Date: 2017-10-25
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Max Patch
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: broken clouds

There didn't seem much prospect of sugar-coating the task ahead: from Hot Springs, the trail climbed straight up for 3000ft.But it turned out there was actually a way to sugar-coat this, once I realised over breakfast that it was going to be feasible for us to slackpack the 20 miles to Max Patch. Why I hadn't realised this the day before is a mystery to me, but after a couple of phone calls I'd arranged for a local guy to collect our packs from the hostel and meet us at Max Patch around 6pm.Unfortunately Sweetblood and Dirt had already headed up the trail by then but Sriracha, who hung around town to buy a couple more things from Dollar General for the haul across to our next resupply in Gatlinburg, enthusiastically took up the option of carrying a much lighter pack.In truth, the climb out of town was actually OK, thanks in part to the trifecta of a steadily graded trail, chilly temps that made exertion appealing rather than enervating, and also because I'd eaten close to my body weight in classic Southern breakfast stodge, which is the perfect fuel for this kind of activity.In terms of the weather, it seems likely we've transitioned from having warm temperatures with occasional cold spells to the autumnal norm of having chilly conditions with occasional mild temperatures.This is a concern because we still have ahead of us the highest section of the trail, through Great Smoky Mountain National Park, which is notorious for blizzards for the nobo earlybirds and for the sobos of the fall.The silver lining of this is that the autumn colours keep getting better and better. I'd thought the coppery hues as we crossed Firescald mountain were impressive three days before but today the forest was awash in golden leaves.Given we hadn't left town until 9.30am, I was glad it only took four hours to do the 11 miles to the top of the mountain, having caught up with Dirt and Sweetblood near the top. We headed on and had lunch at Walnut Mountain shelter, a dilapidated but atmospheric old lean to which was renown to be the most mouse-ridden on the entire AT.That set us up to take it easier after lunch, since we had about four hours to do nine miles and without any huge climbs along the way.Our goal was Max Patch, which was also known to be one of the nicest balds on the entire AT. After Dirt and I had extolled to Sweetblood, Sriracha and 2am the enjoyment of cowboy camping on top of Beauty Spot a week or so earlier, we were aiming to camp right on top of Max Patch to get the full benefit of the sunset and the following sunrise.The Second Breakfast Club had done this last night but we hadn't yet heard that this came at a cost of freezing their asses off, prompting many midnight regrets. By the time we got to Max Patch, the views were everything they'd been billed to be but the bone-ass cold temperatures and howling wind made it clear that camping on top was not going to be feasible. Instead we headed back down into the treeline and camped on an old abandoned road.Sriracha and I headed to the road, half a mile ahead, to get the contents of our packs and then I reclimbed to the top of Max Patch for the sunset. We all had every single stitch of clothing on and I was only able to last for 30 minutes before uncontrolled shivering began.By then, the sun had set over the Smokies, into which we're heading tomorrow. At least climbing the range is likely to keep us warm.Life is good.AT fact of the day: As this hike nears its completion, we're starting the process of doing things for the last time. Today, for example, the trail through Hot Springs is the last time it goes through a town. Over the next few weeks we'll reach our last state, our last resupply, our last hot shower and then finally our last camp, our last shelter, the last road crossing and then finally the last white blaze. This is a familiar process from the PCT and then CDT, and it serves as a way to adjust -- in as much as one can -- to the looming end of trail life...