Date: 2013-03-31
From: Johnson City, TN residence

To: Elmer's Sunnybank Inn
Miles today: 5.9

(In which I return to Hot Springs, nero out, and return again)I get everything packed up early Sunday morning. Brad is not going to the Sunday dance, but Christi is going. She picks me up at Brad's house and gets me over to Elk Park. Today's dance is a nice conclusion to the weekend. In his thanks today, Warren mentions me and mentions that he is pleased to see me simultaneously on a long distance hike and stopping to attend so many dances. Following this, some folks I had not yet interacted with introduce themselves to me. I make acquaintance with some folks from further north along the Trail. Additionally, Warren has found someone returning to Asheville that can drop me off back at Hot Springs.Owen is my ride back to Hot Springs. Initially I thought I would be getting a ride to the Hot Springs exit and then hitchhiking back to town, but he is bringing me straight to Hot Springs. I suggest I will get some snacks at a gas station when he stops to fill up, and when I mention this he moves further along to a gas station near a Walmart. It takes me longer than I would have liked to do a small resupply here. Owen drops me off later near Elmer's Sunnybank Inn. I was hoping to stay here on Thursday night before leaving for the dance weekend, as I have heard it is a great spot. However, I am glad I stayed at Laughing Heart Hostel on Thursday, as that wound up being a great place. If Chuck and Tigger continue running that hostel, I would encourage hikers to try spending time there and at Elmer's.Since today is Easter, Elmer is not cooking dinner tonight. This lets me realize an earlier plan to do a 6-mile slack pack between Hot Springs and Tanyard Gap, then walk or hitch back down the road to Hot Springs. I take most of my gear out of my pack, leaving in my camera and some food and water. I am leaving town to start hiking after 1800. The Trail crosses the highway bridge outside of town, hops the guiderail, and runs along the French Broad River for a little while. I find City Slicka camped out along the river, waiting for a friend to join him for a few days. We update each other on how we fared since our last meeting, and especially how we fared with the blizzard.The Trail turns back on itself and begins to climb the ridge. There is one feature of note on this climb listed in the guidebook - Lovers Leap Rock. I reach it and find it a nice site for a couple photos. Views are provided back onto Hot Springs out across the river, and the foreground provides interest with a blackened tree clinging to the edge of the rock. I am overtaken by a couple day hikers, who inquire if I am out for a long hike. That is the case in no uncertain terms. I depart uphill, and find the actual Lovers Leap Rock as identified by the terminus of its side trail. This rock is a narrow overhang extending through the hillside trees, but it is not substantial enough to provide the view afforded by its nameless counterpart downhill.I finish the climb and the Trail becomes gentle. Now it descends slightly and while I am in this section it starts raining. For a while it is barely a sprinkle, but it quickens my pace. With barely 10 pounds in my pack, I am able to hold a steady and fast pace, even on a gentle climb. Eventually the rain goes from sprinkling to showering and I reach for my rain jacket. I approach what looks like a bridge from below and thing this is a road the Trail joins with. I climb up to its level and am surprised to find it is a dam with a full pond behind it.I am still listening to music as I reach the pond, but can easily hear the spring peepers over the music. When the album I am listening to ends, I ditch the music in favor of the peepers. Here at this pond they are deafening. Most of them emit a straightforward peep, while some meep and I can hear a few individuals that let out a string of trilling notes. I set up a long exposure photo of the pond and let my senses be flooded with the moment while my camera scrapes up the twilight's few remaining photons. Afterward I follow the Trail along the shore of the pond. I zero in on the sound of a peeper right on the path, and take video of a couple of them calling out their notes. They stay put in my headlight and do not shy away from me.The Trail climbs away from the pond, across an open grassy area. At this point it is absolutely dark and my world is limited to what is in my headlamp. I am not sure how big this field is, but I climb up through it to the road. In the past the Trail has followed many forgotten woods roads, but now it follows an active road for over a mile. I can hear a distant vehicle and watch its headlights flicker through the trees for a long time before it is upon me. The old, ragged sounding truck is going the other direction. I wonder what they think on encountering a hiker on this road at this hour. Neither of us stop - I nod my head and the truck revs its engine as we pass. Just like two ships on the sea, I think. We pass each other with this subtle acknowledgement far from any other waking human and continue on our ways.The Trail leaves the road and winds along a hillside for a while before reaching Tanyard Gap. I am briefly back on the gravel road to cross the highway on an overpass. Here is where I wrap up for the day. I pick my way down to the highway alongside the bridge pier and turn toward town. There is no way I am trying to hitchhike at night and town can't be too far. I am in no rush to get back, and set out walking down the road. At first I am using my headlamp but after a while I wonder if I need it. There is only the faintest ambient light with the overcast sky, but it turns out to be enough.The sky is separate from the ground, and the sky's light reflects off the wet road surface. The stripes on the road are retroreflective - that is, the less light is available the better they reflect it - and are easily visible. I walk along the shoulder line. Cars approaching me from the front are heralded by their headlights shining from around curves, lighting up the trees along the road. Cars behind me illuminate the backs of my hands and hiking poles before I can even hear their approach. No traffic is the case for most of the walk. It is relaxing to walk along the road with only the faintest of light. I don't know how far I have walked or have yet to walk, but I know I will get there.When cars are approaching me, I turn on my headlamp. This is not for my sake but for theirs - I don't want them to startle when they suddenly illuminate a walker that had been concealed by darkness. After a while, an approaching car stops beside me. The elderly driver suggests I would like a ride into town instead of this rough night walk. I didn't mind the walk but appreciate the offer. John, a New Yorker, is down visiting family. He personally knows two folks that have thru-hiked - one of those his daughter. He brings me into town and drops me off at Elmer's.I am thrilled to have gotten a free ride at night without even hitchhiking. I am pleased to have taken care of six miles of Trail on what I thought would be my third consecutive zero. It is after 2200 now, and tomorrow I leave Hot Springs for good. Breakfast here is at 0830 so I go to sleep immediately in preparation for these things.Peace,