Date: 2016-03-11
From: Max Patch Summit

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: overcast clouds

All night long I was reminded of Mel Gibson in Braveheart as he yelled "Hold! Hold! Hold!". So I am here meaning the tent withstood the gusts during my night on Max Patch Summit.Sunrise on Max Patch Summit was as special as I hoped. I wish I was a better photographer to capture its beauty. Blues Brother and I were the only two on the summit. It was easy to get caught up in this setting as the sunrise slowly evolved. Between pictures and taking it all in was the chore of breaking down the tent and loading up the backpack for today's hike. I was holding very tightly to my tent because it would've gone a long way if the wind had gotten hold of it. Blues Brother was hilarious chasing after his foam seat pad that had gotten away. Another special moment.Blues Brother left Max Patch Summit before I did so I was hiking solo. Whereas there were few water sources yesterday, there were many available today and they provided multiple opportunities to rock hop to avoid getting wet. Quickly stepping across water is fun as you select each rock or branch to place your feet. It was so much fun that I darted across and followed the trail to the left. A good 5 minutes later as the trail became more difficult to navigate over or under fallen trees, it finally dawned on me that I was no longer on the AT. So I backtracked and found a short path, kind of steep, that put me on an infrequently used road. Was feeling good about that until I realized there were no white blazes to found. Backtracked again all the way back to my pleasurable rock hopping location. There it was. A white blaze clearly indicating to turn right instead of left. Twenty minutes of extra hiking is no big deal was my thinking now that I was back on the AT. I wouldn't have been smiling if this had been near nightfall. Off I went. Another rock hopping opportunity. Just like before, I went left. Two steps later I stopped just to check. Yup, I was about to make the same mistake again. If you are hiking this area be aware that there are many paths that appear before you. The AT's blazes are there (if you look for them.) There are numerous stealth camp sites available in this area too. As I passed Walnut Mountain Shelter, my mind drifted back to last year's hike with David. David had told me of his night hiking to Max Patch Summit in order to catch the sunrise. I wasn't up to such hiking then and told him I'd meet him there after waking up in the morning. Well David confessed that hiking in the dark was kind of spooky so he sang Harry Chapin tunes out loud to himself to let any bears in the area know that he was coming through. After setting up our tents at the Walnut Mountain Shelter area, a hiker with a full dark beard came out of his tent saying that he was catching up on his sleep because of what happened last night - he kept hearing songs while trying to sleep in his tent that was setup a few feet off the trail. David confessed to being the singer and we all had a good laugh. That was our initial introduction to Wilderness Man. He was a self-proclaimed man from the mountains and told us about, as he called them, Mountain People, and how they were often misunderstood. Later that night after David was temporarily named "ITunes" by Wilderness Man, we sat around a fire pit with a father from Florida hiking with his daughter and her beach volleyball partner. It was then that Wilderness Man was heard "No. Get out of here! Come on, git", then we heard him mutter that he'd left his tent's fly open and a mouse had entered to have some of his Cheetos. The entertainment he provided was great. Wilderness Man told us the next morning how he had to bribe the mouse to go away by placing a Cheeto outside his tent that night because the mouse kept on trying to get into his tent. Wish I could run into Wilderness Man to give him the update that last year's "someday I'd like to hike the AT" was happening now.The hike today was a bit long but Hot Springs was the destination and Blues Brother greeted me as I came down the final path. Hot Springs, like Franklin, is designated as an AT Hiker-Friendly town - my term but there is a more institutional name for towns like this. Everybody in town greets and welcomes you. I decided to stay in Alpine Court instead of the usual hiker spots. I met Bobbie Faulkner as I walked up and she told me to have a seat since she figured I'd hiked a good bit today. Alpine Court just changed ownership and they just opened today with me as their first customer. Bobbie said that God made the mountains around here before all others and then didn't make any others like them. Great to be here tonight.