Date: 2006-04-11
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

After breaking free of the magnet that is Hot Springs, I hiked a strong day to Spring Mountain.It can be hard to get out of a town. Dumps like Gatlinburg send you running as soon as you can, but the small pleasant places entice you to stay. It's always time consuming to get out on the trail, but Hot Springs is a town you don't really want to leave.I was up early enough, before anyone else from last night's fire. I got a good start on my last few errands. Breakfast first at the diner, a small one this time. And of course folks came in and you have to visit. Heald, the perpetual hiker with the smelly dog sat down with me, surprising because he's less social. He's itching to leave but working for a couple of weeks at the outfitter. This guy hates to sit still. Then I had to visit the table with Irish, Natty Bo, Long Haul, Double Shot and a few others. You can't just walk by when 6 guys yell BOULDER.Next laundry. Next finish up my few hundred yards of skipped trail. Can't miss a blaze. Met a new guy at the laundry who I hope catches up. He started talking about being in the least represented age group like me, the 30-somethings.Quick trip to the outfitter took longer than planned. I wanted to get messages out to the gang ahead and check my own. I traded spots with Double Shot to get to the internet faster. Got word out to Monk and Dud. Also got a message from Allen in Key West. Sounds like he's selling the P-town guest house. Didn't get far out the door when the Kentuckies came in from the trail. People asked the same question all morning, "When are you leaving?" All giving in to the zero day urge.There's an old train station scale at the outfitter to weigh both your pack and yourself. I weighed 170 back in January. Now I'm 155. I don't really see the difference but I guess other people do. A woman --- "Hey Baby" at me out her car window. She was barking up the wrong tree but I still liked the complement.After last night's hot spring, AfterBurn was headed back for deep tissue massage. The way he talked about it, I drooled harder than if the conversation was about pizza. He's another marathon runner. So many out here. He'd qualified and run in Boston in '73. Sounds like he did pretty well too, 3hrs 5 min. Saw Long Haul again and swore I'd be out of town by noon. I did break away but not until 2:00 with 11 miles ahead.You're always heading uphill when you leave a town. Today's was a long, big uphill with one thousand foot gain over 2 miles. Some tough hills, but it feels so good to be back and making progress again. I feel myself building up after the 12 days at Standing Bear.Ran into Mud Flap and Daisy, grandparents from Florida, a very nice couple. They too had been drawn into town and had a visit from daughter and granddaughter. We shared Cokes that a nice trail angel left in a stream under a foot bridge. A note said a troll was guarding them.Eleven miles isn't close to my longest days, but after injury, town and late start it was long enough. Shadows got longer and I kept putting miles behind me. Feels great to do that. Today was about moving, climbing, pumping out the effort.Around 6:30 I saw a little tent city and the shelter. Seven people on the hillside, 3 of us thru-hikers. That means that only 5 of us, including Mud Flap and Daisy, broke free from the Eden that is Hot Springs.Long Haul made it out. Tall and in mid-20s, he's one of the people less concerned with the trail party atmosphere and more with the trail itself. This far into the trip lots of the less serious have dropped out. That doesn't mean that many of the serious aren't celebrating every chance they get. All hiking their own hikes.Ozzie was here as well. We've been crossing paths since Fontana Dam, the night Bush Whacker and I quickly broke camp to hike the last 3 miles in the dark with JP and RoadRunner. I met up with him again at Standing Bear. He was injured 3 days later and also took a week off trail. His wife dropped him in town this morning. We visited until 8:30 with the 4 section hikers, late night by our standards. Fun people, a father with college aged son and a brother/sister team. All were interested in our pursuit. I encouraged them all to try it as I do with everyone who shows a spark of interest. It's a good mix of misery and ecstacy. A good life.