Date: 2015-04-13
From: Max Patch

To: I 40 at Pigeon river
Miles today: 13.5

Here we are at the Iron Horse Station hotel in Hot Springs, NC after the Iceman hiked today, in the rain, 13.5 miles. He decided to reverse hike, that's called a flip flop. It was easier for him to descend todays mountain than to climb it, so he chose to do the hike that way. He hiked from Max Patch to where he left off on Sunday at Interstate 40, at the place where the bridge crosses the Pigeon River. As he went south he saw some of the hikers he knew including the brothers from Ohio. He also met a 75 year old woman who's carrying a 32lb. backpack. He was amazed! The sherpa picked him up at 3:30, it had been 8 hours since he started, and then proceeded to Hot Springs, NC a drive of about an hour and 30 minutes. If one could have crossed the mountains it would have taken 20 minutes to get to Hot Springs. We passed farms with dairy cows, sheep and goats, landscapes of incomparable beauty and then we saw a bridge that said "Bridges of Madison County" and realized that the movie "The Bridges of Madison County" had been filmed here in this region, one of the most beautiful in our country.   We were in Madison County NC and there were so many bridges across the river that it was impossible to count them all. They're rustic and some look like they're ready to collapse at any moment but they are still in use.   We arrived at our hotel which is in what is called an Appalachian Community town and unloaded our belongings, just what we needed for the next couple of days, and brought them up to our room. The rest of the luggage stayed in the car. The Iceman showered, dressed and then we went to dinner in our hotel which had a restaurant on the first floor and a mighty fine restaurant at that. BBQ ribs with potato salad and collard greens and North Carolina trout with fried green tomatoes and Caesar salad. Everything was good. The hotel is 30 feet from the train tracks and freight trains go through at regular intervals, meaning that we will most likely be awakened at 3am. Thank goodness we both like the sound of trains. At dinner we met Buffy and John at separate times. They both took a course, with the Iceman, at the Appalachian Trail Institute in Mountain City, Tennessee, last November, so it was great to see them and catch up on what was happening with the others from the class, who were also hiking. The two Bavarians, husband and wife, who we met at Fontana Dam, were staying at our hotel, so we had a lot of folks to talk to. (I hope I told you about the Germans. If not I'll tell you tomorrow.) After dinner we retired to our room where upon the Iceman immediately fell asleep fully clothed. I, the Sherpa, had a very nice day and found a beautician who was able to make me look human again. From noon till 1:30 I relaxed and enjoyed pampering and Alexa of Beau Monde Salon and Spa was terrific. Also I would recommend the Best Western Smoky Mountain Inn in Waynesville, NC where they are doing a complete renovation and I believe the place will look just fabulous in a few months. I'm tired also after having gotten up at 6am this morning and will now retire. The Iceman will attempt to do a 20 mile hike tomorrow. We've been told that it's mostly down hill. I sure hope so. This is the town to enjoy a soak in the hot springs and tomorrow I'll try to convince the Iceman that he needs the rejuvenating effects of the hot springs.