Date: 2022-10-12
From: Established site by Log Cabin Drive Mile 291.4

To: Laughing Heart Hostel Mile 274.6
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: clear sky

It was still pretty warm in the morning when we woke up, and it¢s the warmest it¢s been for several weeks. I left camp in shorts for the first time in a while. I¢ve zipped off the leggings several times during the day over the past week but typically left camp with them on. Today Coach wanted to hike with us for the whole day and Orchid and I lead the parade into Hot Springs until the final home stretch. We naturally started with a big climb that had some of the steeper parts that we¢ve seen recently. I was leading at the time and felt like I was really struggling up the hill. Orchid and Coach were breathing down my neck so I kept pushing as hard as I could to stay ahead of them. We got to the top sweaty and winded to find we¢d done a 2.7 mile per hour average pace¢¦ Oops. They both claimed they were just trying to keep up with me. The problem was that after we crested the hill we got into the windy shady side and the temperature dropped 5-10 degrees and we were all getting pretty chilly. We had a brief snack at the shelter where we all put on more clothes and tried to stay out of the wind. It started to look like it might rain but other than a handful of drops stayed dry. The next miles were uneventful and unremarkable and we eventually stopped in a large grassy patch on the side of a dirt road. At this point the sun was out and it was starting to get warm. At this point we had about 5 miles to go and we took our time. We ended up going through an old forest fire area which was recovering but still pretty hot and sunny with the smaller trees. Finally we came to the last long descent into town which had several good vantage points overlooking the river and town. We crossed the river and officially entered Hot Springs. We stopped for some photos of Coach and then met June and George who are driving him back home. We all walked the last 1/4 mile to the Smoky Mountain Diner and Coaches official finishing spot. June and George had brought noise makers and silly string and we gave Coach a proper finishing!  After some pictures and videos the five of us went to the Spring Creek Tavern for a late second lunch. We all had a good time swapping stories. Afterwards Orchid and I picked up some resupply and we all heading up to the hostel and lodge. We met Kim there as well. Orchid and I are in the bunkhouse while the others upgraded to the much nicer lodge. I caught up with some stuff before Coach, Kim, Orchid and I headed to a local brewery for dinner. Kim had brought a finishing/ birthday cake and we had a present of Oreos and Mt Dew. Coach also did a karaoke song which brought down the house. He doesn¢t just sing but he also plays to the crowd and dances. After dinner we headed to the official Hot Springs. They basically fill a hot tub with the spring water so it¢s not like sitting in a rocky pool but it still felt really good and was a couple of degrees cooler than a standard hot tub. We had a 9:15 time slot so got back to the hostel pretty late but well worth the farewell sendoff. Tomorrow we start a two day stretch which puts us just outside the Smoky Mountains. Steps 39000Weather Forecast: 75/59 partly sunny