My favorite week in North Carolina

The further I go on my hike, the harder it is to understand how time passes or distinguish parts of the trail. Which is a sign that I need to post more!

So before any more time passes, I wanted to recap my time in Hot Springs because it was so much fun and wonderful. I kept thinking «wow, that was like a month ago! I’m so behind!» but actually… that was *checks calendar* two weeks ago?!? My brain feels absolutely scrambled by this news.

The week leading up to Hot Springs was a lot of fun on the road! I feel like it really solidified our trail family AND we got some beautiful scenery. The Smokies were gray, but the last day and stretch RIGHT after we submitted our completed permits was like walking into another universe. One that was in bloom! We couldn’t stop taking pictures.

Hikers rest

The night we left the Smokies, we were picked up to stay at Hikers Rest in Hickory Hollow in Tennessee. The property was BEAUTIFUL. And two hikers we met and really liked were there too (hi Max + Lizard)! A night of just people we liked? And we have to ride in the back of a van?! And we got to take our Aussie friend to Walmart for the first time?! I mean, come on, this is what Taylor Swift was talking about when she said «and I don’t know how it gets any better than this.»

We showered, did laundry, and ate burgers and dogs with our friends. Shout out to Loon for opening an entire watermelon with just a small pocket knife. That night we built a fire and watched a legendary sunset over the ridge of the Smokies where we had just hiked and the mountain we would tackle next. The next day we all had breakfast together. Dreamer!

Maximum patch

During this stretch, we also conquer Max Patch. I had been to Max Patch before and was excited for my friends to see it! I was in college in the south during the heyday of people camping there (i.e. a group of college kids almost RUINED Max Patch and have banned camping here for several years to restore it). The restoration looks phenomenal! We arrived at Max Patch around lunch and spent a lot of time flipping and flipping, watching people fly kites, petting dogs, taking little naps, and talking to all kinds of hikers. It was a perfect afternoon. Not to mention we had received trail magic earlier that day from Grateful! It was amazing and I loved their sign encouraging people to write down what they were grateful for! I loved reading people’s responses and also couldn’t help but laugh at the juxtaposition between really sincere gratitude and a silly trail name. For example, «The restorative nature of God. He is everywhere!» written by «Dog Spit». Ha ha ha.

Loon and I stayed from about 1:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. so we could watch the sunset. We were staying at a lodge about 1.5 miles away and knew we could book it once the sun went down. We spent the time waiting reading, talking and eating and then FREEZING in the wind while watching a couple take wedding photos. I can’t believe they didn’t want two smelly hikers in the background. The sunset was beautiful… but discreet. Should we have stayed? As for the sunset: maybe not. You be the judge. Regarding memory: 100%. This is now a very special and fun memory with my friend. However, it was so windy that I was more than ready to leave when the time came. I will never forget the joke that I shouted “ANIKA THE SUN HAS SET” to motivate my friend to get together and we could leave. ha ha ha.
We actually flew to the shelter after what I call my “I’m late to the Anthropologie beat,” which is when I used to cut it too short on my way to my part-time job and have to BOOK IT across town. In retrospect, it was all really AT training.

hot springs

The rest of the way to Hot Springs was really nice. We were very excited to get to the city because we had planned a double zero (two days, no hiking) to rest and celebrate Lighthouse’s upcoming birthday. We also drove into town (when you only do a few miles, which makes walking “almost zero”) the first morning, which felt like having three days off! Hot Springs is also the first town on the AT that runs directly through the city! It is not necessary to coordinate transfers! Score!

Let me tell you something: this group knows how to get to zero. Nobody is zeroing out like us. I’m talking about the beautiful Airbnb next to a river where we were able to swim. Special permission to use the on-site laundry. I’m talking about not one, but TWO bathing sessions in the hot springs. We’re talking several mornings at Smoky Mountain Diner, including Saturday’s cinnamon roll day. I met up with friends from the trail all weekend! We’re talking about disinfecting our equipment on the porch. We’re talking about live music at the taqueria. We’re talking about having a friend from Loon visit us and bring us a laptop to watch Heat Rivalry. And the piece de resistance? Road trip to Asheville for massages, watching a movie at the theater, Thai food, restocking at Trader Joe’s, and seeing my friend Tim from college! Get! In! Our! Level!

This weekend absolutely lived up to our excitement and I dare say surpassed it. Hot Springs is SO CUTE and friendly and we were impressed. What a special place! Plus, it’s absolutely amazing to see how much has been restored since Hurricane Helene. We knew it was going to be difficult to leave, but we were ready to move on. As for that trip out of town? Awful. But can you imagine if we had to do it without getting massages the day before? Luckily, I will never live in a world where I have to do that.

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