#70 Hot Springs NC to Hurricane Gap Day 26: ATMM 274.9 to ATMM 284.1
To some people, our two-hundred-mile hike sounds extreme. To others, maybe not so much. I guess it is all a matter of perspective. Either way, I hope you enjoy our story.
Following the massive trail-renowned breakfast served up in the main house by the owners of Mountain Harbor Hostel, the five of us load the shuttle bus, now splitting the cost seven ways instead of five with a couple we’ve just met from Indianapolis: Beats Workin’ and Hummingbird. The shuttle takes us to Hot Springs NC where we’ll begin our northbound section-hike on the Appalachian Trail (A.T.)
Half way between the two points all traffic has been stopped on the two-lane back road for an investigation of a crash which happened over the Memorial day weekend. The inside of the parked shuttle bus heats up fast under the late spring sun so we get out of the van for relief.
After eons, or an hour, depending on how you like to measure time, the traffic moves again. Our driver drops us off in the middle of town near the Doller General Store. Princess, Mosey, and I leave our packs there with Lodi and Medicine Man while we walk a quarter mile to Laughing Heart Hostel where Mosey and I ended our 2019 Autumn Section Hike. The three of us don’t want even the smallest of gaps in our Appalachian Trail hike, not event a quarter-mile that mostly runs through a neighborhood.
Officially beginning our 2020 hike there, we follow large engraved A.T. markers in the sidewalk though Hot Springs. Our paved trail leads through town, past a portable road sign flashing “COVID-19 HOTLINE 649-0755“ where we cross over the river, enter the woods, and begin the long accent to higher elevations.