Last night was crystal clear, so we were also treated to a festival of lights from the stars after dark.  We woke up early, well rested and started breaking camp around 6:15 with a lovely sunrise as our backdrop.  We were 19.5 miles from Hot Springs. None of us were ready to verbally commit to going the whole way in one day, but inwardly, I think we all knew we'd go for it.

We were packed and ready to hike at 7:00 sharp.   Brandon had gotten right up and pitched in to help this morning without his usual sleepy complaints.  He and I are the night owls, and not morning people by nature, so it's been more of a struggle for him on a daily basis.  This morning, though, everything clicked.  Ronald commented to Brandon that he appreciated him making the effort to get going at 6:15.  Brandon's eyes got wide and he exclaimed, "I got up at 6:15?  Oh, man!"  He didn't realize what time it was, and he felt duped.  We'll have to try that more often, but he'll probably wise up.

Our first 5 miles were a breeze.  The trail wound through meadows and gently up and down old woods roads.  We zoomed by Roaring Fork Shelter before 9:30, and weren't going to stop, but noticed a big white dog and a red pack beside a tent.  That could only be Patches and Sunny White Dog, so we dived down a side trail and spent a few minutes catching up.  Patches had to skip around the Smokies, because dogs aren't allowed in the park, and now he's headed to Hot Springs before hopping up to Damascus.  He's also going to take a week off at home before heading to New England, so doubt we'll cross paths again.

We still had our two major climbs ahead of us, so we said goodbye and headed off for Walnut Mtn.  The shelter on Walnut is one of the original AT shelters, so it's over 50 years old.  According to Wingfoot, it was supposed to be replaced by the new Roaring Fork Shelter, but it was left to satisfy the nostalgia of trail "old timers".  It's surely seen better days, but paints a good picture of earlier days on the trail when only a few braved souls ventured out to tackle this wilderness adventure.  I'm glad they left it here.

Bluff Mtn was our next climb, and we kept up a good, steady pace to the top.  Brandon was ahead, and found a grouping of rocks which he declared "the summit", and stopped for lunch.  Sometimes it's difficult to tell where the real summit is, especially if it's wooded and has numerous saddles or knobs.  You have to look for clues, like seeing sky in all directions through the trees, or not seeing anything higher in the distance.  After lunch, we continued on and discovered Brandon had called it correctly.  We were pleased to have done the climb so easily.  The next 4-5 miles were a long descent to the bowl of Garenflo Gap.

Stopped for our candy bar break before the climb up Lamb Knob.  Wanted to give the sugar time to kick in.  Based on the elevation profile, we were expecting another killer up and over, but it was a gentle grade, so we were up and over before we knew it.  The only problem was with the Sweetwater filter.   It had been acting up, and when we tried to pump water for the rest of the afternoon, it gave up the ghost completely.  Now we really had to ration water, because we only had 1 1/2 quarts between us, and miles to go.

We hoped the spring at Deer Park Mtn Shelter would be good enough to drink without pumping, but it looked very unappealing, so we decided not to risk it.  The shelter was on beautiful rhody-lined side trail, but there was no one there.  So, we made our official declaration to blast the last 3.2 miles into Hot Springs.  We wanted to be careful not to push Brandon to a 20 mile day, but by lunch he was already saying he wanted to go for it.  Hiker's pride and thirst were our primary motivators as we started off on the last leg at 3:45.

By the last steep mile diving down into Hot Springs we were chanting, "Ice water! ice water!"  There is a Jesuit Hostel right where the trail comes out into town, and that's where we were headed, but they were closed to hikers for a couple weeks.  We stayed there in '77, so I had gotten it in my mind we should stay there again.  Ronald had mentioned several times about the Sunnybank Inn being "the place" to go in Hot Springs.  I had even read about it myself, but somehow it just hadn't sunk in as an option.  In retrospect, I'm delighted the hostel was closed, because the Sunnybank was perfect place to end the first section of our summer's journey.

Hot Springs is one of several trail towns where the AT goes right down main street, so the Sunnybank is right on the trail.  It's a huge white Victorian mansion, built in 1875 as a summer home for a wealthy family.  This was during the peak of Hot Springs resort spa days.  After that, it was a boarding house for years.  The current owner, Elmer Hall, has operated it as an inn since 1978.

All of Elmer's business is either from AT hikers, word of mouth, or special invitation.  He doesn't advertise, and he doesn't encourage drop-in tourists.  The entrance is through the kitchen off the back porch, and there is no sign visible from the street.  Elmer heard us walk up and met us at the door.   We hadn't called ahead for a reservation, so we could tell he was sizing us up.   He politely asked us several key questions, about where we started, how far we'd come, and where we were going, etc.  I guess we met the thru-hiker criteria, because he relaxed and invited us in.

What a wonderful place this is!  I can't believe I didn't pick up on any cues before, or I'd have pushed to come here from the beginning.   Ronald just laughed and said he'd tried to tell me.  But at least we were here now.  Elmer gave us our choice of rooms.  Brandon was delighted to have his own room for a change.  All the furnishings are antiques, and each room has its own personality.  There are several common rooms, a game/sitting room, a music room, a large dining room, plus several cozy niches for escaping.

Elmer is a gourmet vegetarian chef, and prepares dinner and breakfast each day.  He asked if we would be joining them for dinner, and we quickly said yes.  We still had plenty of time to get clean and explore before dinner.  Ronald and I headed for the shower, but as soon as Brandon saw the huge claw-foot tub in the upstairs bath, he opted to take a soak.

Hot Springs only has about 600 permanent residents, and very few stores or restaurants, so our exploration didn't take long.  We walked down to the French Broad River to check out the rapids and the mineral spas.  Before dinner, we still had time to meet and swap trail stories with a section hiker, Paul Meador, a grad student from Colorado.  He told us he'd heard that Dream Chaser made it at least as far as Fontana Dam, because she stayed at the Fontana Motel.

It was dark as I lay in my bag looking at the stars sprinkled in the sky. I fought for a while the pull of sleep. I wanted to leave the tarp and wander the bald and watch the night sky. The fog of sleep could not be driven away. I watched the display for awhile before drifting of to sleep.

Mornings light filtered in through the netting and I awoke before my alarm sounded. I sat up and started the morning ritual. With a bit of luck, it would be the last time for a couple of weeks. Boots on, deflate mattress, roll and pack sleeping bag, light stove to heat water and on an on. Soon Linda sat up followed by Brandon. Little was said. Little needed to be said. By now we all know what needs to be done. Linda and I stopped a few moments to watch the sun crawl its way up over a distant ridge.

At 7:00 we hoisted our packs and headed down off the mountain. I congratulated Brandon on his efficiency this morning. I'm not sure it was because of our discussion last night or his desire to get to Hot Springs. He was a bit frustrated when Linda told him he was up at 6:15 instead of our usual 6:30.

Or stated goal this morning was Deer Mtn. Shelter with the option to go on to Hot Springs. I don't believe any of us really thought we'd stop. It's not so much that we wanted to do long miles. It's just nice to know you can. It would give us time in town before the dad's arrive tomorrow to pick us up. Fortunately the trail cooperated with us. There were three climbs but none were bad. We had completed the first two by the time we stopped for lunch atop Bluff Mt. after ten miles.

Earlier this morning while passing Roaring Fork Shelter, I saw a familiar pack and dog. Patches and Sunny White dog had passed us when they skipped the Smokies. We hadn't seen them since the Dick's Gap. We stopped for awhile to catch up on trail news.

The only other item of note on our hike was the passing of our pump. On our water stop just after Garenflo Gap it failed to work. After twenty minutes we got less than half a quart. It had been getting worse the last few days, so it wasn't unexpected. It did give us another reason to press on to Hot Springs. However, I did leave us only a quart of water for three people for the last six miles to Hot Springs. We made the trip easily but we were quite thirsty when we arrived.

Tonight we're staying at the wonderful Sunnybank Inn. In my opinion it's the best place to stay on the trail. Elmer opened it in '78 after hiking the AT in '76. It is an old Victorian house built during the heyday of Hot Springs as the summer home of wealth visitor. Much of it's life it has been operated as an Inn. Elmer has decorated it with antiques that give it a lot of charm and warmth. Although it sits directly on the AT, there are no signs indicating it's presence. It is listed in Wingfoot's guide.

Since we did not know our schedule, we had not called ahead for reservations. When we arrived unexpectedly, Elmer conducted an interview to make sure we would be suitable guests. After a few questions we were invited to stay. In addition to fine lodgings, Elmer is a gourmet vegetarian chef. His meals are renown along the trail.

After getting our rooms and taking showers, we all ventured out to explore the town of Hot Springs. It is a small town. But with the closure of the Interstate highway, it is busy. All of the truck traffic has been routed through town. There is often a line of eighteen wheelers stretching from end to end of town. We wandered around town and grabbed a few snacks to hold us over for the night's feast.

This is our last day of hiking for the Southern Section. We got up at 6:15, and started moving right away. Even though we stopped to watch the sunrise, we were out of there by 7:00. We started hiking, and the grass was still wet from the morning dew. The morning hike was fairly flat, and we were making great time. The first five miles were through tunnels of eight foot rhododendrons, and other wild flowers. We got to Roaring Fork Shelter by 9:20, and decided to go another .4 mile to the road for a break. We hiked a few more feet, and dad looked down at the shelter and saw a white dog. We all naturally assumed it was Patches and Sunny White Dog. We walked down to the shelter and sure enough, it was them. We talked for a while, had a snack, then left him to finish packing up his stuff.

We hiked along to the road and up the hill from the road, where we met a group of scouts. The scouts had just left Walnut Mountain Shelter, less than a mile away, and downhill for them. They were already tired. We walked up the hill to the shelter, then kept on going. From Walnut Mountain it was downhill to Kale Gap, then a long up to the top of Bluff Mountain. We had lunch on top of Bluff, then headed 4 miles down to Garenflo Gap. Right before the gap, we ran into a boy and his dad, who were hiking with two dogs. We took our candy bar break and talked to them, then headed on toward our climb up Lamb Knob.

We hiked to the top of the knob, then started wondering where the steep part was. The elevation chart made it look harder than it was. From there, it was a few little ups and downs to Deer Park Mountain Shelter, where we stopped for another break. There was water in two places, but our pump had broken just before Lamb Knob, so we had to go three more miles on less than a half a quart.

From the shelter, it was a steep, tiring climb, that probably wasn't that bad, but we were tired, and had already done 16 miles. After the climb, it got easier, and we made great time. We were moving faster than we thought, because we got within a mile of Hot Springs in less than an hour. We stopped and finished off the water, knowing we could get some soon, then headed on. When we came around the last turn, I was so excited. We had done it! We hiked 280 miles, and finished the South. We walked to the Jesuit hostel, but they were closed, so we walked down the street to the placed dad had requested in the first place, the Sunnybank Inn.

We got to the Inn, but you could hardly tell it was an Inn. The only sign on the place was up the driveway on the porch. We walked up to the back door and the owner, Elmer Hall, came out and asked us a few questions before letting us in. He gave us the whole tour of the house, but all I could think about was that I was very thirsty. I waited until the end of the tour, then asked him for a glass of water. I downed two glasses, which quenched my thirst. Elmer told us we could eat dinner with them at the Inn, or go out. We decided to have dinner there.

Mom and dad took showers, and I soaked in the claw-foot tub, and when we felt human again, we went to walk around town. The town was very small, and we walked it in 10 minutes (but you could do it in less than five), because we weren't in any rush. We got a pop to get us to one end of town, and by the time we got to the end, we were ready for another. I also got a bag of chips to hold me till dinner at 8:00. We got back to the Inn, and went upstairs and talked to another hiker named Paul. We talked to Paul until they rang the bell for dinner, then I went and washed my hands and sat down at the table.

At dinner, besides us, there were a retired couple John and Olivia, Paul, Nancy, a friend of Elmer's, Elmer, and his staff, Frank and Mon. Everyone introduced themselves, and then answered the dinner question, "If you were a smell, what smell would you be." After everyone had answered the dinner question, we had our soup. The soup was cream of broccoli. I finished that off, then went for the salad, which was just as good. Then came the foccacia pizza, followed by pecan pie with ice cream for dessert. I couldn't finish the pie (I shouldn't have bought the chips before dinner), because the rest of dinner had been so big. After dinner, we all went into the parlor to talk before going to bed.