Date: 2007-04-18
From: Garenflo Gap

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 6.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Wednesday, April 18, 2007Garenflo Gap to Hot Springs, 6.5 milesAfter breakfast at the Smokey Mountain Diner we wander through town.   Gnats are out. Richard at the Bright Leaf shows us through the restaurant and hotel. The massive brick fireplace, which supports the whole building, is new, but it¢s made to look old. Fires destroyed lots of the original buildings in Hot Springs, including this one, says Richard.At Bluff Mountain Outfitters I buy a birthday card for my sister Nancy and 2 fish bandannas. Randy buys some Smartwool hikers. Memere and Gray Feathers spy the poster (¢The End of the Journey¢) they admired at Bears Den, a quiet but emotion-charged picture by Tom Vannoy, copyright 2000, of a hiker on the misty summit of Katahdin hanging on to the sign. I think of Cimarron up there on Sept 7, 2004.Myra and Randy light up the morning with witty comments and observations. Both of you have a great sense of fun. Goodbye good friends.Today for a change Gray Feathers, Memere and I will hike together, in the same direction, south to north. Tomorrow, we¢ll split up again, me hiking Indian Grave Gap to Iron Mountain Gap, Memere and Gray Feathers hiking the opposite way. That¢ll be the last day of our hike together this spring.At the start hello to NOBO Duct Tape, waiting with section-hiker Mark until a rescue from Bluff Mountain Outfitters shows up to shuttle Mark, who¢s got a leg injury, to Hot Springs. The people from BMO arrive soon after us, collect Mark and drive off.Start a little past 2PM. Sunny, warm, enough breeze to keep the pesky gnats away.A little up at the start. With all the ascending I¢ve been doing, this feels like nothing. It¢s a wonderful feeling but one tingled with regret realizing that tomorrow is the last day of hiking and these physical gains will soon vanish. The older I get, the faster I lose conditioning. Each year getting into shape and staying there seems to require harder and longer exertion. It¢s like I need to get on a treadmill and not only not get off, but keep ratcheting up speed, incline and duration. Wonder what I'm going to have to be doing when I'm 90 to stay in shape?Yellow cinquefoil blossoms, similar in color to the dwarf ranunculus.Pussytoes and Thaspium (yellow meadow parsnip).Pipsissewa leaves, which resemble rattlesnake plantain.Fringed polygala.Birds-foot violets, one with a butterfly sucking nectar.Brilliant glowing nut-red galax leaves.Lots of good tentsites.Out about 6:00. A man waiting with a cold one for Duct Tape asks if we¢ve seen him. Yes. Last we saw him, he was ahead of us. The man¢s been waiting about 10 minutes. If Duct Tape didn¢t stop at the last shelter (we didn¢t so we don¢t know if he was inside when we passed the trail that leads to it) he may have come out before the man arrived. We do know Duct Tape was looking forward to getting out after a long 18-mile day.Later we see that man walking back through town. Hope he and Duct Tape connected.We collect my car at the Garenflo trailhead and head back to Hot Springs, spotting a turkey on the way.Queen Diva calls to let us know Sweet Sixteen has arrived safely at Bears Den, after a successful 150-mile backpack from the James River through all the extreme weather we had in TN/NC but without our comforts, slacking and motels.We are envious of her toughness and strength. In comparison, we¢re sissies.Sweet Sixteen is continuing her hike. First she¢ll be hiking with her son Matt. Then she may join Purple Rose and Zig Zag and me in PA. If I¢m not too tired to drive that far after finishing tomorrow¢s hike, I¢ll join Queen Diva and Sweet Sixteen tomorrow night at Bears Den, if not I¢ll see them there Friday morning.Back at Sunnybank, Elmer and Sunny are apologetic, but dinner tonight won¢t be possible. They¢re in turmoil. In the throes of preparations for a five-day closure of the hostel (the first in 30 years) for a private event to be attended by 100 people, and they are behind schedule.No problem. Don¢t worry. The diner will be fine. We have a relaxed meal there. Back at Elmer¢s Sunny pampers us and tells us a little about the history. We¢re in one of the front rooms, Room 3, a dim dark-wooded big-windowed fireplaced room, filled with antiques. I would love to spend a couple of weeks at Elmer¢s, just reading the books.