AT 2025 🥾🏕️

I enjoyed a slow start to the day,.. gently waking up to songbirds, repacking my bag and leaving the hostel/inn. I met a lot of super nice folks there who I saw on trail throughout the day. Before setting a foot in the woods I got a big plate of hash brown potatoes at the diner with other hikers, and start to walk out of Hot Springs. The initial mile or so was a bit of a reality check along the sandy shoreline of the river there that flooded so badly during Hurricane Helene. There were demolition crews at work and few sad stories to interpret via abandoned homes, vehicles, etc.

The trail changed quickly once leaving the riverbank: steep, rocky, arid. There were some interesting views of Hot Springs from the hill approaching “Lover’s Leap”.

About 4 miles in I discovered a “dammed pond” of uncertain purpose. The water was pretty gross.

5 miles in there was trail magic with some cold drinks and people to chat with.

I finished the day with 13.4 miles of hiking at a mediocre site , it’s a little slanted and rocky but is was getting tired and daylight was waning… so this will be good enough! Hammock feels awesome and my pack will be 6oz lighter once I finish dinner 😋

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