bearspray, trekking poles, and a variety of other implements. We all kept an ear to the outside listening for anything abnormal.  Sleep didn’t come early for me that night.