Date: 2015-03-23
From: Allen Gap

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 14.4

We had our slack packs ready to go early this AM. We weren't sure about rain, when we turned in last night there was a light drizzle outside. Good news, a warm and dry day. Princess worked out the timing so that we could get to the Smokey Mountain Diner for breakfast and still make it back in time for our shuttle at 7:00. Last year when we were here in Hot Springs we learned to love breakfast at the Smokey Mountain Diner, and when we can in just as it opened Biscuit (a waitress-hiker) always fixed us up. When we came in this year Biscuit said that now she only works weekends and that the diner doesn't open until 6:30 (too late for us to catch the shuttle). But she said that if we were coming in early she would make sure that someone would be there to take care of us. And we also noticed that our Katahdin AT postcard was prominently displayed on the wall. Sure enough, when we showed up early this morning, the open sign was on and we were expected. The breakfast was great. Later we learned that Biscuit owns the diner. So do not pass through Hot Springs without stopping at the Great Smokey Mountain Diner.Daniel, from Bluff Mountain Outfitters met us promptly at 7:00 and drove us out to Allen Gap. He pointed us in the right direction (SoBo) and we took off up the first hill. Today was scheduled to be a picture-perfect day. Shortly after getting started, we met Hawkeye (I was actually in the middle of a bio-break, what are the odds someone would come along at just that moment?). He is a very pleasant fellow who is doing a section hike from Hot Springs to Damascus. We talked about hiking parners and he said that unfortunately his wife just doesn't like hiking. A little later we met Justin bad we passed, he stopped and said that he recognized us. An exact quote: "Aren't you those people in the AT postcard on the wall at the Smokey Mountain Diner?"As usual, on a SoBo hike, we saw lots of thru-hikers we knew: Bruny & Bow, Imp, Fern, Chow,Stretch. Happy Feet, Cookie Monster and Sam among others. Mobley said he found seven different spring flowers on the trail up from Hot Springs (we could only find 2).Trail was in really good shape. Dry and well packed and the weather couldn't be better, except that Sam said he was hot. At one point Princess and I commented that the trail maintainers has done a fabulous job of clearing debris and leaves from the trail. Within about 10 minutes we met 3 Forest Service workers with air blowers clearing the trail for a controlled burn next week. Regardless, the trail was in great shape. End of hike was along a ridge that overlooks Hot Springs. We enjoyed fabulous views of the town and the surrounding mountains. We could hear the Rapids in the French Broad River from the top of the hill. So it was a great hike, 14.5 miles. The sun was out, the sky was beautiful, and everyone was in a great mood. We all forgot about the nasty rainy days last week. Later, back at the motel, we heard a scratching at the window and were surprised to see Princess' brother Ranger and his wife Gay. He was hiking with us, but had to leave several days ago to attend to a water leak problem at home. He has the water problem under control, and the weather was so terrific that he and his wife decided to head north to the Grayson Highlands to hike and see the wild ponies. Since Hot Springs was on the general route they stopped by. We went out to dinner and spent the evening with them and had a really good time. They stayed with us and offered to carry our backpacks to our next stop in Erwin so that we could slack-pack there, an offer that we couldn't refuse. Su