20ish

Don’t remember much from this day. We left Standing Bear shortly after breakfast. It’s only a day and a half to get to Hot Springs, NC we are going to take a full zero there. I think the second full we’ve taken so far since we started.

13 miles

Town step on again today. We are finally getting in to Hot Springs, NC. I’m the first up as usually when there’s a town in sight. The hiking today is ups and downs with one long decent into town.

I arrive around 11 am and wait at the local diner with a cup of coffee for my trail family to arrive. Anvil arrives shortly after with Two Tone and Max in tow. The serving sizes are monsterous here. I can barely finish all this food even with my hiker hunger. All for like $12 too. I love the south! That breakfast would’ve been twice as much and not served with half as much class.

We booked an Airbnb for our tramily because it was cheaper than each of us getting our own bunks at the hostel. It was a furnished basement with the owners living above. They were young and hippyish and so nice. They offered to do our laundry for only a couple of dollars and of course we took them up on that. We watched a movie in the meantime while everyone showers and once the clothes come back we are off to get more food. The hunger is insatiable.

0 Miles

Slow start to the day. Everyone sleeps in and enjoys just having a bed for a night. Also one or two of us may have had a few too many.

Lazy hiker day. Everyone kind of went their separate ways today. Two Tone to a coffee shop to read and enjoy a cup. I to the brewery to make a bunch of phone calls that I haven’t been making, Anvil stays in bed until 3 o’clock.

Around 5 we meet a bunch of the other hikers at the hostel nearby so that we can all make dinner together. Hot Sauce fires up burgers while we all sit around playing cards and having a few drinks. Afterwards we go to the brewery again and end the night there as we closed it down.

20 miles

Another late start to the day. Everyone except max doesn’t get out of bed until 9ish. Max hikes out an hour or so earlier and the rest of us fumble around until we have to leave at 10 am. I am extra rushed because I wasn’t very responsible the day before and still had to resupply this morning before we head out.

The 20 miles has 6k of elevation gain today so it was hot and long. Had lunch on top of a fire watchtower so had a great view. Two Tone rolled her ankle so she’s a bit slower, max gets to camp about an hour earlier than me, and Anvil is staying one more day in Hot Springs to see an old friend