Date: 2005-05-24
From: Hot Springs

To: Little Laurel Shelter
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: light rain

Another fabulous day on the trail! This was my highest mileage day since Springer, and my second highest ever. (I did a full 20 miler during my Shenandoah through hike, and that one just about killed me!) What was great was that I felt good all day long, and could have gone further if I'd had to, but there wasn't the need or the time.I got an early start from Elmer's, despite being up late catching up my journal. I was going to skip breakfast, but then I noticed that the Mountain Diner was open, so I hightailed it across the road. Consistent with my string of disappointments with facilities in Hot Springs - missing dinner and breakfast at Elmer's, and not even having a chance to say "hey" to him despite the fact that we were both at Duke at the same time, and missing the post office by 5 minutes and the outfitters by 10 minutes, my breakfast was similarly less than memorable. I ordered coffee, orange juice and a biscuit with sausage gravy. The coffee was ok, the orange juice came in a plasic cup where you tear the lid off, but the biscuit and gravy was a huge disappointment. Of course, my most recent experience with the same dish was one prepared by my intrepid journal transcriber, Shelly Hale, at Trail Days in Damascus. Hers biscuits were huge, melt-in-your-mouth affairs and the gravy had great big chunks of saugage everywhere. The diner's biscuit was small, under-cooked and thus doughy, and the 'gravy' was saugage-flavored but with no evidence of the real stuff. C'est la vie. It was filling enough, so at least I didn't go hungry.My hike led me first through the town, across the bridge over the French Broad River, and then down to the bank of the river itself for a quarter of a mile. At a certain point, however, the inevitable happened - having climbed for several miles DOWNHILL INTO town, I now started the long uphill climb OUT of town. First stop was Lovers Leap, so you just know there has to be a cliff involved. In fact, the first thousand feet up was mostly all rocks and cliffs and the trail was just a tad scary in places - even with two GOOD knees. Whenever I encounter trail sections like that I try to keep in mind that all of my friends have already passed through here successfully. I also follow the climbers principle of three stable point before reaching for the forth point with a foot or hand. It helps a lot, physically and psychologically.Not long after the long climb up from Hot Springs, I got to climb Rich Mountain. My trail guide noted that there was an old fire tower at the top. I hate those kind of mountains. Fire towers, of course were only placed at the top of the highest mountain around - so they could see for a long way, of course, but that means its gong to be another major uphill climb for yours truely.Still, I made the 11 plus miles to the first shelter, Spring Mountain, by 1:30, took off my pack and boots and ate lunch. There were four really nice section hikers there, also taking a break, and about to move on. Peaches (also known as 'Cheese Factory'as a result of certain personal procivities at night in the shelters) was there taking a zero day, and had a really great fire going. It was then decision time for me - stay, relax and enjoy the fire, and take five days to Erwin, or, throw the pack back on and commit myself to another six hours of hiking - an almost 20 mile day. I felt good, and sitting there enjoying a camp fire was not going to get me to Maine. So I put on my pack and moved out.The trail over the next eight plus miles was much easier, having reached cruising altitude, and I reached camp at 7PM, after eleven hours of hiking.The weather was essentially uncertain all day long, unable to make up its mind whether it would rain or be sunny, so it just alternated between beautiful blue skies and dull gray clouds.   At the shelter already were Old School and three really nice section hikers - Karen, Ron, and Andy. Very pleasant conversation and lots of good humored banter. I like people like that.I turned in as early as I could, and didn't last long. But I was really pleased with what I had accomplished. In fact, todays hike is dedicated to - ME. Good Night!Stay tuned, Longhaul