I wonder how Bryan and Andrew are doing.
I'm doing pretty good actually.
Why did I agree to do this?
The Smoky Mountains...
Right in the heart of the Appalachians,
this is the most visited of all national parks.
Nearly ten million people
come here each year.
Hey, doggy.
You can fish, camp, ride horses, bike,
and enjoy the scenery and nearby tourist traps.
But we weren't here to be tourists.
We were here to commune with nature.
To sit by the fire and
sleep beneath the stars.
To do that, we'd need to grab
some maps; each only a dollar.
The Big Creek trailhead has kiosk
anyone can access using the honor system.
Before heading out on our backpacking trip, we were gonna
stay at the Big Creek campgrounds at the foot of the hills.
We were ready for our next adventure,
but there was just one problem.
Campground closed for the season.
So since this is closed we might want to go
to Cosby Campground which is close enough.
I don't know if that's closed either, but...
...if not, we might have to sleep in the car.
We drive in the darkness
across a precarious mountain road...
...only to find that the Cosby
Campground was closed too.
There wasn't a soul in sight.
We paced back and forth
thinking about what we should do.
Yeah, my bad. I didn't even check to see if the front country
campgrounds, like the developed ones, were closed or not.
Cause I figured if the backcountry campgrounds
are open, you'd think these would be.
See I just thought since you made
reservations, and I printed out reservations...
...that one of them must have included the
campsite that we were staying at the first night.
You give me far too much credit.
Okay, well I guess
there's no camp to set up, so...
At least it's warm.
It is...
What time is it?
7:41.
Oh god...
That was the worst sleep
I have ever had in my life.
By a long shot.
One night of sleeping in the car,
and you want to kill everyone in sight.
I would find a comfortable spot, and then after three seconds
it felt like my spinal column was being bent the wrong way.
So I'd have to shift and
bend it back the other way.
I couldn't tell when I was awake or asleep,
and you kept thinking we were saying stuff.
I thought at some point you
said something about Koreans.
And like, "Those Koreans." And I was like,
what are you talking about, "Those Koreans."
It started drizzling in the morning, so we moved
beneath an amphitheater to organize our gear.
The sky was overcast. Which was a bit
intimidating considering what we had planned.
On this trip, I would be heading west from the
Cosby Campground, while Bryan headed east.
Meanwhile, Robby would be
hiking out from the Big Creek Trailhead.
We'd camp alone for a night, then we would all make our way
towards the rendezvous point just beneath Mt. Cammerer.
From there, we'd journey together to the Davenport Gap Shelter
where we'd spend another night before finally hiking out.
Don't be eaten by bears.
After we finished packing, it was time for
us to split up and head out into the rain.
We were nervous, but filled with excitement.
As I drove back on the mountain road through the rain, the other two
had just arrived at Bryan's trailhead at the far end of Cosby Campground.
Now, all three of us were alone.
Rain poured down from above
and our glasses were fogged up.
But no matter what,
it was time to get moving.
I was surprised at all the greenery
I saw this early in the spring.
Everything from the hemlocks to the moss...
Club mosses like this Fan club moss.
And of course, the rhododendrons
give this park a vibrant, verdant hue.
In the meantime, I had just arrived at the
parking lot and made my way towards the trailhead.
Here we go.
Robby was just starting out, but I had already
hiked across streams and through the mud.
I've reached kind of an overpass. Here you
can see all the mountains in the distance.
It's been pretty tough so far.
This rain is not making it easy at all.
Hopefully the rain will let up a little bit and we'll get
a little bit of sun and get to see some of the views.
Not far into my hike,
I came across an old cemetery.
A spooky beginning to
an already uneasy ordeal.
You might be thinking to yourself...
"Man, that would really suck
to be hiking out in that rain."
There's three reasons why it's not.
Reason number one.
It is above freezing, which is the
first time it's been like that in months.
Number two.
I bought waterproof boots,
so my feet are not soaking wet.
And number three, probably the most
important, there are no mosquitoes.
God, there are no mosquitoes.
Tough as the hikes may sometimes be, the Smokies
are filled with incredible scenery like this mossy cascade.
Well the rain has finally stopped.
Thank goodness.
Even though it's still early March,
there's all this greenery around.
All these rhododendrons
and moss. Very beautiful.
I've been hiking for what feels
like a while. It's a bunch of uphill.
But I've actually only gone a mile.
And I've got about four more to go.
Hey, there's a pileated woodpecker.
Sorry, no chance I could
get that on camera, but...
I'm actually hoping the rest of this trail is a lot of
uphill because tomorrow I've got an eight mile hike, and...
I really want that to just be an easygoing,
flat hike along the mountain ridge.
In the Smokies, you'll often
find amazing rock formations...
...much of which are sedimentary rocks
formed of clay, silt, sand, and gravel.
And just off the trail, there were some more
beautiful sights I wanted to check out.
I think I'm about a little over
halfway to the first campsite.
It's been raining all day, and it's been
making filming, and hiking, kind of annoying.
Being solo is definitely a different experience.
When you're hiking by yourself, you're
pretty much just you and your own thoughts.
The whole time I was thinking,
"Why did I agree to do this?"
"Can I hike this far?" and
"Is this gonna be worth it?"
I've got no one else here to push me but myself. I've kind of
already made a commitment, so that kind of keeps me going.
I'm gonna be looking forward to
getting that campsite though, and...
...getting in that tent, drying off,
and getting a good night's sleep tonight.
If you've ever seen the movie Princess Mononoke,
this is Princess Mononoke in real life.
Wow, this is beautiful.
I bet if I filtered some of this water and
tasted it, it would be unbelievably delicious.
Let's head back.
I continued hiking up the trail, passing by a river. Which
I thought might mean I was getting close to my campsite.
While Andrew hiked up through the hills,
my trail was a bit more level.
I stopped to eat while
enjoying the scenery.
The river here was wide and beautiful, and nearby there
was an incredible waterfall gushing down from the bluffs.
Well I don't know if you can see it here,
but just ahead is I guess campsite 35.
I can see the fire ring and I can see
some logs people were sitting on.
And I don't see anyone there,
so I might have it to myself tonight.
But let's keep moving and check it out.
Well, I got here kind of early I guess, but now's as
good as any time to set up camp while it's still dry.
So let's get to it.
It's still just me here. But it's still
pretty early. I got here pretty quickly.
I think what I'm gonna do is take a little bit of a break.
Maybe we'll see if anyone shows up later in the day.
Alright. First night solo, here we go, right?
It was only noon, and Bryan
had already reached his campsite.
Me, on the other hand?
Well, I had a lot of hiking left.
I again passed by some incredible mossy growth. Indicative of the
temperate rain forest conditions found in some areas of the park.
With how little progress I made, and
how tired I was, I felt as slow as this snail.
Oh my goodness, this has been quite a
tough hike, and I think I'm only halfway there.
But I am just gonna take a lunch break,
because man, I am hungry.
I really am unsure if I'm
going to be able to start a fire.
And I completely... oh, that ripped.
I completely forgot
my alcohol stove, so uh...
I'll have a lot of raw ramen to eat.
The sun is like finally coming out a little bit, and I just
cannot tell you how much of a moral boost that is...
Morale boost rather.
To just be this high up...
Mountains with the clouds rolling by...
Oh man, it is...
It is just elation.
I of course have here
my world's famous kim chi.
Oh yeah!
I was really anxious about a solo hike,
because last time I got really demoralized, but man...
This is like seventh heaven right now,
I cannot even explain. Woo!
It was tough, and it'll be tough.
The rain made it really hard.
But it's all worth it for these moments.
As Andrew rested, I soon came to
a bridge crossing fairly along on the trail.
As I'm sitting here, I'm wondering how everyone else
is doing. I was thinking about Thomas in particular.
It's Friday, so while we're out here enjoying the Smoky Mountains,
he's probably sitting at a cubicle doing Excel spreadsheets.
Bryan and Andrew are probably doing okay.
I don't know if the view is as beautiful as it is here, but...
If it's half as beautiful, I'm sure they're
doing great. Because it's pretty gorgeous.
Take a look at this.
It's called wood ear fungus.
This stuff is really slimy and
gooey and really gelatinous.
And it's actually an
edible fungus, believe it or not.
It gets its name obviously because it looks
like a bunch of ears growing out of wood.
And this is actually found
in a lot of Chinese dishes.
But I'm not gonna eat this right now since I'm alone and I'm not a
mycological expert, so I don't even want to risk it even if I'm sure.
If I find morels though,
you better believe I'm gonna eat those.
Chances are it was too early and cold to
find morels, but a man can dream, can't he?
It's kind of hard to see, but those are two
of the biggest rocks I've ever seen in my life.
They have to be at least fifty feet, end to end.
Man, I've never seen anything like that.
Places like this are mental landmarks.
And when you remember back to them, it's like an anchor
for everything else that was in your life at that time.
So if like you were having good things in your life,
you really remember those even more strongly.
As time goes on, even the bad things
in your life, you look back on them fondly.
Or you find only the good things to
remember about them, and you remember that.
This is also known as "rose-colored glasses".
I continued along the path which winded through forests,
open areas, and even more forests again.
Meanwhile, there was more
peaceful riverside hiking for me.
Wow, being in this desolate landscape here, this is
where you could start to feel a little lonely I think.
It's pretty creepy out here.
I wonder how Bryan and Andrew are doing.
I'm doing pretty good actually.
I came to yet another switchback.
I needed a break.
Luckily, the views here can
rekindle your spirit instantly.
It's moments like these that
make the Smokies so worth hiking.
As stare out across the horizon, all of your
struggles seem to melt away into nothingness.
The sun had come out for a
brief moment before I continued on.
Meanwhile, the hike for
the day was just about over.
The final trail junction for
my campsite is just up ahead.
There's a cement ford here, so you have to walk your horse.
I don't have a horse, so that's not a problem.
Looking forward to getting to the campsite though and just checking it out.
Wonder if there's going to be any other campers out there, I don't know.
As I hiked, I came across more club mosses.
Lycopodium obscurum
and lycopodium clavatum.
This is a pretty cool plant.
I remember seeing it last time I was in the Smokies.
And it's called striped wintergreen,
if memory serves correct.
And if I'm wrong, I'll just let the
narrator do the rest of the talking.
I was right! These leaves can be eaten as a snack, but it's best to
leave them alone as they're considered endangered in some regions.
Now, wood is usually not blue.
And the reason there's this blue color on
this wood is the blue mycelium of a fungus.
Now, the name escapes me, so I'll let the
narrator tell you what the name of the fungus is.
It's called green elf cup.
Actually, the logo of our show,
the blue background...
Most of that is actually just a picture of a blue log that
Robby and I found while we were camping in the Smokies.
Pretty neat stuff.
My path and the weather continued
to be more beautiful as I went along.
It was a different story for Andrew though.
Oh man, it is just windy, cold, wet...
The sunlight from earlier only lasted a little bit.
And it just feels like no matter how much
I keep hiking, there's just more and more uphill.
I just keep thinking it's gotta be here.
And I turn the corner and it's just more uphill.
But holy cow, I may be getting
close because look at this.
It's a pretty sharp drop
from the edge of that trail.
So, on the plus side it seems
that I am on the ridge.
Which means, at some point,
the trail can only go downhill.
I was literally just looking at the map wondering, wow,
how have I not come up to the trail junction yet, and then...
...I saw it.
It's definitely either on...
...Camel Gap Trail or still on the Big Creek Trail, I'm not
really sure, but it's definitely on the west side of the water.
If I go here, this'll take me
to the east side of the water.
l don't have much left to say.
Now this fungus here
is called birch polypore.
And it's a bit too old to do anything, but...
