Day 22- Roaring Fork Shelter to Hot Springs, NC

Appalachian Trail Total Length: 2189
Total Miles Hiked on this trip:   274
Miles Hiked Today: 18.3
Section Hike Complete- Springer to Hot Springs
Sage Lifetime Total AT Miles: 465.4
Sage Percentage of AT Hiked: 21%
Dan Lifetime Total AT Miles: 508.4
Dan Percentage of AT Hiked: 23%

At about 615, I got up and started to make espresso and pack. We hit the trail at 0730, with visions of a fast hike and an early arrival in Hot Springs. The initial few miles were downhill,  and we knocked out about 3 miles in the first hour.  Then we started to climb.

Once again our ambition exceeded our energy.  Neither of us had as much energy as the day before.  On a good day, we have been powering up the climbs with almost no breaks.  We took lots of breaks today.

Walnut Mountain Shelter was located just after the first climb of the day. The description of this shelter  on my AT android app, Guthook, made it sound like a dump. It was a dump, but the location looke like an excellent place to spend the night, great campsites nearby.

    Sage plopped down in the shelter and sprawled out on her foam pad.

  After adding a bit of water to our camelbacks,  we continued. Slightly rested,  but still down on energy. We cruised downhill to the start of Bluff Mountain and began our weary climb to the top. After a long, slow plod to the top, our labors were rewarded with no view.  The theme for today was PUDS, Pointless Ups And Downs. A big climb needs an overlook, not just a continuation of the green tunnel. At least we were done climbing. ...we thought. 

About the time we finished the initial decent of Bluff Mountain, it started to rain.  Fairly heavy. We went from drenched in sweat to drenched in rain.  This was an improvement in some respects,  it improved our smell a bit, and helped to cool us off. 

I have no pictures of this stretch because my Android was tucked away to stay dry. 

Completely exhausted, soaked and with sore feet, we walked into Deer Park Mountain Shelter, only 2.8 miles short of town. And the shelter was packed full of 30 to 40 year old women. Piles of them. Easily over 20. While not an unknown demographic on the trail, it still rather odd to see such a large, homogeneous group overflowing  the shelter.  I sat down in the lessening  rain, and kicked off my shoes to "dry" my feet in the pouring rain. As the rain let up, a few of the women ventured out to set up tents and hammocks,  making room for Sage to get out of the rain. 

After our final break of the day, we started our final descent to town. This rock and plaque marked the end of the trail before entering Hot Springs.

After checking into the Laughing Heart Hostel, a few steps away from the trail, we followed the AT into town and had a large meal to celebrate our 274 mile hike.

The climb from Hot Springs back to the Hostel was brutal, involving dozens of steps and tens of feet in elevation gain. But we hauled our tired bodies back and crashed in our bunks.

While our hiking is done, I will do a few more posts.  I plan to do the traditional Pre-Hike "What's in My Pack" review...post hike. Frankly, that's much more useful, as I have a much more accurate view of what works and doesn't after the hike. Overall our gear worked well, but there are a few changes I would make before a similar hike. 

It has been a great hike, it isn't hard to imagine hiking North out of Hot Springs today.  But it is also rewarding to know that we made it, on schedule and mostly intact. 

I encourage the reader to get out and do some day hikes, or even overnight backpacking trips. While I have met multiple folks on the trail whose first backpacking experience started at Springer,  I think the previous hikes Sage and I have done in preparation have made this trip more enjoyable,  rewarding and safe. So if you have enjoyed this blog, go do likewise...go enjoy the outdoors in some form.