Date: 2016-03-25
From: Still Hot Springs

To: I Don't Even Know Anymore
Miles today: 0.0

They call it being sucked into a vortex. And they call this a trail family. My time in Hot Springs has shown me the true spirit off the trail. We all joke about getting off the trail and just living here by the river bank. That doesn't sound like such a bad idea to me.My day started at the Laughing Heart Hostel, a stones throw away from the trail. I spent the day there yesterday zeroing out. As the day went on, plenty of familiar faces began to roll in. When I arrived on Wednesday at around 8pm there were only a few people around. I met Snail Pace, a Sobo hiker, who had been at the hostel for 3 days and is staying here through the Easter weekend. The managers, Tie and Solo, were out to dinner with some friends who own a hostel up in Maine. Snail Pace was left to show people around and set up rooms for the couple while they were out. I decided to tent out back, and figured that to be the cheaper option. The next morning, I found that there was a work for stay option. Many hikers stuck around to help clean and do landscaping work, in exchange for a free nights stay. I decided to zero out Thursday and do some work around the hostel to get rid of the charge.There was a storm headed in on Thursday night, so the hostel filled up pretty quickly. Even more faces lured in, and soon, I knew almost everyone in the hostel. There were about 20 hikers there. Snail Pace, and a few other hikers cooked up a big batch of goulash, salad and pizzas for all of the hungry hikers. The food in the kitchen of the hostel was all free. Every Tuesday someone from the local church dropped off a shipment of fresh food for the hikers. We cooked ourselves a feast and all ate together. There were movies on the tv in one bunk room, and a crowd of hikers on the back porch reuniting with friends. It was like being at a family dinner at your grandmother's house. We all laughed and ate until there was no more room, then we are more. Tie and Solo wandered throughout the hostel, like mom and dad, watching over the hikers and making sure everyone had everything they needed. That night, I put the hammock up in some trees out on the property and decided to ride out the storm. It never really came full force, but there was some wind that came with heavy rain. I was grateful to be able to fall asleep eating trail mix seeing as I was camping in someone's backyard, and not in black bear country. I woke up around 8 and grabbed a cup of coffee. Some hit the trail, and others stayed to help clean. As I sat on the porch drinking coffee with Snail Pace, he told me a little bit about his life and everything that brought him out here. He gave me the sad news that his hiking partner, his dog Bo had to be euthanized the day before due to a heart condition. I could feel his sadness at the loss of this pal and sensed that enjoyed being able to talk to someone about it. A truck pulled up the driveway and a man got out looking to recruit the help of a few hikers. This man, Pete, owned an inn down the road and was good friends with Tie and Solo. I worked it out so that my work for stay would consist of helping Pete down at his inn. Tie gave me some change for laundry down the road, and a Tide Pod. She wished me luck and I was on my way.In a way, Tie and Solo were very much the trail parents to this ragtag group of smelly hikers. A lot of us out here are younger people, so I think they take on the responsibility to see that the hikers are healthy, but well behaved as well. They were both in their late 50's, maybe early 60's, and you could sense that they knew the spirit of the trail. They never told us their personal experiences out on the trail, but the way they carried themselves, it was obvious that they had spent a great deal of time catering to it. They were both very quiet and kind people, but had a stern approach that you didn't want to disappoint. They were well respected by everyone who came through their doors. The hostel had an incredibly "homey" vibe to it, and this was due completely to the love that this couple put into it. I headed off into town to throw in a load of laundry, and then headed over to the Magnolia Inn, where Peter, Snail Pace and Optimistic Dreamer were waiting for my help.After about 40 minutes of work, I went back to grab my laundry. Handles was there and invited me just down the road to the campground his family was staying at for the Easter weekend. I guess when I go back and look at it, this was the beginning of the vortex.