Date: 2018-07-25
From: Hot Springs

To: Log Cabin Road
Miles today: 16.3

Today we slept in until about 7:30. I think we deserved it after our hike yesterday. We headed out to Log Cabin Road, which is a really crappy, washed out road for the last little section before the parking area. I was nervous driving down it in our rental car - a ford fusion! hahahaIt wasn't my best day ever. It was super humid and a bit too warm, and I realized that I had left the elevation profile in the other car. For those of you who don't know (which is most of you) seeing/checking the elevation profile and how far we've gone/have to go is sometimes the only thing that keeps me sane while hiking these long days. So, there we were, hiking, and things suddenly get steep, but I'm wondering how steep and for how long, but I don't know. Sweat is pooling up from my scalp and dripping down my face, my nose, my neck, even my arms were dripping with sweat. My legs are tired from yesterday's long miles. My hiking poles keep slipping on the slope. The sky is overcast and threatens rain. And about halfway up the first uphill I let Count go ahead of me so I could cry .But then he was far up the hill and looking like he was just out walking for a casual Sunday stroll. Frustration doesn't seem a strong enough word for how I felt about my lack of speed and strength and how sweaty I get. I was sick of being tired and sweating and face planting into spider webs and bugs flying into my ears. I started swearing at everything. Then I got to where Count was waiting for me and I totally broke down sobbing. Like I needed to lose any more fluids. I thought how odd it is to be a 40 year old woman sobbing. I never thought that adults cried when I was a kid. How wrong I was. How very wrong. Anyway, Count just stood there until I was done and he said, "Okay?" I took a shaky breath and nodded and he turned away to hike on. I told him that because he is my husband he had to comfort me and hug me. He didn't think I'd want one because it was too warm. Awww.We hiked on, him ahead of me still. I knew I had to change my bad outlook, so I prayed for strength and breath and a whole bunch of stuff, but that didn't really seem to do much. Then I decided that when I got too tired or saw something interesting I'd take a picture. The going was slow, but my temper shifted and then the sun came out.We ate lunch at Spring Mountain Shelter. It smelled weird, had a hole in the floor and there were mouse droppings all over the picnic table. It was one of the dingiest shelters we've been to. The best part is that I had 4G there and downloaded the elevation profile to my phone. YAY!!! I texted my mom, sister, and BFF and read 2 emails from hom.We had one more big uphill, but there was a firetower at the top, so I had a goal.There was a road that went to the top, but we had to take a woods trail that was steeper, of course. There was horse manure and hoof prints for the mile or so up to the firetower. There were warnings on the trail marker to the firetower that most of the stairs were gone, but if you can hike the AT, you can probably climb it. We went up to it anyway and were pleasantly surprised to find a completely rebuilt fire tower. We spent some time there watching clouds move past us. The rest of the day was mostly non-eventful. We ran into Cloud and Rain near a man-made pond. There was a huge tree blocking the trail in one section - right after we we saw a tiny box turtle :) Also after we saw Cloud, I stopped to pee and saw a bear with two little cubs! YAY!!! Finally - bears!!The climb down into Hot Springs was fairly treacherous and my feet were killing me by that point. It was all loose rock and fairly steep with lots of switchbacks. We did see a lizard and heard several others run into the brush as the side of the trail. At the bottom we walked along the extremely wide and powerful French Broad River. The sun reflected off the water and it was blinding.We walked through Hot Springs and stopped at the Doller General where we each got a Fanta and a Milky Way and two Gatorades.We are now at the Bear Den at Hemlock Hollow Hostel. It is pretty cute. We are in a cabin right next to a creek. My feet are aching even though I had them in the creek for a while. I have one blister that is pretty annoying. :( Time to read and sleep...