This week finds me in Hot Springs, N.C.  at the Alpine Motel.  The trail runs right through Hot Springs on Bridge Street.   I love it when the trail runs right through the town because all the services are just right here - on the trail!  So on to the Post Office to pick up a box from my Mom.  She is sending my new Backpacker magazine, some sports clippings from the Dallas Morning News, shaving cream, small vials of hand lotion and camp suds, M & M's, Snickers, film.  When learning to reduce the weight of my pack, I learned to give up a lot of "essentials".   I no longer travel with small bars of soap or body wash.  I use camp suds for everything - washing dishes, clothes, body, whatever.  I bought a big bottle before I left home and Mom sends me small vials of it ever so often.

A little bit of history - during WW1, a detention center was built to hold the German prisoners at the northern end of town on the banks of the French Broad River, where mineral baths and massages are offered today.  Of course, the town was named after these hot springs.  The prisoners enjoyed the springs so much that many stayed in this area after the War.  Sounds like this would be a good place for tired old hikers to spend the day.

Anyway, I hope the rain, snow, and wind is gone for a while.  I heard tales of people getting caught up the Mountains during that big snow storm.  I would not have wanted to be out in the Shelters, or in my tent if the shelter was full, on such a night.   I'm glad I sucked it up and got into Hot Springs and into a nice, warm room.   I also needed to do some laundry. Most of the Hotel or Motel rooms are about $35 for a single and $45-$55 for a double, which is not much more than paying $15.00 per person for a bunk at a hostel.  We've been staying four to a room at the Motel so it has only been a cost of about $10 - $12 bucks per person, with our own bath and shower, and a TV!  We get caught up on the news and get to watch some sports.  You can easily forget TV's ever existed out here on the trail. 

Canoeing and kayyaking are big up here, and you will see almost as many people doing water sports as you see hikers, especially at the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor  Center).  Well, after a good night's rest and lots of good food, I'm heading out toward's Erwin, Tn.   I've heard a lot of good things about a hostel called Miss Janet's Place, and I hope to get a spot there.  Right now with the weather being so bad and with all the snow, everyone on the trail is headed to the hostels so it will be a real foot race.

By the way, I have some good pictures of the trail, the wonderful little Alpine town of Helen, Georgia I talked about back in week 2 or 3, Fontana "Hilton", etc which my sister-in-law Brenda will be putting on my website at the appropriate weeks so go back when you get a chance and look at the pictures which weren't previously there.    They will be interspersed in my journal during the appropriate week and also in the Photo Album.  They should be on by April 27 as I have only recently mailed the film back to my Mom. 

Since I didn't get out of Hot Springs until about 1:00 p.m., I didn't get very far today. On my hike I met a section hiker named Idaho, who was hiking in a home-made pair of moccasins. The A.T. is full of interesting characters like him.  I stopped at the first shelter I came to which was only about 10 miles from Hot Springs.  It is raining and pretty miserable.  Ran into Thorn the next day and he and I tented out because the Shelter was full.  Thank God for the company of good friends and my "Mountain Dew Stove" which can produce a meal in 10 minutes, and a nice, warm full stomach.

Well, we hiked about 17 miles today, trying to find a shelter or campground with water.   So, we hiked 3 -4 more miles (another 20 mile day!) to Jerry Cabin Shelter.   The next day, along the way we passed the Shelton Graves, the resting place of William and David Shelton (Uncle and Nephew).  The story goes that although they lived in N.C., they enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War. They were returning home for a family event when they were shot and killed by nearby Confederate Forces.  We made 15 miles today, to Hogback Ridge Shelter.  I ran into my old friend Digger Dave Dave along the trail.  I was really glad to see him.  He was  part of the first group I hiked with -  along with Fubar, Radio Shack, Tripod, Sleeping Beauty, Mountain Pooh Bear and myself - we were known as Section 8.  When we had to hole up in Helen, Georgia for four days because of Mountain Pooh Bear's bad knees and to get her on a plane back home, they went ahead, and I have been travelling with BamBam, Snoring Bear, Lady Bug, Hatteras, Rest Step, Beekeeper, Nuke (ex-Marine from New Jersey),   Mylo,   Spiderman, and Bodhi.

I don't mean to get long-winded here but I've got to tell you about Bodhi.  He's from Texas and rode a 10-speed bike from Canada to Florida to hike some trail down there. He had to sell his bike before his hike and at the end of his trail, he traded his Golite backpack for an L.L.Bean backpack in exchange for a few nights sleep with a married couple. Then he got a one-speed bike and biked to Amicolola Falls, Georgia.  There he traded his bike to some kind soul for a pair of cotton shorts, a cup of coffee and a good night's rest before hitting Springer Mountain and the AT.   When he completes the AT, he is going to canoe the Mississippi River from beginning to end.  You are probably wondering how hikers can spend so much time on the trail and not run out of money.  I'm telling you "trail magic" is everywhere.   At most hostels, you can do several hours work (washing dishes, cleaning, taking out trash, etc) and not have to pay the $15 per night charge.  In a lot of trail towns, you can get a job for a week or two and earn enough money to pay for trail food for several months.  I think we are the most infamous group on the Trail.       

We are about 28 miles from Erwin, Tn., and it is still raining, and we are stopping at Bald Mountain Shelter, the highest on the AT at 5,100 feet.  We took pictures at Big Bald, a beautiful mountain offering 360-degrees views.  It used to be called Greer Bald because an old hermit named David Greer lived here.  He came to the mountain after being spurned by a woman.  He declared himself to be sovereign of the mountain.   He killed a man but was acquitted on grounds of insanity.  However, he died when he was shot in the back by a local blacksmith; and the mountain eventually became Big Bald.  It is  a gorgeous place.

On Friday (or was it Saturday), I hiked on to Spivey Gap ( about 7 miles) and instead of hiking the next 11 miles into Erwin, I hitched a ride from Spivey Gap into Erwin, Tn.   I was afraid of not getting a bunk at Miss Janet's hostel with so many people on the trail and trying to get out of the bad weather and rain.  When I got there, it was just about full.   Erwin is a wonderful little town, and the trail comes right up to the city limits and then skirts the town for many miles.

There are big, wonderful, old two-story houses lining the streets, and Miss Janet's hostel is in one of these houses at 220 North Elm. She and her daughters live upstairs and the first floor is the hostel.  She has a big living room with a "Big-screen TV" and a video library in addition to a book library.  There is a big kitchen with a long table.  She cooks breakfast every morning for the hikers which is included in the $15 per night donation which she requests  and you can fix lunch or dinner or anything you like, as long as you clean up after yourself.   There is always a group of 3 or 4 preparing something in the kitchen. My friend Snoring Bear and Bam Bam, who I am travelling with, met Miss Janet about 3 years ago when they first attempted to hike the trail.  They had to stop in Erwin for some reason when Miss Janet had first bought the house, and they helped her build all the bunks for the hostel.

She has a big front porch and the biggest heart of anyone I have ever met in my life.   She goes to the trail and picks up hikers and takes them back.  Tomorrow she will take me back to the trail at Spivey Gap so that I can finished the 11 miles from Spivey Gap to Erwin that I did not hike today.  Then she will pick me,  and others, back up and bring us "home".  On Sunday, we will do this again, from Erwin to maybe Indian Grave Gap which is about 10 miles north of Erwin or even further, and she will pick us up at that point and bring us back for the night.  This is what you call "slackpacking".  You only have to take a small bag with water and a snack, and your camera if you want, and not your entire backpack.  Therefore, you can hike faster and lighter and still sleep and eat in a "real home", and it helps out Miss Janet with income. 

On Sunday (Easter), Miss Janet fixed us a big, super lunch - baked potatoes, ham, vegetables, everything you can imagine for Easter lunch and we all sat around the table enjoying our meal and each other's company.  The table is not long enough for 15 - 20 hikers so one of the hikers staying there, who in real life is a cabinetmaker, took Greenman, a couple of other hikers and Miss Janet's power tools and some scrap lumber, and in less than an hour had made two more tables, legs and all.   Is this a fun place to be or what!   I ate last night at the Erwin Burrito, which is just down the street from Miss Janet's.  You know I cannot pass up my Mexican Food.  Then I went down the street to the Sonic and had a chicken sandwich.  I was going to go to Joe's Market and get me some good stuff for a midnight snack but I was talking on the phone to my Mom and Mountain Poohbear so I couldn't get in the door before they closed. 

I really hate to leave this place tomorrow (Monday), and I'm thinking about slackpacking again. By the way, when I got to Erwin Fubar was there waiting for me with his new "girl" friend, Tripp.  He is ex-army from Texas and a colorful guy,  You will remember he is the one, along with Tripod and Radio Shack, who befriended Mountain Pooh Bear and I when we first started the trail and Pooh was having a hard time with her knees and her backpack and they hiked ahead of us to get room in the shelter and then came back and carried her pack, and us, to the shelter for the night.  In fact, just about all of the gang is here.  Bodhi is here as is BamBam and Snoring Bear (they are brothers) came in and BamBam and Miss Janet are having a good time catching up since they helped her build the bunks.  After having so much fun here and being in the company of all the friends I've been hiking with, I'm reluctant to leave.