Date: 2020-06-20
From: Max Patch

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 19.8

The sunrise peepers started stirring in their tents on Max Patch around 5:30. I slipped out of my warm(ish) sleeping bag reluctantly, wondering if I shouldn't have gotten up in the middle of the night to see the stars. Most nights I'm under forest cover so I shouldn't pass up these opportunities just to spare myself a few minutes' chill. The sun rose out of a low cloud over the mountains, but still impressively streaked the entire horizon with pastel rainbow hues. Mountains took on multiple hues and clouds blazed with color as the orange globe began its arc across the sky.The tent, of course, was soaked with condensation, the price of camping in a grassy meadow even at 4600 feet. It got stuffed in a sack to be dealt with later. Breakfast was washed down with iced tea, as I'd dropped a tea bag in my water bottle last night. Goes down easier for me than Plain Old Water (tm).It was twenty miles to Hot Springs and we had an early start. We wound through the tent city, across hilly meadows, and back into the forest. It was well-beaten dirt path that rose and fell gently, followed the contour of hills, stepped across rocky streams, and was hedged in by dense ground vegetation. At Walnut Mountain shelter I noticed my tea bag had exploded, making my water filter work overtime to keep the tea leaves from reaching my lips. Sunshine happened to have a tiny strainer that fit the mouth of my bottle. I'll have to work out the kinks on this tea steeping. Passed a number of weekend backpackers, as well as a foursome of fathers and sons we had met at Standing Bear yesterday, now hiking back there from Hot Springs. They'd climbed 2000 feet to the summit of Bluff Mountain that morning. Which meant I had a long downhill to look forward to. During intermittent cell service I got word that the pool pump back home was busted. Of all the difficulties in preparing for a thruhike at this stage in life perhaps getting ahead of home maintenance is one of the most unpredictable. Something is bound to go wrong no matter how carefully you plan. I don't like to put my wife in the position of having to deal with these often frustrating situations. I'm usually the one banging my head on the wall.The weather was near perfect today with partly cloudy skies and gentle breezes. The temperature and humidity began to rise in the afternoon. It would near 90 in town later. After many miles of often steep downhill I emerged on the outskirts of Hot Springs at the door of Laughing Heart Hostel. I found Sunshine down the road at the first restaurant, Bluff Mountain Diner, eating a twenty-ounce burger on the porch. I inhaled a huge iced tea and dug into my own colossal pile of beef fajitas. By the time I got down to the outfitter and tried out their scale I was at my starting weight again. Must have put five or six pounds on in the last hour. Well, at least I'm not starving!I'd gone to the outfitter to look for a package that was supposed to have arrived today - a new, and lighter, backpack to replace my care-worn Osprey Exos. But it has been delayed. The post office doesn't open until Monday, two days from now, so I'll have to make some calls and have it bounced ahead to another trail town. Oh well. Shipping these days has been completely unreliable. What should take 2-3 days takes a week, and tracking is notoriously misleading. I'll have to target a town far enough ahead to be sure it beats me there.We settled in at Laughing Heart hostel. It's a comfortable and hospitable place with only four guests tonight. I had visited Elmer at the Sunnybank Inn to see if he was taking guests. In addition to providing lodging in his huge, rambling Victorian full of books, antiques, and instruments, he makes gourmet vegan breakfasts and dinners. I found the genteel octagenarian on the porch, and he regretted he wasn't yet open. He hopes to reopen in time for the southbounders this fall. Somehow he seemed to remember me from last spring.Showers and laundry are a wonderful thing. You really appreciate the little things when going without for many days. Feeling clean and fresh, Sunshine and I headed to Dollar General for a decidedly unhealthy resupply. I'm not sure it's possible to resupply there otherwise. Fruit and vegetable options consist of applesauce and fruit juice, and maybe strawberry ice cream. I will have to wait until Erwin in three or four days to visit a real supermarket.Today was Midsommer's Day, the solstice, start of summer, and longest day of the year. By tradition it is also Naked Hiking Day. Sadly, or perhaps not, we forgot about this and so did everyone else. But someone near the hostel did decide to celebrate with a few fireworks. Happy Summer!