Date: 2010-04-04
From: Garenflo Gap

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 6.6
Weather: clear sky

What a wonderful day for hiking, and a short one at that! Today was town day so Quarter Pounder and I were up pretty early ready to hit the trail. There was a bit more climbing today than I had expected, but the weather was lovely and I was in a great mood. Just before eleven I could see the town of Hot Springs and it seemed to take forever to descend that mountain! First thing I did when I got into town was find a place for Kelly and I to stay. I had stopped by Elmer's Sunnybank Inn to find they didn't take dogs, so when I asked them where we could go they decided to just see how she would get along with their dog and when we saw they would do just fine together they told me we could stay (because she was a border collie as long as she stayed outside. I was given a room upstairs with a private porch so she could sleep right outside my room. The Sunnybank Inn is very historical and i'm really enjoying it! Most of the furniture is antique and there is a lot of character to the place. Everynight for dinner they cook gourmet vegetarian meals all made from scratch so I must eat dinner one of these nights but at that moment I dropped my pack off I realized I was starving right then so I headed across the street to the Smokey Mountain Diner for lunch where I ordered a veggie melt with fries and finished off two large cups of root beer, yum! I then headed to the outfitter where I bought some resupplies (the dollar store was cheaper but the outfitter had a few healthier resupply options) and I also broke down and purchased a pair of Leki poles. Yes, they were expensive as heck, but they have an excellent replacement policy so I decided to just go for it since i'll be needing them for a couple thousand miles still yet. I have been excited about purchasing a hiking skirt and tank top, but I wasn't too thrilled with the selection so my mom got one for me at REI with my refund that I was happy about, she also found a tank top and will be sending both items in a resupply box to Erwin, TN- the next town. There was quite a few hikers entering Hot Springs today, and although Young One wasn't planning on getting in till tomorrow he decided to hike a few long mile days and got in this afternoon with Fish and Uncle Jay Bird. They are all planning on stealth camping along the AT, but I am certainly looking forward to a real bed tonight! TP also showed up and we are sharing a room at the inn together. I spent most of the afternoon talking to Swamp Cricket, a former thru hiker working at Elmers for the season and later in the afternoon we went for a walk, got a smoothie, and "hiked" to where the other guys were staying for the night. Diamond Digs had also shown up, she had gone back to Standing Bear and got a ride into Hot Springs where she had decided to re-evaluate her hike. Ate out for dinner once again and had a delicious veggie burger and fries. I am loving Hot Springs, the whole town is very hiker and dog friendly. Kelly has been allowed in the outfitter store, and when I ate dinner this evening they let her sit with us in the outside dining area overlooking the river. I have had to tie her out at many places but she is tying out very well now and hasn't chewed through her leash. To end a very good "nero" day Swamp Cricket set TP and I up with a footbath containing peppermint, tea tree oil, and epsom salts.. a perfect end to a perfect day! Tomorrow should be exciting as well since Addy and Beast will be coming to Hot Springs to hang out