Date: 2016-06-09
From: Green Corner Road (Standing Bear Hostel)

To: Hot Springs (Sunnybank Inn)
Miles today: 33.5
Weather: few clouds

Day 5: Green Corner Rd to Hot Springs, NCGPS MilesElev GainTrip MilesTrip GainDaily AvgAvg Gain34.18,625111.427,75522.35,551On the final day, I woke up at five but hit the snooze twice before I crawled out and started packing. My beer limit had left me without a hangover, thankfully. My new trail buddy, The Tick (just kidding, Steve) was already awake and looking for a place to shit that wasn't a porta-potty.Despite the lower elevation, I was still cold and had to put on all of my clothes. I took this to mean that I definitely didn't eat enough. On the way out I gave Steve my hand sanitizer and left my trowel in the hiker box. Don't worry, it had only been used in sterilized potting soil and washed before I left. In exchange, I picked up a couple of organic "super food" bars that were all I had for breakfast as we walked down the road toward the trail. We started in the final minutes of morning twilight, just after 6, and didn't need our lights at all.The first third of the hike was a bit of a grind, with a decent climb out of Davenport Gap making it difficult to warm up and loosen up. The most surprising thing was the beautiful trail tread. Other than some roots, it was smooth and free of rocks, completely unlike the Smokies. It was hiking heaven. I resolved to train for future running events on that section.There were excellent views of the distance we'd come from the FAA tower at the top of Snowbird Mountain, but Max Patch was even better. By the time we got to the Patch I was in my midsection cruise and didn't really want to stop. Time on trail is also a drag in its own way, in addition to distance, and I don't like to jog (like we had on the downhill from Snowbird), unless the purpose is to haul ass, rather than use the time gained to sit around somewhere, no matter how pretty it is. I can come back and linger on the bald whenever I want; my hike was to hike 33 miles to Hot Springs in one day.Steve's feet had started hurting so he changed his socks. I reconfirmed my itinerary with Sunnybank Inn. It sounded like it was overkill. I told them I didn't know when I'd arrive but it might be after sunset. In reality I hoped to make it before sunset, except we had already "wasted" about 22 minutes on the bald. All in all, though, we were doing fine. Surprisingly good, in fact.The final third slowly devolved from an easy cruise to a deliberate effort, with eating schedules missed, water sources unpleasant, and systemic fatigue starting to set in. I was surprised at my muscular and joint endurance, however, especially in light of some early pain in the peroneal tendon due to some lopsided trail building work.Except for the frequent stops, I was able to maintain pace quite well, to the very end of the hike. The biggest problem was the threat of feet turning into hamburger, but the New Balance 1210s performed well with my feet, which I had tried to toughen on Mt. LeConte. I changed my socks and lounged around on some big rocks at the summit of Bluff Mountain while waiting for Steve, and later stopped at some point to apply duct tape to my heel, and to pick at some cracked toe nails to make sure they weren't splitting. The change of socks didn't do any good because they were hand washed, and so had not regained their loft. I started wishing for a deep, cold stream to do a little foot soaking, but it was not to be had until the spring at the final shelter, and it was shallow, muddy, and lukewarm. I started daydreaming about an arrival time that would let me buy a couple of loaves of whole wheat bread and a couple of heads of iceberg lettuce. I hadn't seen a vegetable in several days.By the time we hit the 30 mile mark near the last shelter area (Deer Park Mountain), I was feeling some volitional fatigue and needed to make the final push alone. I hope Steve made it to his car alright. It was a much more heroic effort for him than me, and he should be proud of himself. But next time maybe take a sleeping bag, at least, instead of ditching all your stuff in order to "cross the Rubicon", as he so eloquently put it. I'm tired and a little sore as I write this, on the day after it happened, so I can imagine how much worse he must be feeling. When I left him, I told him he didn't need his headlamp since we had 2 hours left to go 3 or 4 miles. (We were at the last shelter so it was smart of him to check if it worked.) I told him that all we had to do now, relatively speaking, is to walk to the corner store to buy beer and cigarettes. It was the last 10%.From Green Corner Road to Sunnybank Inn, I hiked a total of 34.14 miles (my first 50k powerwalk, LOL), in just under 14 hours, with 8625' of elevation gain and 8914' of loss, so quite gentle for such a distance. It was the longest hike of my life and a great birthday treat to myself.My overall pace was a dismal 24:35, but I hope to improve it. The availability of hostels at either end, and the excellent trail conditions, are making me salivate over the prospect of back-to-back 33s. I'll add more running to my travel style, and maybe in a month I'll try it as training for the next AT section, which would be a weekend hike from Tanyard Gap to Erwin. (I did the loop to the Rich Mountain fire tower out of Hot Springs last May.) Wish me luck and no injuries. No single straw can break my back, but the weight certainly can.Sunnybank Inn is a beautiful old house that would be nice to explore some other time. I didn't sign up for the breakfast because I wanted to sleep in. The night I arrived, I spent some time on the back porch talking with a thru-hiker named Yogi, and Yogiing him some of my new local beer. There is no way I could have drank a six pack by myself and survived. I did get my bread, but Hillbilly Market was closed and so I had no lettuce. Instead I drank V8 and orange juice from the Dollar General where I bought the bread. Since Sunnybank has no laundry and I was too tired to go to the laundromat, I went back to the Dollar General to buy some cheap shorts, a t-shirt, and socks. Because of my hammered feet, I wore three pairs of socks while walking around the hostel, and nearly slipped and fell on my way out the door to sit on the porch.Note: There is a discrepancy in the generated course vs. the activity itself, which shows 34.14 miles. I don't know how the course is generated but it appears to be an approximation of the actual readings, so I've used the activity mileage in the table above, because it's bigger and more bad-ass. Unfortunately, the 34.1 includes a chunk where we followed the wrong trail on the way down from Max Patch, until we realized there were no blazes.View Course in Garmin Connect