Date: 2015-05-04
From: Deer Park Mountain Shelter

To: Sunnybank Inn, Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 3.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 22 - Is Elmer's place a hostel? A house? An institution??Had a lot of trouble getting to sleep last night. Probably a combination of things like anticipating town, the extra food I ate for late lunch and supper, and/or a whip-poor-will who was stuck on repeat for a couple hours at least. Must have called thousands a thousands of times. I even got out of the hammock for a bit to stretch and stand. Didn't want to walk around too much as I didn't want to creep anyone out if they heard me passing their tents.Turns out that Trail Chef and I are sharing a room here. He's not eating supper here because he saw "all that food sitting out all day, and as a chef I see that as a recipe for disaster." Well, okay then.Not much to say about my short hike today except that I saw my first blooming Mountain Laurel of the season. It's on the blog now.First thing here was to get a shower. Then laundry, where the change machine was broken. So I tried a couple shops that all just happened to be all out of quarters. Eventually got 2 from another hiker so I could start the wash and figured I'd try the bank after they re-opened from lunch break. But an attendant showed up and fixed the change machine, so I was good to go.Oh, actually, between the shower and laundry was the all-important pint of butter pecan ice cream from the "Hillbilly Market." Also picked up a couple pens and a card to send home. Went to the outfitter and asked if here was a recommended fix for leaking Sawyer water bags. The guy said, '"No. That's why they sell them in packs of 3." (I still figure there must be some hot glue repair or something.) Anyway, I bought a new set. And a microfiber camp towel to replace the thing I brought from home. That one was not only water repellent, but last night in an attempt to protect the brand new picnic table I laid it under my stove ... and melted a large hole in it. The towel, not the table.I ended up at the public library here in town, trying and trying to get some photos onto my blog. Wanted to show Harry and others what the hammock looks like. Tried first from my phone over their wi-fi, which was painfully slow. then I thought dinner here at Sunnybank was at 5:00, so I ran back to discover that it's scheduled for 7:00. Back to the library (which closes at 6:00). This time I plugged the phone into one of their laptops. It turns out their bandwidth is just really narrow, and the connection gets even slower when there are more people on it. So finally in the last 15 minutes before they closed, I was about the only one left on the computers and got 3 photos uploaded and a short bit of text written for the blog post.When I got back here to the Inn I decided to call my parents and say hi. In response to a birthday greeting I texted my brother yesterday, he said that he'd showed our parents some of the blog photos. So they've seen a bit of this, and now heard from me.Elmer, the owner here, is not at all as I'd imagined him. he's about 78, short hair, looks kind of like a retired minister which, according to a framed newspaper clipping I read, he is in a way. Early on he was a Methodist chaplain at Duke. Which was why he knew "Concordia." Then he started an organic whole foods restaurant somewhere in North Carolina. And then he came here 30 years ago. Told me Earl Shaffer was the first thru-hiker to stay here when it was still a rooming house. I had imagined him a decade or two younger, with a ponytail, some sort of retired hippie. The bookshelves here are filled with Buddhist and Daoist books, which could make for interesting reading if I had the time.I guess I'll be one my way in the morning as soon as I am packed and breakfasted. The next shelter's 14.2 from town, which is about what I want to average to get to Damascus in time to see Ann. No, wait, there are shelters at 11 and at 19.6 miles ... where did I get that 14.2? I may end up in the woods somewhere in between those shelters. We'll see. Sometimes it's all about making adjustments as you go.[later] Turns out supper wasn't at 7:00 after all. I was sitting in the living room reading, and waiting for the dinner bell to be rung. And waiting. And finally went to check, did I not hear it? Ah, no. The sign board had been changed to read 'No supper tonight.' Well, shucks! Fortunately a nearby restaurant was still open and could make a pizza and salad for me. I think I closed them down. So I didn't get any of Elmer's vegetarian fare tonight, about which I'd been thinking for miles.averaging 12.48 miles per day at this point