Date: 2003-06-08
From: Walnut Mountain Shelter

To: Sunnybank Inn (Elmer's) Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: scattered clouds

As I heaved my pack up to head out at 7 this morning, Toby said, ¢You¢re on the Elmer¢s Express¢.¢Yeah ¢ what time do they quit serving breakfast?¢ I responded. He laughed ¢ no way would I hike the 13.1 miles that fast!It might as well have been raining today for as much as I enjoyed the sunshine. A thickness permeated the air, drenching my hair and coating my skin, causing the spiderwebs to cling that much more tenaciously. For the first hour and a half my pants were wet thigh-high due to the severely overgrown grass and bushes. Between that and the tree branches I had to lumbo under (no small ab workout with a 35 pound pack!) I had to wonder where the Trail maintainers were!Still, it could have been raining and much more unpleasant, I reminded myself. And besides I was making good time.I stopped once at Deer Park Mountain Shelter to eat a snack. Hark; a SOBO was approaching ¢ sounded like a psycho SOBO, so I eyed my Smith and Wesson knife.¢Well, Praise the Lord!¢ a man was saying at the top of his lungs. ¢Says you were born on February 29, 1881. You couldn¢t have been, old boy, ¢cuz 1881 wasn¢t a leap year! Died 1966, He was 85 years old. Right here¢s his wife, died quite a few years earlier. Must¢ve been livin¢ in these here hills, and wanted to be buried next to his wife. Now there¢s a love story right thar! But he wasn¢t born on February 29, 1881, his son or whoever buried him must¢ve got mixed up. Lord bless you too.¢A normal-looking man soon rounded the bend, followed by a normal-looking daughter and wife. I would have thought for sure the man was alone and talking to himself. We exchanged information about the shelter and water sources and I packed up and headed north.Man, there is nothing so annoying as having to hike uphill when you know the elevation is significantly lower where you are going than where you¢re starting from. Soon enough though I reached the spot where it was indeed ¢all downhill from here.¢ I rounded a bend and heard the sounds of the highway. Next I glimpsed the town of Hot Springs through the trees below me. It looked like a Fisher Price town of little people, Monopoly houses, Matchbox cars and postage stamp fields. Around another bend and another glimpse I wanted to be there so bad I wanted to just throw myself down the hill. I recalled my friend James and how much he reveled in anticipation; so I tried to just enjoy the moment.And I was there! I made it ¢ in six hours, too, with a half-hour stop! Great time. I found a note from Hal ¢ that¢s so exciting to have a note awaiting you! ¢ with directions to Elmer¢s and proceeded into town to find my way.Things that jumped out at me: A single-wide with a sign in front, ¢Smoky Mountain Family Salon.¢ A camouflage pick-up that read ¢Hot Springs Fire Department¢.I giggled with delight and walked into town.Hot Springs is situated directly on the Trail. Before the 1900¢s it was a spa-resort town. Elmer¢s is an awesome Victorian style boarding house, where Elmer lives and takes in hikers and tourists (Hikers pay $15/night, tourists $50). Elmer also owns a farm, and grows all the food he serves for breakfast and dinner ¢ all vegetarian.When I arrived, no one was in sight. I walked around to the back door, as instructed by a note left on the front, and was welcomed in by another note. So I walked in still no one to be found. So I explored a little.I felt like such a clod in my heavy hiking boots, backpack and dirty clothes! The house is FILLED with antiques and curios, wood floors, wainscoting, ancient wallpaper, the works. I discovered a porch off the front (a sign on the screen door said, ¢Please no more than 6 on the porch at a time.¢) and sat down to soak it all in. It reminded me of our arrival at the resort we stayed in on safari in Kenya ¢ so awesome it brought tears to my eyes.Before long Steve and Andy walked up, Ann and then Hal appeared. We scurried off to do some errands at the outfitters, tiny ¢gift store¢ convenience store (the grocery store is completely closed ALL DAY on Sunday!), and etc. I scheduled myself a massage at the Hot Springs Spa, visions of the Napa Valley dancing in my head.With only an hour to get cleaned up I rushed back to Elmer¢s to shower and change. I ate the mango I¢d bought while walking down the street ¢ what a mess! ¢ and when I got to the spa was suddenly very conscious of my dirty toenails and hairy legs.Well, it wasn¢t the Napa Valley (I guess it could compare to some of the older spas in Calistoga), but as soon as I walked into the trailer (!) my massage was to take place in, the familiar smell of massage oil set me at ease. Gabriel did a very good job ¢ I have a little higher standard, being a therapist myself, but it was great to treat myself. Afterwards Hal met me to sit in the hot tub, which also was great on our Trail-weary muscles!Then back to Elmer¢s to get ready for dinner. It started with the bell ringing and the fourteen of us assembling around a long table in the narrow informal dining room ¢ crammed with knick knacks and etc. Each place was already set with bowls of soup and as the homemade whole wheat bread was passed around, we each introduced ourselves. Our instructions were to state our name, where we were from, what we did before the hike, our plans post-hike, and then to answer the question of the day [invented] by the cook (who by the way was a boy in his late teens or early twenties! Elmer presently has two helpers, both young guys, one who had previously thru-hiked). Paul (I think was his name) the cook asked if we could pick one musician to listen to for the rest of our lives who would it be? Aside from the three staff there was a husband and wife and twelve year old daughter there from Atlanta. The rest of us were hikers.Dinner, served at 8, consisted of four courses ¢ each of which could easily have been a satisfying meal in itself. A carrot-ginger soup (supreme!), garden fresh salad with tahini vinaigrette dressing (magnificent), pasta with a curried vegetable peanut sauce (delicious!) and carrot spice cake for dessert (very good!). We had all weighed ourselves on the scale on the back porch that afternoon, so we went back out after dinner to see what the damage was. We were all exclaiming how good everything was and how full we were. I chimed in, ¢I had seconds on everything except the dessert!¢ ¢Why didn¢t you have seconds on dessert?¢ Hal asked. ¢They didn¢t offer!¢ I said. They all laughed.Everyone split up to explore the house. The guys hung out on the porch upstairs, some lunged in the reading room, Anne and I tinkered on the piano in the music room, and others browsed the miles of books (lots on the AT!) and pictures in the hallways.Some of us took a walk back into town to check out the pub, but the town is so small even that was closing down at 10:30 or 11 PM! No matter, we needed to walk off that dinner!