Date: 2019-04-10
From: Max patch Rd

To: Garenflo Gap
Miles today: 13.9

I had a difficult time with sleep last night. I woke up at 3 but I had been hot while sleeping so I had taken off my clothes and was just under the sheet. I needed to go pee but I didn't want to get dressed and get all woken up and go out to the bathhouse in order to do that so I just dozed in and out of sleep until a little after 5. I finally got up not able to hold it anymore or be comfortable and I went out to the bathhouse after getting dressed and got myself ready for the day. When I came back to the cabin it was 5 after 6 and I decided to lay back down on my bunk until 6:45 when I would get up pack my bag and wander over to the main building to meet Diane. But I fell asleep and when I awoke it was 5 after 7. I scrambled and threw everything in my bag and as I was walking over to the main building at 10 past 7 Diane was walking toward me to see if I had overslept. I grabbed a sandwich and a banana and an orange juice and settled up with Diane and James and my shuttle driver Mountain John arrived a few minutes early. It took a little over an hour to drive from Allen Gap to Max Patch Road. originally I was going to go to garenflo Gap and hike South to Max Patch Road and have John pick me up there but it was better for his schedule to bring me to Max Patch Road in the morning and he discounted the fair for me. On the drive up we saw a black bear. Oh my. In the end it turned out to be a much better direction to hike because there was less elevation gain hiking North then there would have been hiking South. I hiked over Max Patch and stopped to enjoy the beautiful views and the clouds in the valley below. I saw a man camped on the top and a few people camped inside the woods. In my haste this morning I totally failed to prepare myself for today's hike. While I had a bottle of Gatorade that I purchased last night at the store, I only had three snacks in my pouch, a package of crackers, a small bag of peanut M&Ms, and a bag of swedish fish. I had nothing for lunch.I did not have my food bag with me or my tent or sleeping gear because John had dropped all of that stuff off at laughing heart hostel for me where I'd be staying this evening. I drank the Gatorade and ate the M&M's around 10:30 and stopped at a stream and scooped up a liter of water in my nalgene bottle. I continued on a small Ascent with a nice gentle slope and I could smell a campfire. I thought to myself what kind of crazy person would be taking a zero day in the woods and having a campfire on such a gorgeous day? But as I approached my 7 Mile Mark at lemon Gap I soon realized that the campfire was coming from a group of people who were sitting around a pickup truck and a bunch of tables and chairs. It was Trail magic! A Bible study group was out with a full array of food and drink for the hikers, cooking up hot dogs and offering fresh fruit, cookies, sweet tea potato chips and more. Once again I feel like God is watching over me and today he provided me the lunch that I failed to prepare for myself. Trail magic still makes me emotional, and I was telling this to the lady who cooked my hot dogs and she said that she completely understood. It was an amazing hike today. After lunch I had an ascent and descent before climbing Big Bluff Mt and my final descent to Garenflo Gap. I arrived a half hour earlier than I told John despite my relaxing at lemon Gap with the trail magic. But I had texted John at 2 to let him know and we arrived at the Gap at exactly the same time. I met his girlfriend Rose and together they dropped me at the hostel and introduced me to the caretaker Tigger who had been keeping my gear safe in her private quarters until my arrival. She showed me to the bunk room but I immediately realized I wouldn't be able to sleep there, so I upgraded to a private room with a twin bed and it is absolutely perfect. I settled in got a shower and did my laundry before heading into town and having a nice steak dinner at the iron Horse station. the live music the food and the beer were all fantastic and it really made me long to have my husband sharing the experience with me. Hot springs is such a great community and I really have enjoyed both of my visits here. after dinner I wandered over to the dollar store to grab a small container of sunblock because I've noticed that I'm getting sun burns on my arms now as well as my face. Not need the whole 3 oz container so I'll squeeze some into one of my empty pill bags and carry that with me to use over the next few days. it's really sinking in now that I have just six hiking days left but I still have anxiety over the Smokey's. Tomorrow I'll want to make it from Max Patch Road to the Davenport shelter which will be a seventeen-mile day with my full pack. So I called and talked with Brian and updated my journal before getting ready for bed at 9. John will pick me up at 8 tomorrow morning and I'm hoping that I can grab some eggs at the diner beforehand.