Bud and Vicki Hogan's 1996 Appalachian Trail Journey
June 15
Hot Springs, N.C. .........................................................................................................0 miles
We decided to take a day off from hiking, and then we hiked all over town, from one end to the other and back again. We got our mail drop first. I wanted to get the travelers cheques.
Part of our planning was to have some cash in each town, so along with our freeze dried food, gorp, power bars, and the rest, we also sent $20 or $40 in travelers cheques in each mail drop. This worked perfectly. Great planning. I started to think back to our first mail drop at Suches. Had I picked up the travelers cheques in Suches? I was in a big hurry and I don't remember getting them. I had put them in an envelope and taped them to the inside of each box. Had I left them out of the first mail drop? I had no idea. We decided that it would be a good idea to keep track of the cheque numbers so we could compare them to the numbers in the receipt book when we got home. We kept an excellent record of each of the cheques that we spent from then on.
We hiked down to the river then over to the hot springs where the town got its name. Some interesting local history. We have a hot tub at home and decided not to spend the $20 or so on something that we can have every night at home for free. Went to do our grocery shopping. There are several little food stores in town. We went to the biggest, which is pretty small. Ample selection but we ended up spending $20 for $5 worth of groceries. We were convinced that there were two prices, the locals price and the hikers price. No one in their right mind would shop here on a regular basis if they didn't have to. Too expensive.
Back to the motel with the groceries. Heading out again we spot Rich and Mike driving their truck down the main street. They stop and chat. We all head up to see Wingfoot at his place. Vicki and I walk up the hill. Rich and Mike drive their truck. Here they come back again. Can't find the place. Vicki gives them directions. We finally get there, and "Wingfoot is home." We all sit outside for quite a while, Vicki, Rich, Mike, Wingfoot, and me, and shot the breeze about trail safety, blisters, thru-hiking, and the internet. Wingfoot is an interesting guy, early 50's, reminds us of an old friend of ours. While we were there, some local backed into Mike's truck. What an awful sound. I have never liked the sound of crunching metal on metal. Mike handled it better than I would have.
While the police were on the way, Vicki, Rich, Wingfoot, and I went inside. He showed us his internet "home page" that he was working on. Very nice. We got one of his books while we were there. Good information. We asked him to sign it for us. He asked "Who do I make it out to, your trail names?" We had forgotten about trail names. We had discussed them earlier, but nothing seemed to fit. I'm Bud and my wife is Vicki, and to anyone who knows us, that says it all. Vicki, piped up, "Make it out to, 'The Okies'". We are proud of living in Oklahoma. Great state, and fantastic people. Said goodbye, headed into town for dinner.
Dinner was at a little California-style pizza kitchen. It had a beautiful patio right above the river that flowed through town. We ate inside. We had eaten enough meals outside. The owner was present and we asked him how he had come to open this nice little restaurant in this small town. He was a very cordial host and proceeded to give us a lot of his background. This is what we love. Having people share with us about there experiences. Very nice. He described the atmosphere as "Northern Exposure meets Deliverance" with hippy, new age hikers mixing with conservative rednecks. Quite a combination.
Back at the motel, Vicki soaked her feet in the swimming pool for about an hour. She had lost a couple of toenails and the rest of them were turning black. She also had quite a few blisters. We really needed this little break from the trail. A day just to bum around and relax. Found a little store downtown and bought two cheap ponchos to replace the worn out cheap rain suits that we once had. This was to turn out not to be the best purchase that I have ever made.
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