Hot Springs, NC
December 12, 2000
Hey ya’ll,
Just wanted to throw a note out that I’ve made it to Hot Springs, NC in fine shape. The walk from Erwin to here was absolutely fantastic. The weather was great and the views were just incredible. I had what turned out to be one of the best days of hiking ever the other day. The day started out with nothing out of the ordinary, except for the fact that the temperature was about 50 degrees with no wind by noon. I actually hiked in shorts and a long sleeve shirt for the first time in I-don’t-know-when until the wind decided to pick up and smack me down to the reality of what time of year it was.
Throughout the day everything just seemed to flow, making good time but not rushing. As the sun was going down the moon came up above the horizon, full and bright as could be. I hadn’t really planned on pulling a big day but I didn’t want the feeling of the day to end. No headlamp was necessary as the moon shining on the snow provided all the light necessary. Everything was just so quiet and peaceful. To make a long story short, I ended up hiking till about midnight, covering something like 28 miles but it felt more like hiking five. Incredible, just incredible.
Right now I’m sitting in Bluff Mountain Outfitters sponging off their computer. Being something of a gear nut, I’ve gone to just about every outfitter near the trail just to poke around. Dan and Wayne here, along with Jeff and Dave at Mount Rogers Outfitters in Damascus, VA, have been my favorite places by far. They really are in down to earth and in tune with the hiker community.
I just had the best breakfast today at the Smokey Mountain Diner. The Diner is the kind of place that I feel really at home at, where the waitress calls you “Honey” and keeps the sweet tea coming. Anyway, this breakfast was called the Breakfast Skillet. This culinary delight is something that could only be whipped up in the South. Hash browns, bacon AND ham, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, sausage, two eggs on top, and covered with cheese. Just looking at this mound of food, I could feel my arteries start to harden. After my heart stops palpitating, I’m going to swing down to the store and check to see if they have any “Acme At Home Angioplasty Kits” in stock.
One of the things that have hit me after walking around for five months is that my sense of scale has become much more, I don’t know, brought down to earth. A mile on the ground in a car seems quite a bit different than walking over that same mile. Anyway, as I was walking around town yesterday to get a feel for the area, this train goes by, blocking my way across the road. I’m standing maybe 25 feet from this thing and the size of the cars, the noise and screeching wheels, and the ground rumbling under my feet really hit me. I never really thought about how big those trains were, but it made a big impression on me. The same thing goes for the hills, the valleys, the smells, everything. Pretty cool.
I really like being back down in the south again. Things just a little slower here. Sure, there are some things that confuse me, but I like it just the same. One thing I’m convinced of is that there are more tanning beds per capita in the South than anywhere else in the world. The laundrymat/gas station here in town even has a tanning booth! Just an Observation, and your mileage my vary.
Enough of this babbling! Time to get hiking. I’ll be in the Smokies in a couple of days if I can get out of town at a decent hour. Sometimes it really is hard getting rolling out of a town, but as my buddy Brad Ivey says, “It doesn’t matter how far you get out of town, just get out of town.” Wise words indeed.
Take it easy,
-Johnny Swank
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