Date: 2018-06-08
From: Campsite North of Pine Grove State Park

To: Backpackers campground in Boiling Springs
Miles today: 16.5

DAY 94Nice cool, dry night last night.  We slept with no fly on the tent so we could see the sunset and stars.  Plenty of bugs, so I¢m thankful for all the no-see-um netting.  As soon as we climbed into our bags last night we heard footsteps in the leaves  and saw a deer just outside our tent. The crinkling of my air matters startled him, and he bounded several feet away.  He stood and watched us for some time, craning his neck and pawing at the ground wondering what we were. Because our mileage has been so good the last couple of days we are ahead of where we thought we would be, so we decided to try to make Boiling Springs today, and then try to get a few more miles tomorrow before we have to leave for home. We have plenty of dinners left but no lunches, so our plan was to hike into the Green Mountain Store about six miles down the trail and have lunch. The trail is very smooth today and mostly flat, so we made good time to the store where we met Cannonball and Wheat doing the same thing.  It was before 11:00, but we had lunch  anyway.The afternoon hike was a little more challenging as we had some rocky terrain in an area they call the rock maze.  It¢s basically a rocky ridge that navigates around some rocks and over others. The maze slowed us some, but once we got over that we started down into the Cumberland gap. We cruised into boiling springs navigating the cornfields for the last mile or so hoping to get a shower before the the town pool closes. We arrived at the turnoff to the free camping area and decided to try and get a shower and something to eat before we set up.The town pool allows you to shower for 2 dollars, and this is a price we gladly paid to get cleaned up after a hot sweaty day.  We took turns showering and watching the packs then decided to head  over to the tavern for dinner.  When we arrived they were very busy, so we decided to try to find seats at the bar.  As we started to enter we were told to leave our packs outside, which is what we planned to do but were inquiring where they wanted us to put them where they would be safe. We were told to leave them up against the building behind the shrubs. Not a great spot, but at least people wouldn¢t mess with them.  When we entered the bar we found two vacant seats but they weren¢t together.  Suddenly a table opened up and we asked if we could have it and were told the tables were all reserved, and that they were busy and we should check out front.  When we inquired out front if they had any seats we were told there was nothing available.  No offer to put our names on the list, so we got the feeling we really weren¢t welcome. We grabbed our stuff and headed down the street to the pizza shop where we had a couple of sandwiches.  We couldn¢t get a beer though as the only place in town with beer was the tavern. After dinner we walked back to the camping area to set up our tent.   Once again, just like on the trail, there is lots of poison ivy. So we chose our site carefully.  Cannonball, Wheat, Fluff, and several other hikers are all here tonight. Hopefully we will get some sleep as the bugs are bad and the train tracks run right by the site.  We have already had several trains go by this evening.  Tomorrow will be our last day hiking before we go home for some family commitments.  It should be a short flat day