Day 18: Family History

Hiked 4.5 miles, staying at Fairfield Inn at Pigeon Forge.

Wow, what a day.  This morning started out cold, it definitely got well below freezing last night and there was a heavy dew on everything this morning making for very cold fingers as we rolled up tents and packed up.  We took our time getting out of camp.  We only had to do 5 miles before noon over relatively flat terrain.
We ran into Giants Bane, Sassafras and Slim Jim among others over the course of the morning.  We are bidding farewell to a bunch of hikers like them for the time being as they are going for big mile days and we are headed to Gatlinburg to resupply and spend the night.  My dad's family is from Tennessee and we wanted to meet up with them here.

When we got to Newfound Gap we found two people doing trail magic there.  They had brownies,  sandwiches, soda, chips and oranges.  What a feast!  We had about an hour to kill before my family showed up so we set up tents to dry them out and relaxed in the sun.

Everyone dropped their packs at the sign and relaxed

Around 1130 my dad's cousins Jack, Herbert and Harold showed up.  These particular brothers have a love of photography and took about 100 photos of us using different permutations of cameras and group members.   I'm pretty sure today was more documented than the rest of the trip combined!  Also Jack has an immense wealth of knowledge about the area and family history and for the whole day acted as our personal tour guide which I enjoyed greatly.

Crossing back into North Carolina

Jack, Harold, Me and Herbert

These three gave us some of the most amazing trail magic today and we can't thank them enough!  After picking us up we drove to Pigeon Forge which is outside of Gatlinburg.  My dad's mother's family is from here and still have a beautiful farm here.  Based on previous communication we were expecting to be staying either on a couch or floor at the farmhouse.  Instead they got us two rooms at a nearby Fairfield Inn, way nicer than any of the Budget Inn type places we have been staying.  The amazing trail magic didn't end there though.

My dad is from outside of Nashville and so are Jack, Herbert and Harold.  When we visited my grandmother it was always there and I have never been to this part of Tennessee.  So one awesome thing I got to do today was meet some of my cousins from out here for the first time! 

The farm here is owned by my grandmother's first cousin Jack and his wife Elizabeth.  Their daughter Mary John runs an art gallery on the farm for her husband Robert.   The three brothers took us first to the gallery to meet her and to see his artwork.  The paintings he does have a mountain theme to them and I really enjoyed them a lot.  I highly recommend you check him out at www.robertatinogallery.com.

Only 10 Cantilevered Barns still exist in the country

Group photo with Mary John and Robert

The art gallery

 After taking some time to get to the grocery store to resupply the brothers took us to Cracker Barrel for dinner.  We made a valiant effort to pay for dinner since they already picked up our hotel but were stymied by their typical Patterson stubbornness.

After dinner we headed up to the farm to meet Jack and Elizabeth.  They were eager to meet us and hear about trip and Jack regaled us with stories about encounters with Copperhead snakes.  The farm is beautiful.  It is in nearby Sevierville which used to be a farming community and as the town grew and became commercialized Jack refused to break up the farm to sell for development.  Thus you have a long commercial strip broken by a large farm with rolling hills in the middle.  It presents a stunning contrast of what used to be before the age of walmart and mcdonalds.

On the end of the farm near the strip there is a Bald Eagle nest.  Apparently it has been in use for a couple years now.  Unfortunately we didn't have binoculars with us but we got close enough to see the nest clearly and see that it was occupied.  Getting closer was blocked by a fence and a federal government warning.  We were informed that you can often see the eagles soaring over the farm, they must have been feeling shy today.

Jack has spent much of his life finding and restoring furniture produced by Lewis Buckner.  This man started a slave and became a master carpenter.  He spent his life building homes and furniture to fill them.  Apparently he only had a small number of tools, so few he would carry them in a doctors bag.  The wood carving he did with this small set of tools is absolutely astounding.  The intricacy is breathtaking.  The gallery and farmhouse are filled with these pieces and the outerwork on the gallery house was done by him.  The condition of the furniture is pristine and it is hard to believe that they are 120 years old.
We also got to go to a barn out back where Jack (of the three trail angel brothers, not the one who owns the farm) spends time restoring and tuning pianos.  He had two projects there, both as I recall were from the late 1800s.

A little about Lewis Buckner

Lewis Buckner dresser

Lewis Buckner bed

While at the farmhouse I also got to see a painting of the farm my grandmother grew up on and hear stories about it.  Thank you again Jack, Elizabeth, Mary John and Robert, it was great to meet you and I had a wonderful time.

We finally coerced the three brothers to let us buy a round of beers (or coffee) for them for all they did for us today so we headed to Longhorn next door to the hotel and had a nightcap and desert.  Lastly they let me get a little time on Jack's computer so that I can keep you guys up to date.

Delicious ice cream!

Jack, Herbert and Harold thank you again for everything today.  All three of us had an amazing time and had a completely unforgettable day. 

Northern trail angels: the bar is set.