Date: 2006-04-23
From: Walnut Mountain Shelter

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning we were off to a windy and cold hike out of Walnut Mountain Shelter. For the first few miles it was quite chilly but finally we got a break from the wind and the temperature began to warm up. I met up with Salt around Big Rock Springs for a break and really enjoyed the area. Just past the falls was a nice camping spot that I would really like to visit again sometime in the future. While resting at Big Rock Springs Salt and I met up with a guy named Dew. Dew was the section hiker that stayed at Walnut Mountain Shelter last night with us but I never caught his name. I should have though because he coughed excessively all night and entertained us by his hiking style. His style wasn¢t the most high tech by any means. We all finished up our snacks and headed back out on the trail. Just after leaving Dew was hiking right behind Salt and I and took a really nasty fall. He jumped up and said that he was ok and for us not to worry because he had already fallen a few times earlier in the morning and from the looks of the cuts, scrapes, and worn out gear he wasn¢t going to make it far on his journey if he kept this up. Dew kept Salt and I amused until we reached Deer Park Mountain Shelter where we found two old gravesites just off the side of the trail. Wingfoot¢s guidebook mentioned the graves but gave no real explanation or history. After leaving this shelter all that was on our mind was making our way into Hot Springs, NC. All along the long descend into town we could here the sounds of town but had a real hard time making out what was there because all the trees were budding out at the lower elevations and blocking our views. We could however see the outline of the French Broad River as it ran through the edge of town. The river received this named because it flows south to what at that time were known as the French Territories. Salt and I completed our descend and just on the outskirts of town the trail joined a sidewalk that lead us into town. One of the nice things about this section of trail is that the city has painted huge white AT symbols on the sidewalk and road for hikers to follow eliminating the hunt for tiny white blazes in the congestion of town. As we hiked into town Baro and Jane yelled down to us from the porch of Elmer¢s Sunnybank Inn as we walked by. This gave us a chance to catch up with them and to see how everyone else was doing since slitting up at The Standing Bear a couple days ago. We checked for vacancies but Elmer¢s ended up being completely booked so we went down to Hot Springs Campground at the other end of town. The campground is located just across from the famous town spa and along the riverbanks of the French Broad River. Upon checking availability for any open campsites, we noticed that they had several cabins facing the river and decided to rent one of those for the night instead of pitching a tent. We were going to camp with Bright Eyes and a few others but decided it would be better if we could lock pepper up while we were roaming around town. After checking in and getting Pepper settled, I went across the street to the Spa to meet Donkey, Slim, Sage, Bright Eyes, Jane, Baro, and Silverfoot for a soak in the famous ¢Hot Springs¢ that the town is so well known for. Two settlers discovered the springs in 1778 and later it became a tourist destination for many seeking relaxation. The springs have changed a little over the years because now there are actually fiberglass hot tubs to soak in and the guest are charged by the amount of time that they spend in them. Everything worked out great because all of us put in a couple dollars each and piled into one tub making our bill a lot cheaper. After our hour was up the workers at the spa pulled the drain plug on the tub and all of the water drained out in about two minutes. Getting rid of the water that we soak in was a good idea on their part. After the relaxing dip in the spa we all headed down to a restaurant/pub called the Paddlers Pub for dinner. We had missed all of the excitement from the Trail Fest activities this past weekend but we still had a ton of friends in town to hang out with at the pub making up for our loses earlier. Donkey, Gene, Silverfoot, Jane, Gringo, Chardonnay, Cabernet, Jason, Salt, Baro, Marley, Slim, and a few others all met and found out that there were so many people here earlier in the week that about half the items on the menu were sold out. We ended up having a great time and staying out on the patio for a long time just hanging out and talking. Later that night Jane, Baro, Silverfoot, and I went next door to Bridge Street Inn for desert and coffee before calling it a night. I got back to the cabin around 11:15pm to an awesome night¢s sleep in an actual cabin bed with the sound of the French Broad River roaring in the distance. Tonight at Hot Springs Campground: Salt, Pepper, and I