Date: 2017-04-19
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Mountain Magnolia Inn, Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: overcast clouds

From Fatboy:I was awake intermittently several times during the night but really became wide awake at 0330. I was ready to hit a town and get clean, get real food, and sleep in a real bed. It was raining and still dark so I tried to think happy thoughts and wish for a sunny, dry day. I went back to sleep only to be awakened by my alarm at 0630 and the sound of hard rain on our tent. This wasn't really what I had planned but I was determined to make the best of it. The rain lessened enough by 0730 that my fantasies of civilization overcame my good sense and I got dressed to begin my day. Getting dressed in a 2-man tent when you're over 6'1" tall and can't move a single body part without pain should be an Olympic event. Dodging my flying elbows in this enclosed space is Ginger's first challenge every day. My determination was tested as it started raining while I was stumbling away from the tent with my trusty cat hole shovel and smashed roll of toilet paper. Doing "your business" in the woods is barbaric in the best of circumstances; when it's raining too, it's torture. I accomplished the required event and returned to the tent to begin making breakfast. The rain had decreased to light showers so I began heating water for coffee and oatmeal. It started raining hard again so I tried to move this process to the atrium of our tent. I spilled half of the water and scared Ginger when I tried to trim my beard with a lit rocket stove. I eventually had coffee and oatmeal prepared and managed to eat while sitting with my muddy feet protruding from the open tent door. Sounds delightfully comfortable and cozy, right? Yeah, it was just as much fun as it sounds. We broke camp and managed to pack up all of our wet stuff and were out of camp by 0915. No matter when we get up, tenting or from a shelter we don't leave camp until 0915. That's just us. We began our long descent into Hot Springs. We had more than 8 miles of easy day ahead of us.The most memorable part of this last day is how hard and long this "easy day" was. It was all down hill. Not the steep down hill where you're always worried about falling on your face but rather, the long subtle declines with lots of switchback that grind your knees up slowly. Another memorable feature of this section is how it teases you. Hot Springs is a tiny town where everybody knows everybody. It's quite pretty and has a couple of really great places to eat, a good outfitter, a dollar store, and a complete cross-section of places to stay. Mayberry 2017. We had reservations for a suite we were sharing with Tequila Sunshine and Happy Feet at the fanciest place in town. The teaser is: you can see and hear the town for a long time before you get there and it feels like you have to walk past the town to walk back to it. This is really frustrating when your "easy day" is taking 6 hours to complete and you're hungry and sore. We finally crossed the street to enter town and found the AT marked with stones set into the sidewalk instead of white blazes. It was nice to see a town so interested in hikers. We stopped at the first restaurant in town as was recommended by Cash Back, a hiker we talked to a couple of miles ago. He said this diner had the best meatloaf he's ever had. I remember recommendations like that so we just had to eat there. We were there in the middle of the afternoon so the place was almost empty but the server brought us coffee and water quickly and we placed our order. There was a local lady who was leaving as we entered who stopped to talk to Ginger and give us the low-down on the town and get our story too. Ginger attracts good things like an open Coke can attracts bees in spring. It's amazing to watch and even better to be included in because we're together. Our food was delicious and we decided to return to this restaurant another time during our stay. We walked on toward our lodging and met a couple of other friends along the street. I didn't want to socialize much, I was ready for a shower and a bed. We arrived at our rooms and met Tequila Sunshine and Happy Feet who had already checked in. Our room was beautiful and included a sitting room with comfortable chairs as well as coffee and tea provided. I was in heaven. We spent the rest of the day cleaning our bodies and feeding our spirits with good friends. We met Foghat for dinner and were back in our bed early. It was a great day.From Ginger:My math was off; I misled Fatboy. I'd said it was just over 8 miles today. Turns out, it was closer to 10. I swear, I need to use the calculator on my phone for even the easiest equation. THAT would actually make carrying the phone more useful many days!I felt strong today, but I have to admit that yesterday, I'd hit a wall between 5 and 6:30. There was a final uphill that I hadn't spotted in our guide. I'm glad it was out of the way when we started today, but yesterday's miles took their toll.We were both looking forward to strolling into a town where the trail is part of Main Street. It turned out to be harder on our feet -- seriously, OUCH -- but it felt ceremonious to walk over AT symbols poured into the concrete here. I'm looking forward to doing this again. Also, no shuttle to arrange or hitch-hiking required! Bonus!