AT10 – Hotspring to Jerry Cabin

March29 – 11 miles to Spring Mountain Shelter 

Last night was cold. In the morning, my tent is covered by frost, outside and inside. 
I try to take as much off the fly before packing up, but I know it won’t be enough and that I will have to let it dry later today. 

I go inside the hostel for coffee, and I convince Strider to go to the diner for breakfast. 6ft and Milwaukee are keen to join us too, and we leave a bit later. 
OMG it is so good! I ordered the Skillet Breakfast for 11 dollars, and it was huge and delicious! 

I have got some errands to do before going back on trail, so I say goodbye to the others and leave. 
First stop : the Post office. My knee did very well in the Smokies, so I decided to send my brace away. I hope I am not making a mistake here, fingers crossed. My new microspikes are in there too, and I put the old ones in the hikerbox. 
I go to the Dollar General, but they have nothing… So I decide to resupply at the outfitter. I buy enough food for the next 5 days. 
Then, I realise that people are looking for me. The first time it was Blue in the outfitter. Then in the street, a couple of other hikers started to stop me… What is going on ? 
Apparently, teeth retainers have been forgotten in the room shared by Boomerang and Firefly. And since I am the only one left in town who’s got their contacts, they were all looking for me to get in touch with the girls. 
I stop by their hostel and grab the retainers. There is no phone service though, so I decide to carry them with me until I can catch up with their owner. 

Back to my hostel, I pack my food and leave. It is 11.30, a bit later than I planned, but I have only 11 miles to go. It’s fine! 

After crossing the town, the trail goes along the French Broad river and then uphill. Steeper than I expected. The few drinks from last night, the amount of food I ate this morning, and the warmth from the beautiful sun are making it a bit harder than I imagined. But the trail is really lovely, and I am having a great time. 
I can see the river below, it is very pretty. 
It is Easter Weekend so, even if I am technically hiking alone, I meet a lot of day hikers on the trail. 

I reach a pond where I spend some time watching the fish and the newts swimming in the water. I have plenty of time. 
There are only a few miles to go, and I try to take it easy up the hills. My legs hurt but I am doing well. 

I see a chipmunk and try to take some pictures of it. But they move fast. 

A blue blaze trail leads to Rich Mountain Fire tower, and I decide to check it out before I reach Spring Mountain shelter. 
Clouds and Ripple are here too, and Rob. 

I pitch my tent and leave it open to dry while I head to the shelter to have dinner with everyone. 

When I go into my tent to lay down and write, I leave the doors open to enjoy the sunset light. I am having a blast… 

March 30 – 16 miles to Jerry Cabin Shelter 

I get up kind of early, but I will be the last one to leave: during breakfast, I just keep on chatting with everyone… Never mind. 

I hike alone all day, passing Back9 and Long Island who are slack packing SOBO. 
I also meet another hiker at the road crossing. His name is Sings With the Pine. He is wearing the full traditional kilt. I pass him and climb the hill. 

A bit later, I come across a gravel road with a sign on the tree: there is trail magic down the road ! 
I meet the Southern Cookie Lady who lives there in the woods with her husband. 
From her, I get some cookies and Easter chocolates. I talk with her for a while before going back on trail. 

I wait until I reach the very top of today’s hike to stop for lunch. After a little break, I follow the ridge of the mountains where I get some beautiful views from Whitrock Cliffs and Blackstack Cliffs. 

There is a bypass to avoid the ridge, but of course I do not take it. I go through the rocks and climb to big Fireskald Knob and to the 300 miles mark ! 
I love that trail made of rough stone steps covered in moss. It looks like a fairy land… 
The view is amazing, and I am having a very good time. I spend 30 minutes there, enjoying the view and talking to my sister on the phone. 

3 miles further, I reach Jerry Cabin shelter. There, there are already Clouds and Ripple, Rob and some other hikers. 
I pitch my tent on a not so flat spot, but it will do for the night. 
After geting water, I head to the shelter for dinner. Everyone is talking about snow coming in a few days. It is so warm right now that it is hard to imagine! 

I am just about to go to bed when I see Bubbles coming! After a zero in Hotspring, she just walked 26 miles to catch up. She is insane! Haha