Bama➡️Baxter Day 67&68

Day 67: 6.2 miles

This morning we all woke up bright and early at our tent site, eager to make it into Demascus. There were only 6.2 miles to go and we planned to do it all in one push to make it into town for breakfast. There was only one or two small climbs but other than that the trail was all downhill.

The trail goes right through the town of Demascus so literally walked right on in. Our first stop was a breakfast joint to stuff our faces. Blackbeard was there eating so we joined him. I got a big spread of food, a chocolate milk, and a Bloody Mary. Quite the combination.

After we ate we walked around town and hit the gear shop. My shoes were there waiting for me which was fantastic. But I must say that the large men’s hiker box shoes did a great job over these last 46 miles. I’m so grateful that I was able to find them in the hiker box at Boots Off Hostel. Otherwise I’m sure my feet would have been ripped to shreds by the time that I got here.

In the gear shop I got my new shoes and a few other odds and ends. Then Sweet Pea, Boosted, Roxy and I all headed down the street to a nearby cafe. I was craving some kind of delicious iced coffee and we had to kill some time before checking into our room.

At the cafe we hung out and talked a few hikers who were hanging around the subway. I got an iced dirty chai latte which was absolutely killer. Then we sat outside for a bit there and drank our coffees before walking over to the inn.

The lovely people at the Dancing Bear Inn let us check in around noon. Once we dropped our packs we walked around town to do a few more errands. I had quite the list of odds and ends to get from the gear shop and local pharmacy. After that we headed back to the room to shower and hang out.

We rented the Papa Bear Suite at the Dancing Bear Inn. It had two twin beds, a queen bed, and a pull out couch. It was super spacious and perfect for the 5 of us plus Roxy the dog. I took an incredible shower and then we piled our laundry up to get that going. The lady who runs the inn actually does the laundry for you which is super nice.

Spring Break and Tia got into town a few hours after us and joined us. And the best surprise ever was that they were with OBX! A friend that we hiked with on trail back in Hiawassee and shared a room with in town. It was so cool to see her again after so long.

Everyone got situated and then we walked over to the grocery store to resupply. While I walked I used the opportunity to talk to my dad on the phone. I got what I needed in the store and tried not to over do it. Then we headed back to the room to lounge for the rest of the night. The top priority was to get all of our chores done today on our “nero” so that we could have a full day of relaxing tomorrow on our zero. That will be my first zero day in 24 days! And only the second zero day out of the last 41 days. It’s hard to believe that we have taken so few days of. We’ve done a lot of nero days but very few zeros.

Back at the room we all laid in our beds and relaxed. Later on all of us were hungry again so we walked down the street to get a couple pizzas. Then brought them back to the room to eat and lounge. We wound up watching Jumanji on the TV in the room and having a super chill night. It was so great to veg out and do a whole lot of nothing.

Day 68: zero day

This morning we all slept in a bit at the room before getting up. It felt wonderful to know that I was waking up in a bed in town and then got to spend the whole rest of the day and night in town again! What a luxury.

After getting up we headed over to the breakfast place in town. I got a delicious breakfast burrito and a chocolate milk. Sweet Pea took a shot of whisky on the side of his coffee. Gotta love a town day, baby. After we all ate we went back to the room to hang out. I decided to try and get some serious journaling done so I sat in the room and wrote for an hour or so.

I got a whole lot of writing down and wound up filling up one small journal. Then I brought some things over the post office to mail out. I had two full journals, a buff, some glove covers, and my aquamira water treatment. I haven’t been using any of those things so I figured I might as well send it all home.

Then I went back to the room to do a bit more writing and hang out with everyone. Around lunch time we walked over to a place called Wicked Chicken which wasn’t open yesterday. I got an incredible chicken sandwich and a hard cider. The guys all got ciders as well as shots of jager. They’re having some fun today for sure. Spring Break joined us at the restaurant after a little while as well. As an appetizer we all tried deep fried deviled eggs which were absolutely incredible. They did not disappoint. I’d never eaten anything like that before.

When we finished eating we headed next door to the ice cream place which is affiliated with the chicken restaurant. I got a coffee ice cream milkshake and then we all walked back to the room. There we had a chill rest of the night. I showered again because why the heck not? Then laid in bed and did a bit of writing. The guys went out to a distillery across the street but I really couldn’t be bothered to join. The idea of staying in bed sounded amazing to me.

Later on after they came back we all wound up watching some episodes of a show “I Think You Should Leave”, which is so weird but also so hilarious. Then we put a movie on later in the night before everyone wound up falling asleep. I managed to get a couple blog posts up as well which made me feel super productive. Then eventually we all headed off to bed.