5/20/00
Day 59
Hogback Ridge shelter, TN
691.2 miles

Might as well start off with the big news:  I finally saw a bear!  Yesterday, about an hour after I left Uncle Johnny's Hostel and climbed out of the Nolichucky Gorge, the Trail was sidling around the top of a narrow gully, I heard a noise, and looked down in time to see the bear before he saw/heard/smelled me and started crashing away through the brush.  He was too big to be a cub, but not huge, so I'm guessing it was a year old and still growing.  I realize this wasn't exactly a nose-to-snout close encounter, but I would have been bummed if I had hiked the whole Trail and never even seen one.

Now for a new and worrisome addition to my list of physical maladies.  Yesterday, for no apparent reason, my right knee began to ache sharply with every step, even on level ground.  This sent up a red flag in my mind because knee problems are one of those things that can knock you off the Trail.  (Other chronic overuse injuries are shin splints, stress fractures, and some kind of deep skin inflamation called fasciitis.)  I've actually tried to be very slow and careful on the downhills to avoid shocking my knees.  But this pain came on during a gradual uphill climb.  It began to get bad enough that I wondered if I was going to have to bail at the next road crossing.  I decided to keep going and later in the day I tried wrapping it with an Ace bandage.  Today I was just very deliberate and careful with every step to make sure I didn't twist or cant the knee in any way.  And despite some occasional twinges, for much of the day it felt just like a normal leg.  I guess I'll just have to watch it and if it gets worse by the time I reach Hot Springs, I could try buying a knee brace or I could go see a Doctor.