Day 23, Hot Springs to Little Paint Creek Trail

My first priority of the day was breakfast, so I headed to Smoky Mountain Diner, a hiker-friendly restaurant just down the street from the hostel.

There are no grocery stores in Hot Springs, but Dollar General was right next door to the restaurant, so that made for a sufficient spot to resupply.

After I purchasing what I needed, I went outside and began sorting and repackaging. Anything in a box needed to be put in a ziplock bag to save weight.

While I was doing that, No Spoon and a hiker I had not met before named Coach came by. I gave them some of my ziplocks because I had more than I needed.

With those chores done I began hiking, which for the first half mile was an easy walk through town. The sidewalk doubled as the trail and was decorated with Appalachian Trail logos embedded in the concrete.

Before getting too far I spied a soft drink machine across the street, so I decided to make a brief detour to start out with an extra dose of sugar.

Just as I was finishing my soft drink, railroad crossing gates closed the road and a long freight train came down the track. It was the first time, and if I had to bet I would say the last time, my hiking was delayed by a train.

When the long train finally passed, I continued to walk down the road. The trail followed the road in order to cross a bridge on the French Broad River.

Immediately after the bridge the trail left the roadway and continued along the river.

On the river bank several tents were set up. Hikers who didn't want to pay for a hostel but wanted to be near town conveniences stayed here.

Before long, the easy trail along the river became a steep climb with several switchbacks up a cliff face. At the top were some rock outcroppings known as Lover's Leap.

All along this section of the trail I could take in views of the river, Hot Springs, and the mountains I had walked to get to town yesterday.

Once the trail reached the top ledge of the cliff it leveled out and continued over small, rolling hills.

I had a brief chat here with a couple out for a day hike. Just as they departed, one of them pulled out a trail bar and offered it to me. Though this was just a small bit of trail magic, I gladly accepted it. Once again it demonstrated how so many people are interested and invested in the success of thru-hikers.

As I continued on I saw evidence of the fire that burned a large section of the forest just over a year ago. Trees were scorched and blackened, but new growth was already greening up the area.

For two weeks last year, hikers had to be shuttled around this section.

At about noon I reached a small, man-made pond. There were a couple benches placed here, so I sat on one and ate my lunch in this pleasant, shady spot.

After a relaxing lunch I continued on. The trail left the shady forest for a short distance to travel on a dirt road. It was at this point I realized how warm the day was.

The road walking lasted for about a half mile and passed a couple large fields. Until 1970 hay and tobacco were grown in these fields. Then the U.S. Forest Service purchased the land.

Though crops are no longer grown here the fields are still mowed to maintain a habitat for wild turkeys and grouse.

At a spot called Tanyard Gap the trail crossed a bridge over U.S. Highways 25 and 70.

A spring was located a short distance past Tanyard Gap, so I stopped to filter some water. While I was there two thru-hikers, Cowgirl and Anvil, arrived and stopped to eat lunch.

Cowgirl said she was from Wisconsin, though it took me a while to make the connection for why her trail name was Cowgirl.

Cows. Wisconsin. Get it?

Anvil told me he got his name because he used to carry a heavy pack. He has already done a thru-hike of the Continental Divide Trail.

A half-mile past the spring was the junction of the Roundtop Ridge Trail. At one time, this trail was the Appalachian Trail, but when land was purchased and the AT was moved to go up and over Lover's Leap, this trail section was renamed. It's still maintained and I have hiked it three or four times.

When joined with the AT, Roundtop Ridge Trail can be part of a nice loop trail for a long day hike or an easy overnight trip.

Another half-mile later was a side trail leading to a fire tower on top of Rich Mountain. I have also been there a few times and because of that knew the top of the tower would be closed. I wanted to continue to put in miles, so I decided to skip the tower this time and continued on.

The trail went through another field of blooming wildflowers, mostly trillium.

As I walked through this field I met a section hiker. He asked me about Hot Springs and trail conditions leading to it.

About twenty minutes later I met two more section hikers. They told me they were trying to hike with the first guy, but were having trouble keeping up with him. When one of them said the first guy was an Olympic silver medal winner in wrestling, it made sense why they were falling behind his pace.

I told them their friend had said he was thinking he would hike all the way into Hot Springs. They said there was no way they would try to do that today, but were relieved when I told them a campsite was only a quarter mile away.

At about 4:45 p.m. I arrived at Spring Mountain Shelter. It seemed too early to stop for the day, but I decided to get some water and cook dinner.

I met a few hikers, including Hobbes and Scout. Also here was Foxy, whom I hadn't seen since the day I nero'd in Franklin, N.C.

Then Foxy said, "Oh! I have something for you!"

He pulled out the spoon I had lost when I lost my stove at Mt. Collins Shelter.

Foxy told me a hiker had given the spoon to him in Gatlinburg. He had been using it while hoping to return it if he saw me again. He didn't know what happened to the stove.

I told him I had replaced the spoon and the stove, so if he wished to keep the spoon he was welcome to it.

He was happy to accept it.

After dinner I packed up and continued walking for about another hour. When I reached the junction of the Little Paint Creek Trail I found a good spot to set up my tent.

Another hiker was camped nearby in a hammock. It was Rafiki, a 20-year-old who decided to take some time out from college to hike the AT.

Rafiki took his name from one of the characters in the Lion King, a wise mandril who is deeply spiritual.