Date: 2011-04-10
From: Campsite near the Pigeon River

To: Max Patch, NC
Miles today: 14.6

Everyone woke up around the same time this morning. It was 7:30 by the time I had all my stuff packed and had eaten breakfast. It was a beautiful morning without a cloud in the sky. A few people had already left camp by the time I made my way onto the trail shortly before 8am. I hiked under I-40 a mile into my hike today and it was cool to feel so close to home. After I-40 it was a 8 mile hike straight up to Snowbird Bald which took me forever. It was very steep and was very hot. I went through 4 liters of water within the first 3 hours of today. I arrived on the bald around noon and already felt sun burnt so didn't stay for long. I made a phone call and reserved a hot tub at the Hot Springs Resort and Spa for the following day. I got the latest one possible which was at 8:30pm and planned to meet Laura in Hot Springs around 8pm then sit in a hot tub for an hour. I figured my body would more than need it after the long four days. The next 2 miles down hill absolutely killed my feet. I'm not sure why they hurt so bad, but it was the sorest they had been my whole hike. I got to the shelter and ate Advil and like skittles (only 4 of them). It helped a lot and while eating my lunch I got a text from Ricky asking where I was. I told him I had a good 6.5 mile climb up to Max Patch and would probably be staying there tonight. He said he might see me there if Leslie gets home early enough. I quickly left the shelter knowing he would have some beer with him and it was so hot I was dripping while eating lunch. The next 6 or so miles have never felt so long. It was rolling hills which always seem to make me mad because I think its the top of a mountain and then we go down the same distance to find another uphill. It repeated that for a good 3 or 4 miles. Every time I came to a downhill I would look to see if I could find Max Patch road where I knew Ricky would be waiting if he was coming. I ran out of water and less than a mile later I saw a dirt road. Once at the dirt road I didn't see any of Ricky's vehicles so thought maybe he didn't make it. Ten minutes later I looked up the road towards the parking lot for Max Patch and saw the black Expedition coming down. I don't think I've been happier to date on the trail. It was the hottest day I've had while hiking, I had gone through 8 liters of water, felt drained from the sun, and felt very weak. He pulled up and opened the trunk to a cooler full of beer on ice as well as two buckets of KFC chicken! The first sip of that Pabst Blue Ribbon was the best tasting beer I've ever had in my life. There isn't a beer in the world that would taste better than that cold PBR on that day. Soon after Ricky pulled up Blue Eyes, Sage, James along with his girlfriend, and a few other hikers showed up all as drained as I was. Their eyes were wide when Ricky said grab a beer and some chicken if you want some. Blue Eyes gave Ricky as hug even though he was soaked from today. We all sat there for a good our or so and felt drunk after the second beer as we had worked so hard all day and all were somewhat dehydrated. The fried chicken never tasted so good! A few of them never eat fried food and said that was the best thing they could have had happen to them that day. We all appreciated Ricky's trail magic more than he knows. Ricky told them to pack up a few beers as it was a long .8 miles to the Summit of Max Patch so a couple of the hikers grabbed a beer or two for the night on the bald. Blue Eyes said "man don't you live close to here? If I was you, I'd get a ride back home and stay in my bed tonight!" After thinking about it for less than a minute, I told Ricky I'm going to ride back with him. I've hiked the section between Max Patch and Hot Springs a few times so decided I'd start my time off the trail tonight and slack pack Max Patch to Hot Springs later this week. It was the greatest end to a day on the trail thus far! Thank you Ricky!