The Zero days

The stay at the hiker hostel at Standing Bear was quite the experience. We ended up staying one more night, a beautiful day filled with music, beer, shine, and horseshoes. After a b double e doulbe r UN beerrun in the early part of the afternoon (also a scenic tour with road sodas)Bluegrass and I challenged our hosts to a game of shoes in the early afternoon, Bluegrass got a double ringer, only moments after a big chug from the mason jar that held the hilbilly booze, and while we were almost defeated in the rubber match, we took a lesson from our motto on the trail, and came back one point (or one step) at a time to defeat Curtis and Rockhound on their home turf... should have played for a night's stay! Also shaved the hair on my head and trimmed the beard... all those who doubted my resilience with long facial hair will be rewarded to hear this, those of you hoping for an undiscernable mountain man to appear from the woods in 5 months, you will be dissapointed.

The spaceship launched around noonish on the third day at the bear, after a safety meeting by the tobacco barn. The next two days on the trail were lonley, just the two of us. We hiked through the woods in a very eery quiet (that was also felt by other travelers) while scanning the trail for bear activity, not much time for spacetravel when concerned with dodging meteor showers. Made it to the top to a place called Max Patch just before sunset. Wasn't sure about where to camp, but two fellows from UT called over and welcomed us to tent on the top with them. a quick scan for a sign to land revealed the two other travelers were carrying with them the fermented suds that we so much crave, so the landing gear went down and we enjoyed a night with good company... and cold beer!! The sky was incredible, one of the best sunsets, sky rises, and sunrises so far on the trail. I'd post pics, but i stumbled upon this computer and don't have the necessary devices (camera) to do so. Maybe sometime soon.

We've made new friends, Soares from Boston, Hunry from Nantucket, Bushwacker from Florida, and Chili, i think chili is from Ohio. Staying at a cabin by the French Broad River, at the Hot Springs Resort. The hot springs are a bit of a misnomer, replace spring with tubs and you get the real picture. Hot water is a welcome addition to any stay anywhere, so regardless of the wrong picture being placed in my head prior to landing here, we are welcome and happy to spend what they call on the trail, a zero day. A "nero" day is when you stay the night at the closest shelter to the town, and then walk in early in the morning, find the greasiest diner, and plop youself down for a few meals. So far, we've been to the diner here in Hot Springs 5 times, and only eaten two meals.

Giant steps are what you take when walking on the moon...

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