Introduction

About Pathways

Appalachian Trail

Why Walk?

Make a Pledge

Hiking Schedule

Journal

Photos

Links

Acknowledgements

April 15, 2001

A very Merry Easter to you. I am staying at the Hiker Hostel in Hot Springs. When we arrived, there weren't enough beds to house all of us. So they built 6 new bunks to accommodate us. I rented one kid's bicycle for a dollar and raced all over town. The village of Hot Springs--or is it really a hamlet for hikers, tourists, and mobile homes--is less than a mile long. But biking feels so much faster than walking. I felt free.

Highlights from my missing days--

The Smokies were amazing. It was like an enchanted forest with perfect weather and no rain. The North side of the park looks a lot different than the South side. The Southern half is very rolling and wooded, almost like areas near Kettle Morraine in WI. The Northern half seems to climb only once from Gatlinburg and stay high. The ridges are rolling, covered in Snowbird flowers and lush green ground cover. We did our first 20 mile day on our way out of the Smokies. The terrain was great for it, mostly level with a lot of gentle downhill. It felt really good and we caught up with some folks who'd been ahead.

The community is definitely developing out here. We all made a mass exodus into Hot Springs--15 miles in just over 5 hours for beer that some people hadn't seen in weeks. (I had beer a few days before on top of Max Patch--trail magic from last year's thru-hikers.). Everyone had a party in their raingear outside of the laundromat, drinking beer encased in the poor man's cozy--brown paper bags. The hostel is like that too. Just a party. Just a good time. Good people sharing whatever they have. The night before we came to town was also a feast. Etch-a-Chef and I pooled our dinners to have the best burritos we've had in a long time.