I stopped by the shelter this morning on my way up the trail. It had gotten pretty cold and was raining so I ducked in to cook my oatmeal and tea. The weather was dreary most of the morning but finally turned into a nice day by 1pm. I ended up pulling two BIG mile days and made it to Hot Springs around 5pm. The final mile coming down from the mountain provided a grand view of the town. It was like torture knowing that a hot meal was waiting down there. I virtually ran down the mountain.... Unfortunately, the two big hiking days took there toll on my shin and my foot. I got a shin splint half way thru the day and the blister that I've been nursing on my foot has started to morph into a second round.
I ended up taking two more days off, hobbling around town on my beat up leg/foot. I stayed at the campground to save money but ended up spending way too much at the bar. Hot Springs is a great little town although there's not much here. Just a few motels/hostels, shops, and two bars.
On Easter Sunday the town had a parade. It was nice to see the families out and the kids running around enjoying themselves. I spent a lot of the day sitting around and soaking up the sunshine. My leg was still sore but was feeling a bit better so I decided to push on the following day. One more night of town life and then back to the trail.
I've hiked 272.4mi ... 1908.6 to go.
Hey Luke this is your brother Mark. Sure sounds like an exciting adventure out there. It is quite different than the life of us office dwellers.... Good hiking!
ReplyDeleteHey buddy....thinking about you and the good trail times we've had. Let me know if you wanna meet up! Mt Rogers? sooner?
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