May 9th-May 18th, mile 274.9-344.2, and 470.3

Hot Springs was one of the first towns where the trail actuallyh walks through the main street. Some friends I met from the brewery I worked at in Honolulu, Brad and Beth, have since moved to North Carolina and have been following my adventure closely. Beth was super excited about meeting me somewhere along the trail to being me some Trail Magic, and we decided Hot Springs would be the easiest place to meet up. Beth made a bunch of Spam musubi (like a large fried spam teriyaki rice ball with a strip of nori wrapped around it… Basically spam sushi) which is a popular Hawaiian hiking snack. They also picked up some meals and beers which were very much appreciated. It was so nice to see some familiar faces and they took good care of me. I we also hit up the hot spring and I got a little massage which was fantastic. Brad asked me some questions about the trail on camera with the hopes of putting together a little video documentary. I warned him I’m not very good on camera though. We did a fun little ending though which he edited together nicely.

After a relaxing day with friends it was time to hit the trail again. Originally my arrival in Hot Springs was going to coincide with some bad weather but that kept getting pushed out I realized I couldn’t take 3 zeros to wait it out. While my trail family stayed behind for another night I departed late afternoon to make some headway while the weather was nice. The climb out of Hot Springs was steep but the views of the river, town, and mountains in the evening glow were spectacular. I got about 4 or 5 miles in before finding a nice campsite. Now that I’m out of the Smokeys there are plenty of unofficial, or “stealth” sites, along the AT. This, combined with the “bubble” of people spreading out, has made the trail a lot more relaxed. I can hike until I get tired and then find a place to camp rather than having to push on to the next shelter or fight a crowd of people at the only campsites we were allowed to stay at.

As forecast, the rains started during the night and I awoke to a light drizzle. A brief hiatus in the rain allowed me to pack up (wet) and have some breakfast, but it started raining again shortly after. And then it started pouring. It rained all day and everything was wet. Then it rained all night, and all the next day. After a couple of days of packing up wet and unpacking in the mud, carrying an extra 5 lbs of water, and being cold it really starts to wear on me. My feet were raw from walking in wet shoes and socks and it looked like I had trench foot when I removed my socks at night. The morning of the third day I was the hardest. It was supposed to clear up but I the rain was still coming down. I was done. Morale was low. This was not how I wanted to spend my vacation.

Finally toward the afternoon the rains had stopped but the sun was reluctant to come out to help me dry my stuff. I ended up at the top of a ridge at a nice stealth site all by myself for the night. I setup my wet tent and layed out what I could to dry, but it was cold and no sun was coming through the clouds. As I crawled into my tent for the night the wind started to pick up. On one hand it was going to help dry stuff off. On the other hand, the evaporation caused it to get cold. The wind was blowing through my bag and I started shivering and couldn’t stop. I knew this was a potential bad situation for hypothermia and had to take action. I donned my puffy jacket which was still damp but synthetic, which will keep you warm even when wet. I put on my hat and socks. I put my rain jacket over my sleeping bag to help block the wind. The shaking eventually stopped and I fell asleep comfortable and warm. The next morning I awoke to the sun shining and was finally able to dry everything off. That had to be one of the roughest spots mentally on my journey due to weather so far, and made me realize how worth it it was to take some zeros early on to avoid it.

The next several days offered some great hiking weather and the trek into Erwin was pretty uneventful. I camped with the Beaver Boys (Strider, Hemmingway, and Cricket) for much of it, and we all met up at Uncle Johnny’s hostel on the Nolichucky River. After some snacks, a shower, and a quick load of laundry we had a shuttle scheduled to Damascus for Trail Days.

Trail Days is a huge event. Hikers come from all over the trail, as well as hikers from years past, to celebrate. Vendors are there to show off new gear, offer advice, and make repairs. It’s a great time to meet up with tramily that has fallen behind or hiked ahead. The local religious community donates a huge amount of resources to ensure hikers are fed, healthy, have laundry and haircuts, and transportation. They really give a lot to help us out.

A hiker parade goes through town. It’s customary to dress up (literally for men to wear dresses) and it’s separated out by the different years of thru hikers representing. The locals came out with squirt guns and threw candy at us. It was good fun.

Tent City is where most hikers set up camp for the weekend. R rated to the right, PG13 to the left the cop at the entrance told us. There really wasn’t a quiet spot. Several hike groups organized camps with their own flare and decorations and each had its own party going on. A big drum circle and bonfire took place in an open field. Before the drumming started a moment of silence and a candlelight vigil was held for Stronghold, the man who was killed on the trail the week before by a psycho with a knife. There were many events held to honor him and the other victims of that attack. The effects of an act of violence like that on the trail rippled through the community. The AT is such a giving place where people help each other and watch out for each other that it’s simply shocking when something like that happens. I could feel it too, even though the event took place several hundred miles from where I was. As the moment of silence subsided the drumming and chanting began. The full moon rising over the mountain accentuated the primal ritual of the drumming and bonfire, which carried on late into the night.

By Sunday I was ready to get back on the trail. I caught a shuttle back to Erwin, about 130 hiking miles before Damascus. I know in about 10 days I’ll be back there and it will be a different town. But for now I’m looking forward to being back in the woods hiking for a while.