You sound like you’d be up for one of the Black Mountain hikes, probably No. 1, the Colbert Ridge Loop. 80 percent of the trail is secluded (the 20 percent that’s not goes through Mount Mitchell State Park) and a challenge. It’s a 22-mile loop, some great views and scenery. Surprisingly, perhaps, the Smokies hikes are relatively private. The Smokies may get 8 million visitors a year, but not many venture beyond sight of their cars. Mount Sterling, the long Shuckstack trip and the Clingman’s Dome trip are especially good.

So my fiance is infantry set up at Ft. Bragg. Due to his job I have not seen him in quite some time. We are an adventerous couple but have yet to backpack together. This next week he will finally be back and we wanted to go hiking on a fairly difficult trail and camp where we are secluded and have pretty much all the freedom we would like. We do not need outhouses or a camping site. We also do not want to break any rules or do something that might be a faux paus.

Do you have any suggestions as to where we could achieve this?
Ps we are very capable of surviving with just what is on our backs haha

Thank you! Your book is awesome by the way 🙂

Melissa & James

Hey Chris,
I’ve had four encounters in the past four years. In three instances, it was unclear who ran faster in the opposite direction, me or the bears. In the fourth, I was hiking up Colbert Ridge in the Black Mountains in a dense fog when I looked to my right and saw two cubs in a tree, maybe 10 yards away. I immediately searched for the mother, didn’t see her and picked up my pace up the mountain. The only trouble I’ve had at night has been with raccoons (I shy away from shelters, mainly because of mice).
Your question about whether they’ve become less shy around humans is a good one, especially now as the weather warms and they become more active. I’ll look into it and report back.

I used to backpack. I used to backpack reasonably long multi-night trips. I’ve done some one-nighters within the last 10 years. I like backpacking and how it gives you the chance to pick up long stretches of trail that don’t lend themselves to day hiking.

Then I had three bear encounters on day hikes in less than a year in 2008-2009.

Suddenly bears moved from being “shy, elusive and seldom seen” to a real presence that could be around any corner. At about the same time, I began seeing notices of shelter closures and camping bans on the AT due to bear activity. Recently I read a post on the Smoky Mountain Hiking blog quoting a backcountry guide who said that bear behavior in the Smokies had fundamentally changed in the last few years, with bears being increasingly agressive and having no fear of humans.

I’m not real fond of crossing paths with a bear on the trail, but the bear I’m really afraid of is the one I haven’t seen yet: the one who has made himself/herself at home in a backcountry campsite, and isn’t about to be run off by someone banging on a cooking pot. I do know about food hanging technique, but I can’t always find the ideal setup of tall tree and long sturdy branch.

Any thoughts? Did we just have an odd streak, or are bears really becoming more common and less shy and elusive? Have you heard anything one way or another about the frequency of problem bears in camping areas?