Date: 2008-03-26
From: Walnut Mtn. Shelter (4260')

To: Duckett House Inn (Hot Springs, NC)
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: broken clouds

I slept great in my tent last night. I had a full belly (4 candy bars last night) and woke up once because I was thirsty and had to go to the bathroom. I slept in a little and then ate 3 oatmeals for breakfast and headed out with Dynamite around 9:30. Someone had left a granola bar and two oatmeal packets at the shelter which I grabbed before I left and I ate the granola. The walk was mostly downhill and pretty relaxed. I stopped at a shelter that was just over 3 miles from Hot Springs to eat some lunch. We were in town around 3 and stopped at the Post Office. I picked up the letter my dad sent that I had forwarded from Fontana which had the maps to Damascus and some cash as well. We then went to the outfitter which was real nice and I bought a nozzle for my camelback and a Ben&Jerry's ice cream bar. Dynamite and I decided to head for the Duckett house Inn and stay there. When we got there there were chickens running/hanging out in the yard with no fence. There were 8 hens I think and a rooster. I asked one of the owners about the chickens later in the night and he said they roam around in the afternoon and don't really wander off and they get a dozen eggs a day from them. Seems pretty worth it, maybe I'll have chickens one day. It definitely got me thinking. We met one of the owners Brian and he showed us around the main house and told us where the bunkhouse was. The main house was really nice and was a bed and breakfast. The bunkhouse was above a small barn and was sufficient for about 4 people. I showered and took inventory of my food and then Dynamite and I ate at the Smokey Mountain Diner. I got pulled pork with mac and cheese, tater tots, and cornbread. It was very good and probably a good think that I wasn't going to shop for food on an empty stomach. I also called Aunt Laurie from their phone and she was going to meet me around 6:30 with Sarah and Isaac who is 1 now. We managed to get all the food and candy we needed from the Dollar General and then back to the bunkhouse. I watched a little ESPN before heading back out to meet Aunt Laurie. I bought a Tracphone (prepaid cell phone) from the Dollar General and I hope to use that instead of phone cards. Aunt Laurie and the gang showed up and we went to the Paddher's Pub for dinner. I got a pulled pork BBQ sandwich with coleslaw and chips and also had Aunt Laurie's salad and some of her crab cakes she didn't want. Isaac is very lively and its funny to watch him interact and communicate. Aunt Laurie and Sarah seem to have a good grasp of what he wants from the different sounds and movements he makes. It was good to see them all as I don't get to that often and it was really nice of them to come see me. I showed Aunt Laurie where I had been the past couple days on some maps she had and she left me with beer and a bunch of goodies. They dropped me back off and we said goodbye and I went into the main house where Dynamite and another hiker named Snoopy were hanging out. I shared my goodies with them as I was too stuffed to eat them all myself and we watched the Suns Celtics basketball game, South Park, and Lewis Black's new show which was not very good. The owners joined us as well. I went to bed around 11 something.