Date: 2011-05-06
From: Gay Tours and Ham Hocks

To: Hot Springs, TN
Miles today: 0.0

I have decided to take a zero day here in Hot Springs. There is a large group of hikers here, and the vast majority are headed out tomorrow. There are several among them that I find I enjoy keeping pace with, so I'll hang around and enjoy a town dinner and some down time. Besides, it's been raining again, and frankly I just don't want to have to deal with rain today after the past two days. I was cold, wet and miserable, and so was Tessa. It took me a full day to dry out my things. and I just don't want to get wet again quite yet. Tomorrow, rain or shine, I'm outta here, but today I'm going to just chill out.Yesterday was a beautiful day for hiking, and I made 13 miles in good time. It felt great, especially after the two days before. The day before was spent, as you know, hunkering down in my sleeping bag against the cold as I waited for my things to dry. Not a fun day at all. It was bitterly cold, but one thing I did that makes me happy is to photograph a few plants iced with frost. I think the photos came out rather well, but you be the judge.May 4th was a pretty amazing day. The early part of my hike was phenomenal. The day was just gorgeous, the weather cool and mild. Cool is great for hiking, because you get a pace going that warms the body enough that the feeling is perfect. I made great time, and I spent several hours hiking through some of the most beautiful scenery I've seen so far: Max Patch. Look it up online and you'll see that it's really a lovely place. I was so full of joy at the perfection of the day that I danced atop that bald, believing myself to be alone. I had my MP3 player on, and I felt so marvelous that I decided to give in to my joy and just dance, backpack and all. I was mortified when I noticed, upon resuming my hike, that there was indeed another person on that bald with me, and he witnessed the whole spectacle. I believe he was quite amused. Later, I sat down in the grass just to soak in the beauty, and my joy turned bittersweet. I thought of Aiden, and how he'll never dance on a mountain or breath in the fresh Tennessee air, and I felt profoundly sad. I had so wanted to share the beauty of the outdoors with him. I wanted to take him camping, as had Pat and I with our own dear children. I was struck by how suddenly pure joy can change to abject sorrow. Life is peculiar, but I tell myself that it's the extremes that give life its richness, both good and bad.Later that afternoon, the weather turned really bad. That's when Tessa and I had to hike in a downpour, and when we reached the shelter it was full. I had to erect my tent during a downpour. Not fun. But I managed to get it done in reasonably good time, and I was feeling pretty proud of myself. I turned to gather Tessa to me and discovered that while I was busy erecting the tent, she was busy rolling in mud. Imagine my delight at this discovery: I'm drenched, cold, and want nothing more than to crawl into my tent and get out of my wet things, and here's my dog, absolutely covered with mud. I groaned, then laughed because what else am I going to do? I picked her up and we went to a stream a little way away and had a bath. Again, big fun in the cold rain. But finally, I got us both reasonably dry, and we crawled into the sleeping bag for the rest of the night. The next day was spent dealing with everything that got wet in the shower, which was almost everything. Thank goodness I keep some warm layers and my sleeping bag in a dry sac, or I think I would have had hypothermia. I'm not sure how cold the temperature sank to, but the plants were covered in frost, and we could see our breath. It was COLD! I could hardly get my fingers to do what needed to be done. I guess that's why I'm so appreciative of a warm, low-key day today. I'm in the Hot Springs Library, using a computer in the Kids' Reading Room. Tessa is asleep. There are about six other hikers here, browsing the Internet too. I may come back and blog a little more, but I haven't eaten yet today and I'm hungry. I'm going to see what can be found in this tiny little town.Pat, I have no signal on my phone or computer, so I am unable to reach you. I'm just glad to have the Hot Springs Library Computer. I'll call you when I can. In the meantime, just know that I love you and miss you and look forward to seeing you soon. Tessa and I will be driving home from Erwin, TN, in time for Jeremy's and Austin's graduations. Hugs and kisses to all.