Heading North on AT from GA/NC

Deer Park Mountain Shelter (mile marker 271.7) to downtown Hot Springs, NC 275.1
Daily Mileage: 3.4

After two long’ish and mountainous days yesterday and the day before, I woke up a bit later this am as I knew I had left myself 3.4 relatively easy miles into Hot Springs for an afternoon off and then a full off day tomorrow.

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood with temps @ 85 when I got down to the valley floor. Hot Springs came into view about 1.5 miles into the morning proceedings.. such a pretty countryside with large track farmlands and the fast flowing French Broad River dominating the scenery.

Once down, the first thing I passed by was The Laughing Heart Hostel & Lodge, a fairly famous stopover for thru and section hikers. They turned a large, old time church into the hostel portion of the property that houses the bunkhouses, store, laundry, etc. . The larger lodge next door has private rooms with baths and their own hot tubs with local hot mineral water that makes the town famous.

I passed Laughing Heart and at the corner of the driveway and Main St that takes you the 0.7 miles through town sat the Police Chief in his cruiser just chillin’. He rolled down the window and then got out and we chatted for 20 mins. Really nice guy. I was asking him about the town’s history, places he recommended to eat, and how things and have changed (if at all) over the past decade. He said they had their first drive by shooting of all time (a domestic dispute) 2 weeks ago, but that there’s essentially zero crime. But social media has boosted tourism in recent years past the point that locals like. But there’s no putting the genie back in the bottle. Overall, he loves serving the community and it’s a small but great place to live.

I walked down to the Smokey Mountain Diner and ate my fill with other hikers that had just come out of the woods, and then proceeded on to check out the Hillbilly Market, the Dollar General, the Historical Center, the hikers outfitting shop, etc. to scope out eating and re-supply options.

At the historical center, I learned something interesting. When the U.S. entered WWI in 1917, several German civilian ships were seized on the East coast. Overnight, 2,700 seaman and officers became “enemy aliens”. Within days, the US Gov’t leased the Hot Springs Resort & Spa (where I’m staying) to serve as an internment camp to house the Germans. The main lodge housed the officers of the ships, and within a month barracks were built across the street to house the other 2,500 seaman. A hospital was built, some wives and children were allowed to travel over to be with the men, and the officers were even allowed to cultivate vegetable gardens. Overnight, a town of 650 residents became home to 2,500 Germans. Pretty interesting!

I checked into the Hot Springs Resort, did laundry in my room, got coffee and ice cream at the Artisan gourmet place across the street, and then spent 2.5 hrs having dinner and beer with Robert & Anne at Big Pillow Brewing (also next door). Big Pillow was quite lively and the Karaoke was riveting! (See video).Read more