No, Tom, that is NOT a big dog!

May 27, 2011

Today is Tom's 18th Birthday!  He called home today to tell us about his exciting time last night at the Watauga Lake Shelter in Tennessee.  First he lost his glasses.  Ugh.  They were brand new, purchased just two weeks before his hike started in March.  He put them on a stump along with his wallet and other important items and went for a swim.  Then the glasses weren't there???  Hmm.  So he crawled around looking for them for 45 minutes.  No luck.  So we are sending his back up glasses with a slightly weaker prescription to him on the trail.  He won't get them until at least Wednesday of next week since Monday is a holiday.  Of course he can still hike.  His vision is blurry but otherwise he can continue. 

So two months and over 400 miles later, after he's hiked through the Smokies, and other heavy bear territory, and never a sighting....until he loses his glasses!  So him and a few other hikers are sitting around the picnic table at the shelter and two guys jump up and run to the shelter while saying something about a bear.  Tom, squinting thinks he sees a big dog, but takes the other hiker's words for it and runs to the shelter.  Apparently the bear had cubs with it.  Not the best situation.  To make matters worse, the bear kept returning through the night.  Must have been a pretty sleepless night for the shelter mates.  Tom did say he tried to get some pics but his camera flash wasn't able to pick them up in the darkness.  He did say he saw one of the bear cubs get spooked and scramble up a tree. 

Happy Birthday Tom.  Hope you had a wonderful day!

Posted by Mom