Well, I officially ate at every restaurant in town. In fact, I think I even ate food from nearly every place that sells food. The amazing breakfast sandwich and the 16 oz burger were awesome, but my favorite restaurant ended up being Iron Horse Station, right on the way out of town this afternoon. It was a classy environment with good food and welcome toward hikers. I came in, smelly and requesting an outlet, and they tolerated me without flinching.

Needless to say, I stayed in town slightly longer than anticipated. Some familiar hikers came into town, and my errands took up a good portion of time. I ended up switching to a tent setup, albeit a simple setup. I sent some clothing home, despite people worrying about the looming cold weather. Most of what I sent home I had only worn once.

Finally getting out of town, just a little ways, I was able to set up my hammock before the rain really hit. It hasn’t yet, so we will see just how wet it actually gets.

I am excited about the new gear I picked up. I will try to show more of it tomorrow.

For now, I plan to listen to the sounds of Hot Springs and of the trail, as I drift toward sleep.

Despite having taken my share of zero days, today was my first zero in a town. However, this is not entirely accurate. The AT actually goes right down Main Street in Hot Springs, which is where I walked for most of today. So technically, I walked a good amount on the trail today, but my backpack only moved across town, where the free sleeping is.

I think I mentioned what an awesome and welcoming town this is, with plenty of resources for hikers. Since it is Sunday, a lot of places are closed, so I plan to take care of business tomorrow before heading back onto the trail. It would be fun to cruise on ahead to Erwin, the next town, but there really is no rush.

Familiar hikers are before and after me on the trail, so whatever pace I choose, I will run into some cool people.

Most of the day was spent resting feet and talking to great people, and I had an awesome breakfast, which I posted a picture of recently. It was an egg, bacon, and cheese sandwich, but instead of bread, they used cream-cheese-stuffed French toast. See what I mean? They know how to take care of hikers here.

I also spent a bit of time trying to update my blog. If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know.

This morning, I got a wake-up call. Barely conscious in my hammock, I heard “Firewalker!” I bolted up and saw Indiana! At first, I assumed it was a dream, since I did a bit of the math in my head. I did around 60 miles since I last saw Indiana, while he was staying in Gatlinburg. But it was reality, he was there. He is one fast hiker.

He was about taking off, so I didn’t have much time to chat, but it was awesome to see him, and I knew. I would see him again soon. “French fries and coke!” he shouted as he started down the trail – motivation for getting into Hot Springs today, which was on everybody’s mind.

It was a somewhat rugged but fairly brief hike into town, and it was so great to get there. The town of Hot Springs is certainly a quirky one, any small town is, but it has a rich history if being a trail town. The trail goes right down Main St., so the town is accustomed to and generally welcoming of hikers.

This weekend also happened to be a Hiker Bash, so there were free meals and events, and quite a few hikers spending time in town. It was awesome to see a few hikers that I had not seen in a while, and have plenty of free time to catch up. While on the trail, everyone is moving, usually at different paces, so it can be difficult to have a conversation at length with many hikers, but not here.

Also, being in town has some great perks: showers, burgers, laundry, and plenty more. So far, I have accomplished the first three and am working on the “plenty more” part. It is a hiker party here! Now that the burger is out of the way, we are headed for the free chili dinner. So many hikers here, it is wonderful.

I wasn’t sure what to expect this morning, but I felt pretty good. I had to tie up some loose ends and grab a bit of food, so I got a bit of a late start this morning, but the weather was beautiful, and hiking was great.

I just got enough food to make it to Hot Springs, only two days or so away. It fit comfortably in my pack, which helped balance the weight and allowed me to hike more comfortably. It worked pretty well. I was able to get into a good hiking groove.

I joined forces with a new acquaintance, Northstar, and the two of us hiked into the evening. I was feeling strong, and it felt great to push on. We arrived at a shelter just before dark, after hiking around 21 miles.

I jumped into my usual evening routine, as follows:
1) check remaining water, get some if needed. Drink a lot if I did not throughout the day (5-6 liters per day)
2) eat. This usually takes a while, and then I brush y teeth and hang my food bag. This is a precise science, as I don’t want to hang it too early and get hungry.
3) set up spot in the shelter or set up tent. This can sometimes be step 1 if spots are limited, rainy out, etc.
4) change clothes, blog, write, or hang out by the fire if there is one.

As with most things out here, this schedule is flexible and depends on each night. Some nights, the fire is the first step, some nights eating is a definite priority.

Since tonight, I didn’t have much light left, I had to be quick and started with eating. After that, I quickly hung my hammock (which I recently added to my pack) It felt great to sleep amongst the trees, especially with an open sky full of stars above.

Then, I simply got my sleeping bag out and got ready for sleep, which was welcome.

A good day, new friends, old friends (relatively). Life is good.

Well, I went to bed fairly early last night, and I woke up fairly early and couldn’t seem to fall back asleep. I often wake up in the middle if the night out here, which I think is mostly a result of sleeping for the twelve hours of darkness each night. However, this awake time was longer than usual, and with my new hiking mentality, I decided simply to get up and start hiking.

The temperature was such that my phone refused to turn on, so I could no tell you the exact time, but I can tell you this: it was early. The sky was clear and dark, with plenty of stars. It remained like this for the five miles to the next shelter. When I arrived, I was surprised to see headlamps. Somebody else was awake.

At first, I thought they were night hikers, but I soon discovered they were just getting up. “It’s good to see another early riser,” they told me. It did feel great to be up this early. They told me their sleeping spots were available, but I opted instead to fill up water, eat some jerky for second breakfast, and head down the trail after them.

It turned out I made the absolute right choice. After the past few days of muddy trails and entirely cloudy skies, today would be a blossoming beauty. First light sank in soon, followed by an unbelievable mountain sunrise on my right with the picturesque blue smokey mountains on my left. Honestly, I can’t fit that hour of my hike into words, but I was leaping with enthusiasm and excitement. What an amazing experience.

By the second shelter, I was on cloud nine, which was the only cloud for miles. I had already hiked thirteen miles, while most people were just getting out of tent. I felt great, and I started running into hikers I knew from the Early Days. I had a blast hiking with Tatanka and Sits-In-Chair today. They are hilarious and both set a great pace. Sticking with them, I made it to the Standing Bear Hostel. 23 miles today. Whew. And it was only early afternoon when we strolled (limped) in.

The hostel was a very open environment, and it was great to relax with the other hikers there. First things first – I bought a frozen pizza and ate it, followed by some stretching and socializing and showering.

Admittedly, my legs are tired, and I am looking forward to sleeping in a bed and rejuvenating tonight. Today was definitely one of the best days, and I can’t wait to see what future hiking brings.

One of the hikers who hopped into the shelter last night goes by Indiana, and he has been hiking around 20 miles a day… Every day. I decided that sounded fun (or something like fun), so when he left that morning, I joined him.

I am fascinated with the philosophy out here of “hike your own hike.” It is truly awesome how every hiker respects the other methods of hiking. Some people hike fast, while others hike slow. Some say that the last person to Katahdin wins. Others enjoy the energetic and competitive nature of the trail. So far, I have enjoyed experiencing all of these ideas by myself and with other hikers.

Hiking with Indiana was exploring a side of the trail that I had not tried yet, which was fairly extreme. I had said before I left, mostly in jest, “the more extreme the better.” However, I have realized that this can not always be true. In fact, it is rarely true, but some extreme is definitely a good thing. Out here, extreme is easy to find, but finding the right personal balance is a beautiful thing.

Well, I decided to try a little more mileage, but before it got to that point, Indiana and I reached a junction at a road. Indiana had a couple of difficult days and decided to head into Gatlinburg. I moved on, despite the weather, and reached a shelter pretty far down the line. I got to meet up with a hiker from the UP (of Michigan), and we talked about hiking other trails. I am considering which trail to hike next, hopefully soon in my future life.

A disclaimer: I apologize for the delay on these few posts. Reception was not great in the Smokey Mountains, but I anticipate better results in the future.

I picked up the pace a bit, which was good, as I was a bit worried about making it through the Smokies. I do have a lot of food, but I also eat a lot of food. It’s a Catch-22.

The most notable part of today’s hike was (or should have been) Clingman’s Dome. Luckily, I saw it with my family, so I was not severely disappointed to see this today:

And I went to the store to see if I could pick up some more food. Alas, the only thing they had was a few chocolate bars, which I bought. I also bought some bottled water, since they had no source of free water there. A little anticlimactic, but I was determined to hike on.

Most of the day was done alone, and though it was not a long day, it felt like one, especially with the muddy trails.

I am meeting some new hikers, which is pretty fun, and it reminds me not to get stuck only thinking about the same people, to enjoy what and who is around me right now. Starting a fire and talking time. I think there are even s’mores tonight!

The good news is that it stopped raining by the time I got out of my sleeping bag (coincidence? maybe). The bad news is that it had rained enough where I was hiking through miniature waterfalls most of the day.

It was a rough 5 miles to the next shelter, and I arrived there in the early afternoon. After debating whether or not to go on, the cold and wet persuaded me to stay. I figured it was best, given the idea that the other shelters could be full by the time I arrived, and I would have to set up my bivy in the rainy mud. Either way, I am glad I stayed. Hooch caught up with me, a fellow American Literature enthusiast, and I met some new faces.

Most of the afternoon was spent eating and such, but I did have some time to write, which was a rare pleasure. I am hoping it isn’t as rare in the near future, and if that means hiking less miles each day, so be it. I would much rather spend more time on the trail and get more writing done.

Well, it’s been raining off and on, and even if it does clear up tomorrow, I am prepared for muddy trails again. I hope to make it to Clingman’s Dome tomorrow, but again, no need to push. I will simply see how I feel and where the day goes.

That’s all for tonight. Oh, and I did get a few compliments on my haircut, the new Firewalker look. Thanks to my brother, Jake.

Well, a couple people told me to restrain myself less with my posts. I tend to err on the side of being polite (my parents are to blame for that), but I will try to tell it like it is more often.

A couple of weeks or so ago, a southern man told me a couple of stories. It took the first two stories for me to become fluent in the dialect. The third story went something like: “When I was little, we went to church all the time. I didn’t care for it much, but they had a room in the basement where you could go and recite a bible verse for candy, so I would go down and get as much as my pockets would carry. The woman who taught down there, we called her Grapefruit. That’s because she was four feet tall and three feet wide.” So I learned what a grapefruit was.

I have been learning all kinds of things on my hike. As they tell you, these are things you just can’t learn in school. For instance, as I was considering how polite to be in my blog posts, some other hikers were discussing anal plugs. Apparently, bears will eat their fur and other usually inedible objects to form such a plug during hibernation. This got me a little worried, since I have eaten about a pound of cheese in the last 24 hours.

The day went pretty well, though I was surprised to see so few people hiking again. Yesterday and today, I mostly hiked alone, which is fairly rare for me. After a while, I thought I saw Wildflower Willie, looking at the ground. As I approached, I asked if he was looking at wildflowers. “Something like that,” he said with a sneer, and as he looked toward me, I saw that it was not Wildflower Willie at all, but Carl the Confronter! A similar cap and white beard, yet the youthful glint in Willie’s eye was replaced by a reproachful glare. Carl is a ridge runner along the Smokies, enforcing anything in his path. I tightened my grip on my trekking poles in case he decided to strike.
“Did you deposit your hiker permit in the box on the way in?” Carl asked.
The urge to blurt “No!” and sprint past was unbearable, but I stood my ground. At last, I managed a “Yes.”
Carl jotted something on his goofy waterproof notebook and told me the shelter was about 100 feet ahead, which I could clearly see for myself.
I hung out at the shelter briefly, but when Carl was muttering something into his radio, I stole away into the late afternoon.

I jumped two more shelters, and I met up with Hooch along the way. We had met early on, so it was refreshing to see a familiar face among the crowds of weekenders and hikers I don’t yet know. I met a couple of new hikers too, and we chatted a bit.

Upon arriving at the shelter – fairly late, due mostly to my late start – I discovered a few hikers who had already dined and were hastily headed toward the Sandman. It sounded like a good idea, so I had a quick dinner and got ready for bed.

Overall, I did 11 miles today. Not bad, but I hope I am only getting stronger again. I found evidence of old friends in the logbook at the shelter, and it made me want to catch up to them. Hopefully, I will see them soon, but I hope to enjoy myself and new friends until then.