Date: 2017-10-17
From: Locust Cove Gap

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

DOT HAS FINISHED!On and off all morning, Dot would think of it and her eyes would moisten. ¢I can¢t believe it!¢Both Franky and I could feel her energy. ¢This is your last climb, Dot.¢ Thirteen hundred feet up; respectable. At the top were her last bald, her last big views. There were ten other hikers there, all admiring the view. They all fussed over Dot when Franky and I told them these were her last AT thru-hike miles. One hiker started doing yoga stretches. One of us exclaimed, ¢Let¢s do a hiker yoga class!¢ (Me.) Dot, I, and a gentleman who could have passed for Yul Brynner in ¢The King and I" went through four poses ¢ Child, Eagle, Warrior II, and Triangle ¢ and then another woman started casually correcting us and leading the next pose. With a cluster of 15 people, what were the chances that we¢d have a certified and licensed yoga instructor among us? Yep, that¢s what she was. Here are the three of us styling.  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...We took our time. Franky called out, ¢Four miles left.¢ ¢Two.¢ We could see the Nantahala River moving swiftly below, hear the roar of rapids. ¢One.¢ Dot said she would be finished when she crossed the bridge. Franky took video and I took the stills as she mounted the steps to carry her over the water, carry her to a spot where a much younger, in so many ways, but very determined new college graduate had stood, pack on her back with 10 days of food. Dot stood in the same spot again, five months have passed, so many adventures, so many memories. She raised her poles. I snapped the photo above.Before moving on with the day, let me give a Shout-out to the Jamie Simmons family who were up on the bald. A music professor and his wife with a set of teens who still had big smiles at the end of a hiking trek.  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...The Nantahala Outdoor Center has a world-class kayak slalom site on the eponymous river, as well as two restaurants, an outfitter, a store, a bunkhouse, and cabins. It was the site of the 2013 World Championships. To me it will always be the site where Dot finished.At dinner Dot opened a flat Priority Mail package. The return address said it was from ¢¦ The Princesses! Inside was a lovingly handmade crown! http://www.trailjournals.com/j...  Dot¢s smile was almost as big as when she finished.  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...I will also always remember this place as where a 65-year-old AT thru-hiker disappeared. Today is my birthday. Scout is now 66. Dot and Franky had snuck away (Dot has her car here. )and they surprised me with a birthday cake. Carrot cake, so it must be healthy. There were no candles, so Mona lit her bic lighter and I blew that out.  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...Over a week ago Frodo had brought me two cards, one from her and one from my parents, which I put in my bounce box and then carried from Gatlinburg. I¢d bought a third card for myself in Gatlinburg, and Dot and Franky surprised me with a card early this morning at our campsite. Here they all are.  http://www.trailjournals.com/j...            http://www.trailjournals.com/j...http://www.trailjournals.com/j...            http://www.trailjournals.com/j...http://www.trailjournals.com/j...            http://www.trailjournals.com/j...Guess which one is from whom and which inside goes with which front. Who gave me the card featuring pink flamingos? Who gave the card about poop? (Frodo: I have to say that Scout would have been disappointed had I not given him a schmaltzy, romantic card.)What a day! I even joined four ladies doing line dancing out on the porch.Thanks to all for a wonderful birthday, including those who wished me Happy Birthday on Facebook!