Day 34: Zero in Hot Springs

Woke up in luxury (so to speak) and went to the lobby for breakfast. Free breakfast! Could this place get any better?

Drove back into Hot Springs - stopped at Dairy Queen for breakfast (peanut buster parfait FTW). Sorted through the mail drop at the "cabin". (OWL, SilverStreak, Old Goat, & I were splitting a "cabin" - the "cabin" is in quotes because it is really just three very small beds, a table, and a bathroom with a foldable magnet door. No linens or pillows. Apparently "resort" means something different in Hot Springs than it does in the rest of the world.

Went to the outfitters but escaped with minimal damaged; picked up an extra mouthpiece for my camelback since mine is always falling off. AWE is going to ship me my superfeet that I left behind - more often than not my feet are the sorest thing on me when I get to camp. Didn't buy convertible pants...AWE is going to ship me shorts. Also surprising - I have not lost any weight. But I am definitely losing inches and I feel pretty great. I was hoping to be the exception to the "women don't lose a bunch of weight on the AT" but I guess I am not.

Had a great lunch with Joel & the crew, then he left to go back home.

Next up: soaking in the hot springs! They pump mineral water from the hot springs into jacuzzi's, and at the end of your hour the water drains out. It wasn't super hot, but it felt great. I could have gone again, if time had allowed.

Megan (remember her? She rescued us from Fontana and loaned me her goretex jacket) rode her bike up to see us again. It was so nice to spend the evening with friends. We went to dinner and then sat on the porch drinking whiskey. OWL read us a hilarious story from her hometown newspaper about a little girl getting bit by a possibly rabid fox...while making her way between buildings at church. You can't make this stuff up, folks.

I feel totally refreshed and - although I am sore and blistered - feel ready to continue the journey.

One sad note - SilverStreak is returning home for a few weeks to take care of some business. He'll return to the trail when he's finished, but he'll be behind us. Maybe we will meet up again in Virginia somewhere.

Day 33: Walnut Mountain Shelter to Hot Springs

approx 14.1 miles (the AT runs through the middle of town...so...)

Woke up early - excited to meet friends and be in town. Had a nice hike in, despite a nasty blister on the 4th toe on my right foot. Feels like the toenail is coming off and there is a blister underneath the toenail, that extends on top of the toe. And of course the bottom of the toe is also blistered. It's a mess.

It was warm out today! I was drinking lots and actually ran out of water. (You know how a few days ago I said the sound of air being let out of the sleeping pad was the saddest sound in the world? The water reservoir gurgling dry is the second saddest).

Pretty sure I saw a bear today. I was hiking a few minutes behind OWL & SilverStreak, and saw/heard something large and dark moving in the rhododendron & brush to my right. I thought it was Streak, taking a break. But then I followed the trail, and Streak's backpack was nowhere to be found. So - no photo or up close & personal meeting - but I'm pretty sure it was a bear.

Saw Clever Girl, DumpTruck, Apollo along with Hot Dog and Whistle. They were slackpacking into Hot Springs - Hot Dog got sick in Walnut Mountain Shelter a few nights ago so they split up her stuff and carried it down to Garentto Gap. So now they are making up the difference. Said we made the right decision to delay entering the Smokies...said it was miserable "but we're alive". Yikes. That's one way to look at it.

Got into town...picked up maildrops...stopped to do laundry...got a shower...and then Joel was here!! So good to see him. Decided to go into Asheville for dinner and beer. We went to Wicked Weed Brewing Company for great beer (delicious IPAs), and dinner fit for a princes. Homemade fries with french onion dip, a pork chop with roasted brussel sprouts and homestyle potatoes, plus bison chili. Yum!

Afterwards Joel got me a room at the hotel he was staying at, and drove me to CVS to get Epsom salts. Friend + Beer + Dinner + Soaking Bath + a bed with a pillow = a very happy zag.

The only downside - I have never felt more like a homeless person in my life when Joel was checking me into his hotel. There I stood, all my possessions in a Sea to Summit eVent bag, standing awkwardly to the side while Joel asks if they have any more rooms available. Pretty funny. :)