Date: 2011-04-16
From: Standing Bear Hostel

To: Standing Bear Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Day 26 - It rained hard all night, pounding the tin roof. I could not tell if the wind was blowing as the flowing creek was the predominate sound. I was in a dilemma, do I start hiking in the rain or do I wait until it stopped. I went to the store, bought 3 eggs for a $1.00 and a roll of summer sausage and fixed my breakfast. I forgot to mention that Standing Bear does have an internet shack, where you could log on for 15 minutes for $1.00. If you ever wonder where one of the original 1980 PCs went after it was thrown out, I now know. But heck, it still worked and it was nice to have. I checked the weather report and it was not good. There was 90% chance of rain all day, in the low 40's that night with wind. I know I am suppose to be roughing it but sometimes better judgment comes into play (unlike later on in the day). Kathie, my oldest sister, had told me about Max Patch which I would cross and I wanted to do that when it was clear so I could enjoy the view. I had to make a decision because if I wanted to keep my bed in the cabin I had to commit to another night. I recalculated my mileage to Hot Springs and decided it would be ok in taking a zero day. Certainly, my feet applauded this decision. Thirty minutes after I committed to stay the sun broke out and it turned into a lovely spring day, cool breeze and would have been a great day to hike. Hey, can't look back so I tried to make the most of it. I have taken over 350 pictures so I spent time going through those so I can load them onto this journal once I am back home for Easter. I even got in a 20 minute power nap which also was good. Toward late afternoon, the discussion around the hostel was "who wants to go into Hartford and get dinner and have some adult beverages?¢ Having been completely isolated at Standing Bear all day and in an attempt to be somewhat social with the other hikers I decided to go. As soon as I climbed into the 10 person van containing 14 hikers (11 of which were under the age of 30) I knew I probably had made a mistake. We arrived at Hartford and the restaurant was closed but they would still sell adult beverages. I went across the road to the establishment where I had gotten my pork sandwich yesterday and ordered a hamburger. I was led to believe that everyone was going to enjoy their refreshments, sitting on the back porch of this restaurant and enjoy the view of the Pigeon River. Wrong again, for the second time on this road trip. I ate my hamburger, drank one beer and thought we would head back to the hostel. Nope, everyone now wanted to go to a Mexican restaurant in Cosby whose ownership is somehow related to Curtis' wife. Ok, so we loaded up the van and drove 15 minutes to Cosby. One side comment, I have never seen so much Pabst Blue Ribbon beer purchased and consumed in all my life. I had no idea that people still drank that brand but it is very, very popular with the younger hikers. I guess it is due to its price point, certainly not for the taste. We arrived at the Mexican restaurant and since one never should turn down the opportunity to eat, I ordered some nachos and drank one more beer and gave the other four away. Maybe an hour later, we piled back into the van. One the way back we passed a bar with the flashing neon sign that said "live music on Saturday night.¢ Oh my¢it was Saturday night so the van made a right turn into the parking lot. It was a nice bar but most of the younger crowd did not go into the bar. Afterwards, it was very apparent that they had elected to stay in the parking lot partaking of a recreational drug and feeling no pain! I was completely out of my element as we climbed back into the van to return! Once we returned to Standing Bear I immediately went to the cabin, as the others headed to the barn to have a s©ance and do whatever they had been doing. I was very thankful to arrive safely back and knew I had overextended my stay. I had repacked most of my pack during the day as my intent was to hit the trail as early as I could on Sunday morning. I believe my future zero days will be in a hotel with a TV, flushing toilets and walking distance to wherever I want to go. I am getting wiser.