Date: 2012-05-03
From: Walnut Mountain Shelter

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 13.1

Up early (6:15 am) and on the Trail to beat the heat. It was a good day for me -- a real confidence builder. From the top of Walnut Mountain where the shelter was located, the day began with a one mile descent into Kale Gap, then a mile and a half climb of 1,000' To the top of Bluff Mountain which, in spite of its steepness, I was able to do without stopping at a very brisk pace (Yea, Bumpo!) I continued on down the other side of Bluff Mountain for another 4 miles before I stopped at Garenflo Gap for a mid-morning break.The day was already heating up, so I took it easy the rest of the way, stopping for lunch at Deer Park Shelter which, according to the shelter journal is the home of a bunch of snakes (no thank you!). I replenished my water and enjoyed some conversation with a really nice Thru Hiker called ¢Poncho,¢ as I took time to rehydrate and restock.I arrived in Hot Springs with a spring in my step and feeling good about the day. The first thing I did was to change my accommodations from where I had planned (Elmer's Sunnybank Inn) to the Iron Horse Hotel, an old boarding house next to the train tracks that has been nicely refurbished in the past few years. Not only does the hotel have air conditioning and WiFi, but my room has a full size Jacuzzi tub. I picked up my drop box at Elmer's, before I left for the Iron Horse Hotel as I made a beeline for the shower followed by a long soaking tub and then (I'm sure you guessed it!) a nap on my queen size bed. I¢ve only been in the woods for three days and to hear me talk about these basic creature comforts, you'd think I had been deprived of them for months! Regardless, it all sure felt good.I enjoyed a burger and fries at the Spring Creek Tavern across the street and was treated to some pretty good live blue grass music as I ate on the porch alongside the creek. After finishing up I socialized with ¢Chief, Guide Wire,¢ ¢Bear Cub¢ and ¢Impulse¢ (a young man who lost his wallet in the Smokies. When he couldn't get his drop box from the Post Office (no ID) he managed to panhandle $180 from the tourists in Gatlinburg before he stopped in at the Park Rangers HQ where someone had turned in his lost wallet, money and ID. He then went to the Guinness World Record Museum and set the new world record for kicking himself in the head in one minutes -- truthfully! The old record was 58 and he did it 72 times!) Anyway, it was a pleasant time and a lot of laughs. The word around the table was that a lot of people have dropped out here at Hot Springs including ¢Gaz¢ and ¢Beatnik¢ and a bunch of others whom I hadn't yet met. It's always a blow to the other hikers when someone drops out. Everyone expects that they're going to make it all the way to Katahdin and when someone they know pulls out it causes them to wonder if maybe they, too, might not make it. The psychology is interesting (a bit like combat troops talking about fallen comrades) and inevitably leads to great affirmations by one and all that they¢re definitely going to stick it out, "no matter what."All I know is that I'm now inside two hundred miles (193 to go) and I'll go as far as I can. If I don't manage to make it for some reason, the Trail isn't going anywhere and I can probably finish it up some other time. Right now, though, all I really care about is going to sleep in my air conditioned room!! Bon nuit.