Date: 2012-04-12
From: Bluff Mountain

To: Hot Springs!
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

The temperature dropped into the teens last night and it was the coldest night so far. I thought I would be loving my extra long and extra wide sleeping bag for comfort, but it was a mistake. Since the sleeping bag is wider than my body it doesn't retain the heat as well as it could if it were the regular size. The bag was rated to 15deg, but I tossed and turned all night trying to stay warm. Before I fell asleep last night I got to hear coyotes for the first time. It sounded like there were a small group of 3-5, not too far away, that were howling separately at first and then slowly began to howl in unison. It made my skin crawl a bit, but since there were about ten others tented around me I was not scared.The morning was cold, but I didn't care. I packed up, had breakfast and was hiking by 7:30. At this point it was getting easier to determine my mph so I figured I could do the 11 miles downhill into Hot Springs by 11am w/ a 3 mph pace. I caught up to Mr Wrong on the last descent and talked to him the rest of the way. He had renamed himself Mr Wrong because of his inconsistent weather forecasts and I also found out he was from Lancaster PA. He had given up using his poles, but was also saying that his knees bothered him on the downhill so he was taking it slow. I could not put 2 and 2 together, but I thought to myself 'hike your own hike'. As I mentioned yesterday, it had been 9 days since my last shower, but it had also been 9 days since my last hot meal in town. We both had breakfast on the mind and our first stop in Hot Springs was the Great Smoky Mountain Diner. How could it not be? We got to the diner around 11:30, but after washing hands and face in bathroom and plugging phone in to charge we sat down at 11:40 and were promptly informed breakfast was only served until 11:30. Being the easy-going person I am, I figured that I could deal with a big juicy burger instead, but Mr Wrong was not having it. He asked the waitress if they could still make the Breakfast Skillet for us since we were hiking the trail and she said no. Somehow, I forget exactly how, she was eventually talked into it and I had no choice but to get the skillet. I was glad I did. Home fries piled high with sausage mushroom cheese peppers onions and eggs. After digesting on the front porch I threw my pack over my shoulder and decided to check out the town and look for a place to stay. I went to Elmer's Sunnybank Hostel to see if they had rooms available, but they had been full since 10am. I heard about another hostel a bit outside of town for cheap, but figured I would stop by the outfitters and use the computer first. I saw many of the hikers I had been seeing over the past few days and then I ran into Mac and Snap who were tired and looking for a place to stay. They wanted to check out the cabins that were available, but they were too expensive, so the 3 of us decided to book a room in the local hotel for just over 20$/person. It was great! I got my own double bed and there was a big shared bathroom with great water pressure in the shower. This is a very important feature sometimes... Snap volunteered to do all of our laundry together. Not only was I sharing a room with a couple I had spoken to for less than a half hour, but I was now handing over my stinking, dirty clothes to her. It didn't feel weird at all and this is one of the great things about the trail. Once I was cleaned up, I ran into Biscuits, Blues Clues, and Scout. Blues Clues and Scout had been about a day ahead of me since the Smokies and it was good to see them. Scout had gotten in yesterday and decided to take a zero today, so him and I went to the tavern and were joined by Dundee Firewalker Jay and Spiller. After a beer or two we went to the market to see the food selection and then to the gas station to buy beer. Scout and I split a 6 pack which we took over to Elmer's and drank on the porch w/ Biscuits and Blues Clues. Tater Tot, who started with her dad, joined us for a bit. Her dad hikes slower than she does, but he hasn't taken any zeros so he's ahead. After a few hours it started to get chilly, so I went back to the room to get warmer clothes. On the way, I saw Wiffleball, Hawk, Peeper, Gumpy, All Smiles, and Skeeter at the tavern. There was live music playing and it was definitely the place to be. The 6 of them soon went back to their cabin for the hot springs so I had dinner with Spools and Snap while Mac was upstairs with a stomach ache. Talked a little more to Spiller who is only hiking for another week or so before she goes to work in Maine. It was a fun day and night and I was able to facetime w/ Kaitie before a great night sleep in the luxurious bed.