Bama➡️Baxter Day 53&54

Day 53: 17 miles

This morning we all got up in the hostel around 6am. I packed up my things and made a coffee. Then around 6:30am Ken came back in to make us some breakfast. There was cinnamon toast with cinnamon cream cheese spread. And Ken made us waffle bowls full of fruit with whipped cream. It was such a great way to start the morning.

An important development to note as well from this morning was that Jesse has finally gotten himself a trail name, Sweet Pea. So from now on I will be referring to him as Sweet Pea on here as well.

Around 7:45am Ken drove us back to the trailhead so that we could get back to hiking. The first 7-8 miles this morning are almost entirely uphill so we had that to look forward to. When we first got back to walking from Pigeon River Bridge we did about a mile or so and then passed by Standing Bear. We even did the spur trail to the hostel by accident because we weren’t paying attention. Then we began the major uphill miles.

The next 4.5 miles of trail were all uphill and were pretty steep at times. Some portions definitely had my calves burning and had me huffing and puffing. But it got a bit more gradual toward the end and we eventually got the top of that climb. It opened up into an exposed prairie almost which nearly 360 views all around. It was such a beautiful day and we really couldn’t have asked for better weather.

At the top of that climb we took our first break about 5 or so miles into the day.

Then we continued on to do the next 3 miles of uphill. It was another big push but was a lot more gradual than the previous stretch which was nice. It definitely felt like a bit of a relief from earlier. Once we got to the top we decided to push on and go a bit further. We descended and did one more climb before taking our next rest. It wasn’t far from there either to get to our planned camp site for the night.

All of us were debating whether we should do a few more miles today or just set up camp around 3pm. But we figured we would let it be a game time decision later on.

The rest of the day consisted of one more major climb and then all downhill from there which was nice. The climb was definitely harder during the heat of the day but it was alright. By 3:30pm we got to Roaring Fork Shelter and had gone about 17 miles.

Once we got to the shelter we all discussed if we should stay or not. It was really early for sure. But on the other hand we’re only 17 miles from Hot Springs, NC. And we have arranged to stay with a guy in Hot Springs who we met a couple weeks ago on trail named Solo. We told him we’d be in Hot Springs in the morning the day after tomorrow. So there was no point in going any further today.

Once it was decided we all got comfortable and set up in the shelter. I walked to get water and then made a hot chocolate and sat at the shelters picnic table. Then I began to journal for an incredibly long time. I’ve wanted to get caught up on my hand written journaling for quite some time. It’s definitely one of those things that becomes exponentially more daunting the longer you put it off. But with nothing but time at the shelter tonight I wound up getting a whole lot done.

As the night went on a lot more hikers arrived. A few more joined us in the shelter and tons more tented nearby. I made a good to go meal which was absolutely delicious. And after that I spent the rest of the night talking with hikers and writing some more.

Once it got dark out I called it a night and retreated into the shelter and my sleeping bag.

Day 54: 17.6 miles

This morning we had all talked about sleeping in, but wound up waking up the same time as always. We all packed up but took our time a bit. Then were hiking out by 7:30am. Our plan for the day was to do 14.7 miles to a shelter and have a pretty laid back day. Then walk into Hot Springs tomorrow morning.

We got going and the first handful of miles was nearly entirely downhill. That was a great way to start the day off for sure. We cruised along and then had a small climb up to a shelter. It was the shelter 5 miles from our camp that we had contemplated hiking to yesterday. When we saw it we were glad that we stayed at the other one. It was a really small 4-5 person shelter and the surrounding area was super buggy.

It wasn’t the best place to take a rest but all of us wanted a break. We hung out the shelter for a bit. From there it was only 9 or so miles to our intended destination for the night. And only 12.8 miles to Hot Springs. Plus it was only 9:40am. All of us looked at each other and were thinking the same thing. Are we really not going into Hot Springs today? We knew that we’d be at our intended camp site and shelter by 1pm. None of us liked the idea of sitting around all day at a shelter when town was only 3 miles away.

I checked to see if I had service and I actually did which was awesome. So I texted Solo to let him know that we may actually be heading into Hot Springs today. We didn’t want to inconvenience him so we figured that if he was busy today then we could find other accommodation. But he responded back quickly and said he’d see us soon!

Once we made the official decision that we were going to head into Hot Springs today instead of tomorrow everyone was really excited. Town can be damn alluring.

We finished up our break and set out to do another handful of miles. There were a couple of uphill portions but nothing too crazy. The four of us were able to push on another 5-6 miles before taking our next snack break.

At the spot that we stopped to break there was another hiker there with his dog. The guys name was Ryan and the dog was Jeff. I was so stoked to pet Jeff and he was a really sweet dog. Then I sat down and we all hung out for a bit. From there it was only 7 miles into Hot Springs which didn’t seem too far.

The rest of the day was nearly all downhill which definitely helped us all cruise along. I was feeling pretty good. We did another 3 miles before stopping at the last water source we would come across. Then gassed ourselves up and excitedly did the remaining few miles to town.

We got to the trailhead just before 3pm and were surprised to see that Solo was there waiting for us! He warmly greeted us and then handed us cold bud lites. Then we all sat there and talked with him for a while. He told us that he booked us a big room above the tavern in town for the night. I wasn’t at all expecting that so it was just incredible. It was such an incredibly kind and generous thing for him to do.

Solo drove us into Hot Springs and brought us to the tavern to check into our room. It was a huge multi room suite with 3 big queen beds. And he insisted on me having my own room because I’m the only girl. I couldn’t argue with that! All of us dropped off our packs and then went down to the tavern with Solo and his son Cole to grab lunch. We were all absolutely starving. I got a delicious burger on Texas toast with chili and cheese on it. Plus the biggest side of tater tots ever. We all indulged in a phenomenal meal and then to top it off Solo insisted on paying for the food. What an incredible dude. Truly unbelievable!

After eating all of us set out to do a couple errands. I checked the gear store to see if they had my shoes. I’ve put 700 miles on them so far and figured I’d replace them if I could. But they didn’t have my shoe so I guess I’ll be putting a couple more hundred on them! I did however get some dehydrated meals and random essentials at the shop.

Then I headed back to the room to chill out. I edited some blog posts and did some journaling. And after that I sat out with the guys and drank beer while they smoked hand rolled cigarettes.

Later on in the evening all of us took a walk around town. Then we headed back to the tavern to get a bit more food before calling it a night. I got a big spread of nachos which were delicious. And after that we headed back to the room and I laid in bed. I stayed up journaling for a while before finally calling it a night.