Because I Can't Help It

I guess the bear stands out more than anything. We got to our cabin Monday evening and just chilled out on the deck. The wind in the pines and the view were unreal. Sometime around 5:30 am T said "something's outside". I went to the plate glass windows in the front, turned on the flood lights, and I heard T say "oh my gosh it's a bear". Sure enough, roaming around like it owned the place was a large black bear. It checked out the hot tub and then walked up to the front door like a dog that wanted to be let in. I grabbed the camera, took it's picture, and then yelled at it. It just looked at me. Finally I guess it had had enough and lumbered to the edge of the porch, climbed over the railing, and dropped off. It had managed to violate the "bear proof garbage cans" and had scattered trash all over the back porch. Needless to say I always opened the door and looked around before I went out to have my morning cup of coffee.

Tuesday morning we rode the Thompson and Mouse trails at Tsali. They had recently been redone and were in excellent shape. T and her new Cannondale did great on Thompson and held up till about 3/4 of the way through Mouse, then she bonked. We ended the day with dinner at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) overlooking the river.

Wednesday we were back at the NOC for our rafting excursion. It seemed harder than last year. This is usually a laid back float but we were working from the launch. Not more than 5 minuets into the trip I hear a splash and look around just in time to see T swimming back toward the boat. B and I didn't laugh (at least not right then). The rest of the trip was uneventful. I have gotten to really enjoy that float. Thursday we drove up to Newfound Gap in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park to hike the Appalachian Trail to Charlie's Bunion and back. It's an 8 mile round trip with plenty of climbing. I got a little freaked out on the actual rock overlook but it was well worth the hike. I had brought rain coats for T and I. B being 15 and smarter than I am elected not to bring one. I remember hearing something about "only a 30% chance of rain". Well guess what? It flooded. It was cold. Some of the best lessons in life are learned the hard way aren't they?
I love the mountains.