Hot Springs Humanitarianism
So, I woke up on the morning of the 15th at the Deer Park shelter, and my fellow hikers and I were all pretty relieved that LSD Larry hadn’t shown up at any point during the night. (I have to wonder who named him that. I’m pretty sure his birth name isn’t LSD Larry.) I didn’t need to get into Hot Springs until early afternoon, and it wasn’t too far down the trail, so I woke up late and had plenty of time at the campsite before I just sort of wandered into town.
The funny thing about Hot Springs is that it’s one of the few places on the AT where the trail literally goes through the town. So you exit the woods, and you're suddenly on a street in Hot Springs. You round the corner, and you're on Main Street. It's a tiny little town, and it's super charming. The sidewalks even have AT markers on them to denote that you’re actually on the Appalachian Trail.
So, I hiked into town at about 11 o’clock, and my first stop was the Dollar General to pick up a few things. I bumped into Better Yet, who's a guy I met recently. He lives in Florida now but is originally from New Jersey. Praying Mantis was there, too. We all did a little shopping and then just hung out in the parking lot for a bit while we drank fruit smoothies, which tasted delicious.
Next, I went over to the outfitters in town. They put new tips on my hiking poles, because I’d worn the other ones down. That was great. And then, in no time, my great friend Rob Glinski showed up.
I've known Glinski for 30 years, and he's always been an amazing friend. Really an outstanding friend. I think that part of his mission here was delivering some humanitarian aid. He came in with all sorts of supplies and resources to help me reset in Hot Springs. But the first thing we did was drive one town over to the town of Marshall, about 15 miles away, to go to a laundromat. Hot Springs doesn't have a laundromat, so in town, you can really only do your laundry if you’re staying at a hostel. Rob had generously booked us a two-bedroom AirBnb, but it didn’t have a washing machine. So, being the good friend he is, he took me to get my laundry done.
Nice farmer’s tan!
After that, we went downtown in Marshall, which is also very charming, and found our way to Mad Co. Brew House. Mad Co. stands for Madison County, which is where Marshall is. The brewery that’s actually in Hot Springs is not open on Mondays, so we were feeling very fortunate to find an open brewery. We had a couple beers and a pizza, and I also got a salad, which was a shock to the body.
We then made our way back to Hot Springs and checked into the Airbnb, which was literally overtop of two restaurants. We went down to one (Vinyl Pies Pizza), got seats at the bar, and had a couple more beers. Some other thru-hikers were there, too, including Boone. When last call for pizza came, we got a “Some Like It Hot” to take back to the AirBnB, had a little bourbon, and called it a night.
The next morning (the 16th), we walked over to the Smoky Mountain Diner for breakfast, which was great. That place is a must stop for every thru-hiker. Glinski noticed that the mural on the wall had a guy in it who was holding a slingshot. He asked the waitress whether the guy was the one who’d been featured in a Charles Kuralt story many years ago, and it was! Glinski and I both got a kick out of that. [Wife’s note: The guy’s name was Rufus Hussey, aka the Bean-Shooter Man. Click here and forward to the 12:00 mark to see Kuralt’s story on him.]
After breakfast, I needed to transfer all my gear over to my new backpack, which I’d had shipped to Glinski's house, and he’d brought it with him for me. I also needed to work on patching the holes in my tent with Tenacious Tape. I spent a few hours doing that while Rob went fishing. He ended up finding a great fishing spot, which made me feel really good, because I didn't want him to come down and just basically be my errand boy the whole time.
After I’d transferred my things to the new pack and done my best to cover as many holes as I could in my tent, we went to the post office so I could mail my original pack home. I threw a few other things into the box that I also didn’t feel I needed anymore, including my long-sleeve thermal shirt. I also gave up my camping chair. It’s super comfortable, and I fully expected to use it in the evenings, but I never actually did. The shelters and campsites usually have at least one picnic table, and everyone just sits there to eat.
Our next stop was Big Pillow Brewing Company, which was literally — and conveniently — right across the street. It’s a fantastic brewery, with a really cool, kind of western vibe to it. Not only do they have some great beers, but they also have sort of a permanent food window, kind of like a food truck, that sells tacos. I got some brisket tacos for dinner that were really fantastic.
And then, sadly, on the 17th, our brief visit was over. I hit the trail, which was literally on the sidewalk outside our Airbnb, at a little after 10 o'clock. I was feeling a little sleep deprived and slightly hungover, which was a bit counterproductive, but that's okay. I hiked just over 10 miles to the Spring Mountain shelter for the night. I expect to have kind of a big day mileage-wise tomorrow. I’ll check back with you after that.
