Date: 2006-03-31
From: Walnut Mountain Shelter

To: Hot Springs, NC (The Alpine Court Motel)
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: overcast clouds

3-31-06Walnut Mountain Shelter to Hot Springs, NC (The Alpine Court Motel)13.1 milesWe are but grains of sand contained within the beach of our universe, with the waves of time crashing upon us...I didn't notice this while I was sitting up in my sleeping bag in the shelter, but the part of the shelter I was sleeping in had two boards parallel to the arrangement of my sleeping bag, with one board, the one on my left side, raised higher than the one on my right. This caused me quite a bit of discomfort throughout the night, as it threw my sleeping balance all off. No matter what position I lay in, my body would always try to lean towards the right. As other campers/hikers know, there is nothing worse than an uneven surface to lie on, unless your head is on the upslope, which is a bearable situation.However, between that unfortunate ness and the excitement at the prospect of being in Hot Springs the next day, I still managed to squeeze in a few hours of sleep. I was up at 5:30AM, though, what with Restless already packing up his stuff and getting ready to go. Didn't crawl out of the sleeping bag until 6AM, and with a cold breakfast in me I was on the trail by 6:30AM.Even though the elevation profile informed this would be a relatively easy 13 miles, the terrain told a different story. There was a 6-7 mile section with lots of small mountains and some big climbs. And it was hot! All I could think about was getting a half a gallon of OJ, Tropicana of course, eating food with Two Shoes and Restless, and finally getting to see Shanae again. I was very impatient to get to Hot Springs, and it did not help that you could see the town from miles away. Hot Springs is a big hiker tease- sheer torture.But I made it. Strolled right into town (the AT goes right through it) and went to the Dollar General store and got me that OJ I've been dreaming about. Chugging down the cool sweet goodness, I made my way over to the post office to get my packages and mail. One from myself, two from my mom, and a surprise package from my Aunt Alice, along with a letter from my Grandma. I left that post office with my hands full. Still without a room, I made my way over to the Alpine Court Motel to find myself a room. A very pleasant lady helped me out but told me it wouldn't b ready until three, but said I could leave all my stuff on the bench near the office.I plopped my burdens down and got to the nearest payphone to call Shanae. She was still an hour and an half outside of Hot Springs and was going to stop in Asheville at a second hand gear shop to get a pack. The one her step-dad had let her borrow tore up her hips when she tried to hike with it. I let her know that I was going to be at the Alpine Court Motel, room #1, and got off the phone.Strolling down the main street towards the diner, remembering I had told Two Shoes and Restless that I would meet them there for some fresh, non-dehydrated food. And just as I was crossing a side street, there they were, coming down said side street, saying, "Where were you?" They had gotten tired of waiting for me at Elmer¢s and had decided to head to the diner themselves. It had been a loose plan anyways, but I was glad to have run into them.At the diner I ordered myself a Philly chicken cheese steak sub, with cheese fries on the side. It came on a wheat bun, and the chicken was in big chunks and just smothered in cheese, mushrooms, and green peppers. I had my OJ to wash it down with of course. The perfect meal to commemorate arriving in Hot Springs.I had still not taken a shower and wanted to do so before Shanae arrived - six days of grime and dried sweat really is not the most attractive apparel to be reunited with your girlfriend in. Plus the odor was quite ripe. Take me out of the oven, I am done. So right after the diner I headed directly for the motel to see if my room was ready. The place was like a ghost town, none of the managers around, but I noticed the keys to the room were on the doors. Still I sat with my stuff for awhile and talked to Switchback, considering if I should just go in the room or not. Finally, sick of smelling myself, I gathered my belongings and headed over to my room. Just as I was about to reach the door, Shanae pulled into the parking lot.Oh glorious day! I put down my stuff as quick as I could and gave her a hug and many kisses. We talked for a bit and then I hopped in the shower, finally washing off six days worth of dirt. When I came out, Shanae had an early birthday surprise waiting on the bed for me: Andes mint cookies! I inhaled a few of these delicious cookies as she brought her stuff in. She had bought a used Gregory Palisade pack on the way up here from Asheville for $150, but I told her that it was too heavy for an AT pack, even though it was a durable pack, and that that was a lot to pay for a used pack. So we headed over to the outfitters and found some newer, better packs for the same price. She decided it was a better idea to get a different pack, and left to drive back to Asheville return her other pack.While she was gone I open up my packages. The one from Aunt Alice contained all sorts of chocolates from an Oswego chocolatier, which was very cool, and the one from my mom contained food, plus the added bonus of little plastic bottle containing some 12-year-old Jameson, a little extra birthday present. Next I set about going through Shanae's stuff and eliminating any extra stuff she had, to reduce weight. I got out my food sack emptied out and organized my food for the next week.I took a stroll over to the Sunnybank Inn (Elmer¢s) and made reservations for a room, dinner and breakfast for the next night. I was told it was a place you had to go to if you were an AT hiker, and for less than the price of the Alpine Court Motel, we could stay and eat two meals at the Sunnybank. I hung out there for a little while afterwards with Bugs, some guy, and Uber-dude, who was sharing a six-pack with us. I had my beer, and went to grab my own six-pack, Asheville's Gaelic Ale, and headed back to my room to await Shanae's return.Finally her noisy Cavalier pulled in and we had a couple of beers before we went out to dinner. Shanae had looked up this little restaurant called the Magnolia Retreat and Inn and was taking me there for my birthday. Walking through a light drizzle on a path with lanterns lighting to the way to the house that the restaurant was in, I thought about how great it was that I was going to be able to share these next couple of weeks with Shanae.The restaurant was in an old Victorian house, brightly lit, with a few people dining tonight. We asked for the patio seating, as to enjoy the warm night and smell the scent of wet grass. We had carried out last two beers there, and our waitress brought us a couple of glasses for them. For dinner, I ordered the cream of wild mushroom soup, an 8oz. filet mignon, and a glass of cabernet to go with it. Shanae ordered a delicious salad, a tuna steak, and a glass of pinot grigio. Fantastic! (Imagine that said in a French accent)With the candle flickering over our happy faces, we ate some excellent food, conversed with an older couple at an adjacent table and with our waitress, and were feeling on top of the world. Bellies full, Shanae walked and I hiker-waddled over to the bar to see if anyone was around. Seeing there weren¢t many hikers there, we headed back to the room to go to sleep.