Davenport Gap to Hot Springs 3/12/2009-3/14/2009

Photos: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2615870070104728652kERaFp

3/12/2009 9:30 PM - Walnut Mountain Shelter - 20.3 mi today - 258.7 mi total

Woke up this morning around 9. Tried to quietly pack my stuff so as to not wake the others. Paid Curtis (the owner) for my stay and signed the guestbook. Gave out my blog address. I should make up business cards to hand out like Steamboat. Hit the trail at 10 AM. First 4 miles were pretty serious uphill. 2400 feet gain in 4.7 miles. At the top was an FAA radar facility. Had a snack there and got really cold. From there we hiked to Groundhog Creek shelter for lunch. Chowed down until we got cold and hit the trail again. Steamboat and I were chatting the whole way today. Really helps to pass the time when you can get lost in conversation. As we crossed Max Patch Road, we came across some trail magic. Someone had left two sodas and Snickers in the stream. It was amazing! I love trail magic. We suspected the Jerky Girls left it there on their way to Hot Springs. Whoever it was, thank you! We decided to save the sodas for dinner, but ate the Snickers immediately. At that point, we realized that we could stretch the day into a 20 miler as we were feeling good. From there it was a short hike up to the summit of Max Patch Bald where we met Frank the painter. With 360 degree views of beautiful mountains, he had a lot to paint. I introduced myself as Jolly Rancher for the first time and gave him one as I celebrated summiting Max Patch. He offered me GORP in exchange, which I politely declined. In addition to my normal supply, Steamboat's sister also sent me some so I now have GORP coming out of my ears! Took some pics on Max Patch, but I doubt they will compare to what it looks like in person. As we continued down the trail, we found some more trail magic... cans of baked beans with a fire ready to light. We decided to leave it behind for other hikers to enjoy as we already had loads of food and it was getting late in the day. Stopped by Roaring Fork Shelter to sign the log book and pushed on from there as it was 5 miles to Walnut Mountain Shelter. Got lost once, but backtracked and found where we went wrong. Last couple miles were tough and we were losing daylight. This area supposedly has a bear that steals bear bags that are hung too low. Knowing that somewhere in the woods was a hungry bear made us hike a little faster. Reached the shelter as it got dark and bumped into the Wooden Boys. They left within 10 minutes of our arrival as they were planning to night hike to the next shelter. Tried out my new stove and it worked perfectly. Glad I got that sorted out. Peanut butter chicken was excellent. Now I'm just going to try to ignore the mice and get some sleep. Today was a great day!

3/13/2009 11:30 PM - Hot Springs, NC - 13.1 mi today - 271.8 mi total

Woke up to a really strange noise coming from the side of the shelter. Think it was the sound of a dying mouse. I spilled some rice as I was making dinner, and I'm pretty sure the little guy ate it overnight. They say you shouldn't throw rice at weddings because it kills birds. Guess you should always spill a little rice at AT shelters. Steamboat and I were pretty lazy getting up. Pumped water and hit the trail around 10:15, one of our latest starts yet. Today's 13 miles felt a lot longer than yesterday's 20. It always seems to take a long time when you get close to a town. It also doesn't help that you have to descend into towns. My legs were killing me on the downhills. They wanted vacation a day early. We ate lunch at a campsite about 6 miles along. Only saw one group of hikers today. They were going the other way and smelled nice. Must have been their first day. We stopped in at the shelter 3 miles out of town to sign the log book and prepare for the final descent. That hurt! By the time we got to the bottom of the hill, we were groaning like old men. The AT literally goes right through Hot Springs, so we had a nice flat walk into town on the sidewalk. I checked into the Sunnybank Inn (Elmer's Place). I was greeted by a nice girl named Ren. She gave me a tour of the house and showed me my room. Originally, she was going to put me in with another hiker that seemed a little wierd. She changed her mind and gave I have a nice private room with a queen sized bed. After I dropped my stuff, Steamboat and I went to pick up the key to the cabin that his family was renting. We walked through town, which took all of 20 seconds because everything was closed for the day. After getting the lay of the land, we hit the Smoky Mountain Diner. I ordered the "Hungry Hiker" (3/4 pound cheeseburger) with onion rings, hush puppies, and baked beans. MMMMMMM. Excellent! After dinner, we hiked up the hill to check out Mike's cabin that looked a lot like a trailer. It was pretty nice inside and had a tv so I got my ESPN fix. Syracuse beat Uconn in 6 overtimes last night! What an amazing game. I am really going to miss March Madness. At 7, I headed back to the hostel to shower and organize my stuff. I gave the Wooden Boys my old stove as I didn't need it anymore. The new one is perfect. After making my phon calls, I went back to Steamboat's cabin to meet his family and watch the Syracuse game. Jen (Steamboat's girlfriend) sent him a sweet cookie cake that said "You smoked the Smokies" and had the AT symbol. It tasted awesome. It was really nice to meet his family and sit on the couch with the dogs. Did my laundry while I watched the game. Cuse won in OT over West Virginia. Great game. It was fun to watch a game again. I really miss sports. Hoping to catch up on all my teams at the library tomorrow. Dad and Flo are leaving Ithaca in the morning, so I will take a "zero" (hike zero miles) in Hot Springs. Have to do some chores before they arrive. Also looking forward to pancake breakfast at the hostel. Nice to sleep in a warm bed.

3/14/2009 4:45 PM - Hot Springs, NC - 0 mi today - 271.8 mi total

Woke up at 11 AM today, so I missed breakfast. That was the best sleep I have had in a while. Checked out and signed up for breakfast tomorrow morning when Dad and Flo will be here. Met Steamboat in the outfitter. Bought a couple things and had lunch with his family at the Iron Horse restaurant. Checked into the motel as they were the only place that allowed dogs and had vacancy. Now I am just using the computer at the outfitters. Nice people here. Great day to take a zero as it's pretty rainy. Looking forward to seeing my family in about an hour. Tried to upload my pictures. Looks like I have about 200 now. Check them out. I'll hopefully get to upload more from Dad's computer tonight.