Date: 2009-04-23
From: Roaring Fork Shelter

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: clear sky

Hiked from 7:50 am until 4:00 pm. This is my earliest start to date... excited about getting to one of the towns through which the AT travels... right don main street... a hikers haven [maybe even heaven]. Hiked with ST and Carpenter, also with Sparky who also spent the night at the Roaring Fork Shelter. Carpenter and Sparky stayed with us for about an hour then took offf at their 4 mph speed... too fast for me! Water supplies today were plentiful and the weather was fantastic! Warm, breezy and clear skies! Bluff Mountain gave us a strenuous climb, and beautiful views of AT wildflowers. We passed the Deer Park Shelter @ 15 miles about 2:30 pm leaving only 3.2 mile to Hot Springs. Carpenter and Sparky were there waiting fo us for our grand entry to Hot Springs. We arrived in Hot Springs at 4:00 pm after a hilly trek from the Deer Park Shelter. Most of the last mile was downhill... good and bad. We tried to make it to Elmers Sunnybrook Hostel in time to get a room, but failed. In fact most accommodations were book due to the large number of hikers in Hot Springs and that was partially relaated to the Trail Fest celebration scheduled for the weekend.We ended up at the Iron Horse Inn, in a room with a jacussi [@ $99 per night] abd we booked it for 2 nights, due to our plans to take a Zero day tomorrow [4/24/09]. The Iron Horse is a quaint 1930's refurbished hotel and a great place to stay! It has a nice resturant and is close to everything to meet a hiker's needs. The town was packed with AT hikers and that was great! All the hikers we had met in weeks 1-2 were there as well as the ones we had met in weeks 3-4. It was like old home week. Everywhere I walked there were familiar voices and faces calling me to join them. I can't adequately desribe the welcoming feeling from other hikers. No one had ever been to Hot Springs before, yet everybody pretty much new everybody else and the frienship and warmth was exiliarating. PEOPLE MAKE THE AT EXPERIENCE WHAT IT IS!!! I got a shower [very important after being hiking for 5 days], ate all I could [two meals for supper]. I finally have an appetite after losing 20+ pounds in about 4 weeks. Rigth no, I am feeling troubled. Today is a significant day, but one filled with questions for me. Quite a day of "interacting opposites" for me... the exhiliaration of Hot Springs and all the joy of renewing friendships with other wonderful hikers coupled with the almost overwhelming need to be with my wife, family and friends in Lakeland, FL. I miss them so much. Got an email today in which my wife Kristi related a story about one of my grand sons [4 year-old Adam] to me. It hit me very hard! Seems he stated to her that he didn't think he would ever get to see his "Poppi" [as he calls me] ever again!Impact! I turned in about 9:00 pm but awakened at 2:30 am, unable to continue to sleep. I have a very tough decision to make tomorrow. Do I stay with this AT thru-hike or do I convert it to a series of AT section hikes? My answer will likely be in my next journal entry... tomorrow [now today in the early am]. More to come... Stay tuned! Roadrunner