Diode’s Southbound Trail Report, Day 45: Today I walked 1.2 miles. Along a flat path next to a river. In Crocs! I know.
The day I left the hostel in Erwin ended on a bald mountain called Big Bald, which has two summits, Little Bald and Big Bald, connected by a grassy saddle. On Little Bald is located the Big Bald Banding Station, where I saw several ornithologist-types camped on top manning raptor traps (I couldn’t tell exactly how the traps worked, but it looked like they were just nets stretched out between two poles that the birds fly into). There was a table set up on the trail with a whiteboard on which was a grid listing many bird species and a tally for the number of each had been observed and the number which had been banded along with a note telling hikers they should feel free to ask questions — but there was nobody near the table when I passed by. There was also the URL for the station’s website, which gives this description:
The Big Bald Banding Station (BBBS) is one of very few monitoring stations in the U.S. that band songbirds, raptors and owls. An average of ~2000 songbirds are captured, banded and safely released each autumn migration at Big Bald (see Songbirds). The Big Bald Hawkwatch counts an average of ~3100 migrating raptors each autumn of 15 different species, counting over 24,000 birds of prey from 2004 to 2011. The raptor trapping substation lures and bands approximately 100 birds of prey of 10 different species.
The sign also asked hikers not to linger on the bald (so as not to scare off the birds, I assume), so I moved on to Big Bald. At its grassy summit is a tuft of grass which serves as a home for a survey marker and a little American flag somebody planted there, and, for that night, as my pillow. It was a windy and chilly campsite, but I saw the most spectacular sunset I’ve seen on the trail. I was hoping for a sunrise as well, but the morning was foggy and I didn’t see the sun until long after it was up.
From Big Bald I did two longish days (24 miles and 25 miles) to arrive just one mile from Hot Springs, NC, last night. I didn’t mean to get so close to town (I wanted to end up 5-10 miles out, which I find is a good “nearo” distance for arriving in town), but all of the water sources within 10 miles of the town were dry so I had to keep walking.
I ended up camping by the French Broad River on the edge of town. I don’t like camping by big rivers because they are so loud (I don’t think I’d appreciate those white noise machines some people sleep to), and where I camped there were spiders everywhere! I thought I left them behind in northern Virginia, but they found me again. My arachnophobic tendencies compelled me to sleep with the bug netting zipped all the way closed on my bivy bag, which made for an uncomfortably hot, muggy night of not much sleep.
But this morning I walked into Hot Springs, had breakfast at a diner, and am spending the night at a very nice place called the Laughing Heart Hostel. The hostel was just reopened earlier this year by a couple of past thru hikers, Chuck Norris and Tigger. It is not in my trail guide, but Bob Peoples at the Kincora hostel told me about it when I stayed there.
The sign welcoming me to town informed me that the town was called Warm Springs until 1886. There are actual hot springs here, but I think they are all privately owned by a spa resort. In 1917 the town was used as an internment camp for German prisoners during World War I.
It’s about that time of the hike where I start losing things. Last year I lost my Leatherman scissors tool at the October Mountain Shelter in Massachusetts, and then spent my entire first zero day in Williamstown taking buses around until I got to an EMI and bought a replacement. Now I’ve left that one at the hostel in Damascus (I think… anyway, I haven’t had it since then).
Last year my water filter broke in Maine. The manufacturer replaced it for me when I got home, but it still didn’t work well. I finally figured out that the problem is the pre-filter; I think at some point I sucked some fine silt into it and it is permanently clogged. If I take it off then the pump works fine, but then I risk sucking sand and dirt into the main filter — so I’ve been carrying my filter but only using Aquamira (chlorine dioxide drops) to treat water.
The outfitters here in Hot Springs had both the Leatherman scissor multitool that I like so much and the pre-filters for my model of water filter! I also bought a little collapsible water carrier so I can bring water from the source to camp to filter it more comfortably — something which I think will be handy when I meet my dad and friend in the Smokey Mountains. So I am out a full $60, but fully outfitted once again.
I’ve resupplied my food bag at the Dollar General store, which I’ve discovered is a great place to resupply (good prices, but not as overwhelming as Wal-Mart or a big grocery store). I’ve now got a little bit of time on my hands. I have 6 days to walk the 75 miles to Clingmans Dome where I am meeting my dad. I’m considering taking a zero day here (even after my 1-mile nearo today — so almost a double zero).
Even if I do take a zero, I’d only have to average 15 miles a day to get to Clingmans Dome on time, and then I will be doing even shorter days with my dad. It will be nice to do the entire Smokey Mountain National Park at a slower pace. I’ll have time to read (I’ve been carrying a math book for 745 miles and have not opened it yet) and look at the changing leaves. It will also give my right foot a chance to recover; I landed on it at an odd angle a couple of times over the past week, and it is now tender and a bit swollen and hurts a little on downhills.
The next time I’ll have a chance to post a trail report will likely be after I finish the Smokies — and it may not be until I reach Georgia!
Update: I’ve opted for the zero day! I love not hiking. This morning I went back down to the diner for breakfast. I got the skillet which was recommended to me by Huck and Butter Bar: a cheesy pile of potatoes, onions, bacon, and eggs with an English muffin. It was delicious. When I finished and went to pay I was told that the ladies who were in the booth next to mine had paid for my meal as well! A zero day in a town like Hot Springs in almost always the right decision.
Diode