Smokey Mountain National Park Trekking - a 3 second black bear encounter in the Wilderness

Meeting a real bear in the middle of a huge forest is a special experience, ma tutto con calma...eines nach dem anderen :-)

The Smokey Mountain National Park is the most visited National Park in the USA but at the same time the one with the largest biodiversity. It is located in the Appalachian Mountains on both Tenessee and North Carolina territory and consists of rolling mountains with deep valleys with rivers and many waterfalls. The park is covered in extremely lush and dense forest. Among others it is home of black bears (1 per sq Km). The Appalachian trail runs for over 2000 miles on the main ridge

Preparation: 
Online I figured that the area of Balsam Mountain in the SW seemed to be quite remote with few people, particularly as accessing the trailhead requires a 25mile drive along a forest track in the middle of nowhere. I planned a 2-day (20km, 7h; 30km 8h) circular trek up Balsam Mountain up to the main ridge on Appalachian trail), a sleepover in a shelter, and the second day heading down again and out via a different trail system to reach my starting point again. Exactly what I need...

Day 1 (approach by car 3h): 
Europe-Atlanta. Landing with 1h delay. From Atlanta Airport in a rental car first thing I find a Baechli-like shop and buy a detailed park map and jet boiler. The following 3h drive, interrupted only for shopping at wal-mart and chicken teriaky in a japanese fast-food, takes me through the rolling hills of North Georgia into North Carolina, where I arrive in Cherokee (NC) at 10.30pm and spontaneously get a room in the promising Mountaneer Motel along I-471, a few km outside the NP. Gear sorting, sleep at 12am after a very long day.
 

Day 2 (Heading into the park and up. 6.5h, 1200Hm up, 200Hm down, 18km).
After a quick selfmade breakfast I leave the motel at 7am, pass by NP visitor centre in Oakaluftee to fill out the park permit (so they could perhaps perhaps find me...) and drive up to the remote Balsam Mountain Trailhead, which is truly in the middle of nowhere at Pine Oak Gap. I figure that I rather do more elevation today then the day after so I drive down to Round Bottom, where I start the hike on Beech Gap Trailhead (9.30am, 3000ft elevation). The first 2h it is a very pleasant walk constantly and gently gaining altitude in a very green and pristine light forest at first; then a broad ridge covered with impenetrable woods and deeper into the wilderness and isolation. Up Balsam Mountain and maybe 30min after Laurel Gap shelter and more than 4h into the walk I still had not met anyone and the remoteness was perceivable.
Suddenly about 15m above the trail in the bush I hear a loud hissing and I saw a black mass moving extremely fast and quite loudly in the bush. I froze but as things go, the black bear was more scared than I was, so 3 seconds later he was already gone... for the next kilometer I progressed making regular noise with my walking sticks... When I approached Luftee Knob I left the trail and started on a complicated bushwack up the SE ridge in the hope of getting a good view from the summit. While I succeeded to get to the highest point (I think) on the summit nothing else than trees... so I headed back down onto the trail. The terrain was quite challenging virgin forest with fallen trees and dense bush so I was relieved to be back on the trail. I followed the horizontal trail and after another hour I finally reached the Appalachian Trail and get to Treecorner Knob shelter. Eat, drink, siesta, chill out, dinner with my new jetboil cooker walmart maccaroni with bolo-cheese). I share the shelter with 3 guys from Missisippi, a 40y-old retired NYC Wall St banker on a 2000 mile hike in pursuit of the truth and a guy from Knoxville Tenessee who is taking his time off.
 

Day 3 (Appalachian Trail and heading down and out, 300m up, 1400 m down; 28km): Alarm clock at 5am, preparation of coffee on my jetboil. I leave the shelter at 5.30am just before sunrise. At 6am high on Mount Chapman on the Appalachian trail I witness a mystical sunrise. The trail is mostly on the ridge or slightly below: the continuous up and down is quite tiring. After some 2.5h and 5.5 miles later I arrive at Pecks Corner Shelter and after a short break I continue down Hughes Ridge Trail, loosing gradually elevation. After another 4.7 miles I reach Enloe Creek Trail, which is definitely one of the highlights of the whole hike. Loosing elevation the trail dives deep into a lush and steep valley to cross Enloe Creek (bridge is destroyed, wading necessary) to join soon after the great spot of camp 47. Here I take a refreshing bath in the Raven Fork river...air temperature is above 30C ! how does this remind me of Bavona, Maggia or some other Ticino streams ! Thereafter I head up and for the last miles to reach Straight Fork Road and Round Bottom, where I find my car. 

Fazit: wonderful hike in a very pristine and ancestral forest. The Appalachian trail is busy but its side ridges are virtually up for solitary expeditions. Great views into a large wilderness. The rivers and valley are incredibly beautyful...