Day 31 – Social Hour at Standing Bear Farm

Frickles and I set out on our short hike (all downhill), finally exiting the smoky mountains officially when we passed the thru-hiker deposit box for the $40 permits we all had to carry through the mountains.

Hiking purely downhill is hard on the knees no matter how much you rely on your poles, so Frickles and I were happy to take a long lunch break in the sun with our feet in a creek. While we were soaking our feet to soothe our aching toes and arches, we encountered a new friend!

Our newfound friend is finishing a 2024 thru hike this summer, but she’s still waiting on a new trail name because she’s not happy with the one she got last year. Frickles and I were very happy to meet her and have another woman to hike with for at least a couple of days. Fancy Pants, Four Squares, Square Tail, and Raindancer decided to wait it out at a shelter a few miles back to avoid some unsavory hikers they didn’t want to camp near. It sucks, but sometimes you do find people on the trail you’d rather avoid, which is why it’s nice to find a hiking tramily to have some buffer and have people to wait things out with.

After our extended lunch break, we heading down the rest of the trail and across a highway to Standing Bear Farm.

Frickles and I had some deliberating on staying at the hostel, and I realized the 80 degree weather that had come out of nowhere after several cold days had me reeling and unable to make a decision. So, I bought some ice cream sandwiches from the hostel’s resupply fridge and drank about 5 cups of water, after which I was feeling more sane, and paid for a tent spot to hang my hammock for the night.

Frickles was happy to see Simon, the British gentleman I had met a couple of weeks ago when I first met Frickles. We talked about our plans to hike tomorrow with Simon and Stoker (the girl we met earlier picked up a new name around the fire before dinner already thanks to Zen), but Frickles made sure to let me know that if I wanted to go further than her not to feel pressured to stick around. I’ll decide in the morning what I’ll do, but I hope to see Frickles and Stoker and Simon again even if we don’t hike together tomorrow.

The hostel has a bit of a reputation among hikers as a place that’s friendly for… everything, including partiers, so I figured pitching my hammock was the next best option to continuing on into the woods for 3 more miles for another viable tentsite, as opposed to renting a bunk in a shared space.

After another ice cream sandwich (that makes 3) and a frozen pizza (second lunch of course), more hikers showed up, and the energy of the place really started buzzing. Standing Bear takes work-for-stay as an option for hikers to stay for a reduced rate or free depending on the work they do, and I saw one of the hikers I met in the Smokies helping take down a fallen tree and turning it into firewood. Turns out he got a free bunk for the night!

The farm played banjo-twanging, tub thumping tunes on loudspeaker throughout the day, and the workers at the hostel wore overalls to demarcate themselves from the hikers, solidifying the fact that we were indeed in the South.

Dinner came out a bit late for us hikers (730pm), but no one complained because for $14 we got as much as we wanted of farm-grown pork carnitas and nachos. Our bellies were full, but there was even more food to be had! It was someone’s birthday, so after dinner we all gathered round to sing happy birthday and enjoy some cake.

After cake, people hung around the fire, in the kitchen, on the porch, and all around the farm. Eventually I realized that I was up way past my bedtime (9:30), and headed up to my hammock to sleep.

I met so many hikers today I can’t remember all their names, and it was fun but also exhausting to be around so many people. I admit I took several breaks through the afternoon to hang out in my hammock and catch up on my favorite TV show on my phone.

But! There were dogs at the farm that loved to be pet, so all was well in the end. Have some dog pictures.

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any product or service you purchase using the links in the articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price as they would otherwise, and your purchase helps to support The Trek’s ongoing goal to serve you quality backpacking advice and information. Thanks for your support!

To learn more, please visit the About This Site page.