The night was difficult to find comfortable for a little while. Cowboy camping is a different experience without a tent to protect one from wind. From what I could tell in between waking up and rolling over, the wind seemed to have died down and then ended by 4. I finally stirred around 7 which was perfect timing to watch the sunrise. I used my bag as a back and sat up just enough to watch the sun crest the mountains before me. After the bright amber orb tipped over the mountains, it seemed to move incredibly fast and before I knew it it was hung completely suspended adding a whole new array of colors to the landscape around it. After the initial excitement of the sunrise I packed and left. It would be 19.8 miles to hot springs where I would meet my dad and stepmom to resupply. I never really thought about it until this day, but I feel bad for whoever offers me rides in future. Now that the weather is starting to get incredibly hot, I am sweating a lot more and I am sure this will do nothing for the already grimy feeling I continuously have.
To day passed of quickly and I arrived in hot springs by 3:30. I haven't had any more trouble with my feet even though I hike very fast. I have taken to putting extra effort into stretching though. I know my body needs it.
Hot springs at first glance, is probably the smallest town I have ever visited. There seems to be one road with all of town located on it over a space of 300 yrds. The town itself is incredibly warm to hikers , and even has a hiker ministry building where we can use wifi, bathrooms, and relax on the porch. Initially my interest in this town was merely to meet dad and to keep going. I landed in hot springs just in time to catch a festival for the Appalachian trail and hikers. Tag festival itself is just as much a day for families to come out and have fun things to do as it is for the hikers. More on that later though.
I ate lunch when I got into town since I had skipped to make it into hot springs and try and eat something really good. There is no phone service at all in hot springs, so I wasn't quite sure how dad was going to find me initially. Eventually he and I did meet up. As a kind of relaxing point for me, a trip to the actual hot spring was scheduled. The spa in town pumps in naturally heated water into private tubs for a hourly fee. After the last few days of long hikes this was exactly what I wanted.
An hour was spent in the he perfect temperature water discussing all aspects of the trail. I have never felt so relaxed. The day was very rushed to get to hot springs and meet them so the wind down was that much sweeter.
After our trip to the spa, we went to dinner at a local restaurant and had a delicious and big meal. One thing I don't get enough of on the trail are vegetables. I ate my salad and sides before even worrying about the chicken on my plate. The remainder of the the evening was spent enjoying the atmosphere of the he small town over drinks and good conversation. Eventually dad and Leslie went to bed and I stayed out for a short while to enjoy the company of my fellow hikers who were maybe celebrating a little too heartily. After an hour or so I headed back to the cottage that had been rented for me and enjoyed the best sleep of my entire trip. Why the best sleep you ask? Because it was on a real bed. A gigantic bed with warm sheets and no hostel shuffling to wake me....
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