Date: 2016-04-08
From: Allen Gap

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 14.4

We hiked today with a friend from our 2014 AT thru-hike. Grasshopper joined us in Harpers Ferry in 2014 and he hiked with us through much of PA. He met us again last week in Bryson City at the Nantahala Brewery and said he would like to hike a section with us again. He¢s tuning up for a go at the PCT starting in mid-May. Last evening he drove in and joined us at the Spring Creek Tavern for dinner and a few brews. We had a great time reminiscing about our 2014 adventures and talking with the 2016 hikers drifting in and out of the tavern. I also had a chance to sample more IPAs from the local breweries. The weather is becoming a bigger factor each day. The pleasant temps we enjoyed for the last few days began to fade a little yesterday and the winds at higher elevations were really strong, although the sky remained clear most of the day. There was a spotty rain last night as the temps dropped into the 30¢s, but it didn¢t get cold enough for snow so we were ready to go this AM. Dan from Bluff Mountain drove the 3 of us out to Allen Gap and we disembarked for a 14.4 mile SoBo hike back into Hot Springs. Grasshopper carried his ultraLite backpack, but not with all the traditional gear. Instead he carried several pairs of candidate shoes for his PCT attempt. He hoped to try them out in a trail environment to see how they feel.Grasshopper has always been a bit faster than us and he took the lead out of Allen Gap. As we climbed, we started overheating, but it also got colder. We mostly climbed (with a couple of short descents) for 4 miles. Thermal control was tough, we had to shed some clothes as we heated up, yet the temp declined as we climbed and the wind on the open ridges was cold and strong. Princess stowed her windbreaker and used her arm-warmers to adjust to the temp. My biggest problem was cold hands, same problem that I¢ve had before. Some TJ guests have suggested that it sounds like Reynaud¢s syndrome, but I haven¢t had an official diagnosis. However, I¢ve learned that whenever I feel that my fingers are starting to get cold, I need to make some adjustments quickly to warm them up. If I don¢t, and they get really cold and I¢m going to suffer for a long time before they eventually warm up. So today, I wore a pair of OR gloves and when I began to feel a chill, I pulled a pair of heavy wool mittens over them. After a while, the mittens began to take effect and eventually my fingers got back to normal.Otherwise, the hike was pleasant and uneventful. We expected to see some of the hikers that we met in the tavern last night, but we didn¢t recognize very many. The only ones we knew were Happy Jag and TreeHugger. Instead we saw a lot of new faces, and many hikers were still in tents or still in camp. Later in the hike as we neared Hot Springs, there were more hikers on the trail. Grasshopper kept count of the hikers he saw on trail or in camp and he was up to over 40 when we finally finished.The last part of the hike was quite pleasant. The sun was out, bright and warm, with a few fluffy white clouds. As we neared Hot Springs, we were on a ridge high above the city. The descent was pretty steep through rocky outcroppings and switchbacks, with several overlook points that provided impressive views of the city, the valley and the French Broad River that flows through the town. The river is quite wide and flows through a series of rocky steps that generates water noise that is audible from high on the ridge. The descent includes a promontory called ¢Lovers Leap¢ that offers quite a vista. The AT drops to the level of the river and then follows along the riveredge until it reaches the bridge that crosses into town. We had lunch with Grasshopper at the Smoky Mountain Diner before he headed back to his home. We had a good conversation through much of the hike and Grasshopper never had a good chance to try out his other hiking shoes. But overall, the hike was great and a good warmup hike for him. If all goes well with his PCT hike, he may come back and hike with us when we finish the AT sections we¢ve missed after our JMT venture. After he left, we spent time at the tavern and then visited the Hot Springs Spa for a nice long soak in the ¢waters¢. And then a really good supper at the tavern. Our hike tomorrow has become very dicey. We¢ve had some rain this evening and the temps are supposed to hit freezing tonight. There is a likelihood of snow tonight. Dan, our shuttle driver won¢t know until early tomorrow morning if he wants to shuttle us. So, we¢ve been texting with him and we¢ll see what he thinks in the AM. Our plan for tomorrow was to do a long hike, nearly 21 miles, so we need an early start to be sure that we can finish by the end of the day. If conditions aren¢t right, we¢ll take a zero here and rework our plan, probably postponing our long hike until Sunday.