Date: 2003-08-08
From: Deer Park Mt. Shelter

To: Hpt Springs, N.C.
Miles today: 3.0

Friday August 8 Hot Springs N.C., a known hiker friendly town is only 3.2 miles away from Deer Park Mt. Shelter. Tho only 2 days on the trail, I am ready for a shower, some restaurant/waitress served food and a mattress to sleep on. Hot Springs doesn¢t disappoint me. The trail descends down to Hot Springs (1,326¢). It¢s a small town. I love em. I get there about 10 AM and stop at a visitor center, that¢s in an old caboose, and then next door at the Ranger Station. After I inquire about a ¢low cost¢ place to stay, the lady there suggests the Sunnybank Inn, a couple of blocks back that I must have passed. I follow her directions and find a large old, historic looking home in need of a little maintenance attention but aesthetically very appealing. There¢s no sign in front or on the house but at the front door there¢s a note that says ¢Hikers, please go to the back door¢. Hmmm, with that welcome I wonder if I want to stay.   I like old houses so I head for the back door. But at the side of the house, I find a door and walk up the steps, but as I start to knock, I see the same directions. Hmmm. On to THE back door. There¢s a small porch with a note that says come in and then another door that leads to the kitchen. A cat welcomes me by the kitchen door. As I knock on the back down, a portly, mid 60¢s fellow says ¢come in¢. And as I open the door, I ask if it¢s OK for the cat to come in as it rushes by me while simultaneously I read a note on the door that says ¢Death to those who let the cat in¢. I apologize as the man unsmilingly explains the cat has fleas and that most of the guests don¢t and they prefer it that way. But the cat is off somewhere in the house and is quickly forgotten. The man introduces himself as Elmer the proprietor of the Inn. I tell him I am a hiker and would like a room. He asks ¢what kind of hiker¢. Huh? I reply ¢not a very good one¢. He doesn¢t laugh. I then explain my trek last year and that I am now on another 2 week journey on the AT. That satisfies him and I seem to have passed his criteria. He then proceeds to give me a tour of the wonderful, funky, out-of-date hodge podge d©cor, Sunnybank Inn. Built in 1840 he tells me. A couple of people are deep into a yoga position and ignore us as we pass by one of the rooms. He shows me a room upstairs which has a couple of beds, a comfortable balcony to a large side yard and says that the room is mine for the night. There¢s a bathroom upstairs but he says the hikers¢ bathroom is downstairs by the kitchen. Hmmmm, can¢t wait to see that I think. We return to the kitchen and I have to ask him how much. $15 he says. I readily accept. He inquires if I want to join him and the other guests for dinner and breakfast. Dinner is $10 and breakfast $5. I accept the dinner invitation but explain that I will leave early and won¢t be at the 8:30 breakfast. I see he is busy preparing food so I head for my room and then a shower in the downstairs hiker¢s bathroom that is actually pretty nice with a flushing toilet and warm water. I walk downtown to a creek side restaurant, sit on the patio and leisurely eat lunch and drink fresh coffee and ice water. The two college girls from last night¢s camp site pass by on the street as I eat and when I holler and wave to them they squint as they look in my direction for someone they know. One half heartedly waves. Gee, young girls sure have fat asses these days I think. After lunch I peruse several shops and stores, one a good outfitter with lots of hiker stuff and a grocery to pick up a few things for the next several days. I return to the Sunnybank Inn and find Elmer still in the kitchen slicin and dicin. I make conversation with him and finally he explains that in 1976 he had left his job as a cook to hike the AT. During that hike he stopped at the Sunnybank Inn and stayed a few days. He liked it so much over the next 2 years he returned several times. He hiked quite a bit of the AT but never finished it all. But in 1978 while saying at the Inn, the owners, an older couple informed him they couldn¢t keep it up and were going to sell it OR if he would take it, they would give it to him on the condition that he keep it open to hikers. Thus even today, if a long distance hiker shows up without money they can stay if they don¢t mind doing a few chores for their room and board. And in fact the day I was there, a couple of young guys, one with an injury who couldn¢t continue on with his group, appears to be doing just that. I¢m not sure what the other fellow¢s story is but he seemed to be staying a while. With Elmer now telling me some of his life story, I modestly think my winsome personality has won him over and he is starting to like me. But when I ask him if he minds that I wash out my water bottles and cooking pan in the kitchen sink, he tells me to use the garden hose outside. I detect that ¢don¢t forget you are a hiker¢ glint in his eyes. After washing clothes at the local laundry mat, and a bit of walking around the little town, I return late in the afternoon for some quiet time in my room. About an hour before supper I go downstairs to one of the comfortable looking sitting rooms at the Inn. After a few minutes I am joined by a 50ish looking lady who asks ¢Are you The Hiker?¢ How does she know? Also, I wondered if she paid more for her room than I and also if she got to come in the front door. She¢s a pleasant university professor who likes to annually come down to the Inn for a week to relax, hike and attend some Buddhism sessions that Elmer used to conduct. We converse while awaiting dinner. As part of the conversation, she informs me my room is the haunted one at the Inn and that a non threatening old lady might be standing nearby watching me sleep during the night. ¢She¢s harmless¢, the professor chuckles. Is she just making polite conversation or trying to scare me out the back door? I decide to take my chances with the ghost.More and more people arrive by dinner time so when we sit at two large tables there are about 14 people. The 2 young men plus Elmer¢s heir apparent do all the serving and bussing of the tables. The meal begins with a wonderful soup, followed by a fresh garden salad with a dressing that Elmer refuses to divulge the ingredients, followed by a casserole type entree in a thick crust that was incredibly delicious. Desert is key lime pie. What an incredible vegetarian meal. I should have guessed that before dinner. A better meal I have never had. The other people at the table are a mixture of people staying at the Inn and some local free spirits who were friends of Elmer. Good people all. Elmer takes great delight in the many compliments that are given.   After short after dinner walk I telephone Patricia and am in bed by 11PM. You never know what you will run into while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Also, I don¢t sleep very well in the haunted bedroom. Trying to sleep with one eye open while looking for ghosts isn¢t easy.SUMMARY AUGUST 8 DEER PARK MOUNTAIN SHELTER TO HOT SPRINGS, N.C - 3.2 MILES, CUMULATIVE 34 MILES.