Hot Springs is like the island of the Lotus Eaters

You really don't want to leave that place. Okay, ridiculously long and busy day today. Best thing about today? No snow. I'll start from the beginning, I guess.

Woke up around 7, was the first one up in the bunk room,I think. Took another shower, because I could. Then grabbed my stuff and dragged it into the hall so I could pack without waking anyone. Everyone was starting to move about by that time. Killed a little time, and then walked downtown to the diner for breakfast. Funsize was there, so I sat with her and ordered an omelet. Possibly best one I've ever had. It was awesome. Bunch of other hikers came in, and then a day hiker/biker who I met yesterday. A sheriff's deputy from Delaware. Good guy, member of their SWAT team, so we talked for a little about that and who they used for medics, and this guy (we'll call him SWAT) like a ninja, grabs my bill and pays it. Talk about trail magic, that was town magic.  He also gave me his contact info in case I have more questions. Also saw Pretzel and Carnie Hands there. She really hates that I call her that. For the record, she has quite normal hands and is a wonderful person and is very patient for not punching me for calling her Carnie Hands. 

I moseyed on down to say hi to Queen Diva at the Hiker Ministries mini-house. Free coffee, fresh baked cookies, and excellent company. One Day and Laughs-a-lot were there already. They are two of my favorite people. Goat was also there, he'd hurt his knee. He's also cool, just don't know him as well. We talked for quite a while. Queen Diva puts pictures up of all the Thru-hikers with dates, kind of like a video shelter register. Pretty awesome to see the people in front of us, put faces to some of the names, and see old faces. Flex, Mama Bear, Halfmoon, Boots, and Backpack were all there, though Boots and Backpack have changed their names to Coconut and Spice Kit. Craziest thing, Dragonborn, the video game fanatic, is a girl. Never even suspected, though I guess she does have good handwriting. 

Moneymaker comes in with WOLD, and I talked with him for the first time, really. He's hiking for a charity, for Alpha-1 deficiency. I was unfamiliar with it, but I recommend you check him out on Facebook at Hike4acure. Hope that's right, I don't have connection at the moment to check. Impressive young man. 

So Laughs-a-lot was going on at length about this milkshake he'd had at the Artisan Cafe (might not be the real name of the place, can't remember). So I figured I'd have one before I left. Before I left, this sort of creepy guy comes in. He claimed to have thru-hiked in 2001. But he said he did it from May to June. Oookay. He also had a dog that he warned would bite and then proceeded to kick, and said now he rode the freight trains. Really made Queen Diva uncomfortable. She asked me to wait til he left before I went, but there were 6 other people present so she said it was okay if I left. So I went for a milkshake. 

This place was the place to go for ice cream. Sunny owned the place, a former thru-hiker, and Kim was also working there. Both ladies were very interesting. . Ice cream, wine, and art work. I just wanted the ice cream. They had blue cheese ice cream. I sampled it. Quite unique, but I went with salted caramel for my milkshake. Very good. 

As I'm enjoying my delicious dairy treat, Queen Diva comes in. She's very worried because the creepy guy left immediately after two female hikers and followed them up the trail. The only two females hiking together in town were Joules and Canary, so I asked about them. It was them, so I told Queen Diva I'd catch up with them. So I left the last of my milkshake and ran off to be the hero, even though I'm pretty sure Canary would gut anyone that bothered them like a fish. 

As I left town, I saw the creepy guy sitting by the railroad tracks, so I wasn't particularly worried. He only bothered me in that he was asking where people would be staying that night. I didn't tell him. Also realized I left my Vitamin water. Sad. It was time to leave though, since I had 17 miles to walk to get to the next hostel so I could watch the UK game and it was already noon. Go Big Blue! 

The hike out of Hot Springs was steep, and I was, shall we say, perspiring heavily. Beautiful temperatures. Quickly caught up with the girls, who I walked with all the way to the next shelter, 11 miles in. Very pleasant company. We sang a lot and they told stories. Had a good time. At the shelter, Laughs-a-lot, Funsize, Gingko, Ramble, and a couple of others were there. I stopped for a few minutes, and then said "I got a game to catch" and off I went. Six miles, no sweat. 

I'm at the hostel now. Very nice place, though it's .7 miles off the trail. Probably nicest facilities I've seen. There was cable in the hiker lounge, and the TN/MI game was on. Good game, really thought TN would pull it off at the end. Everyone goes to bed afterward but me, because I'm watching the UK game, which I'd hiked over 17 miles to see. So excited! Then the caretaker (son of the owners) comes in and tells me I got to go, because he was going to bed. Seriously. I said please. He said no. If he had been sober, might have argued a bit more, but he was hammered. The internet connection was nowhere near good enough to watch the game on my phone, I couldn't even listen to it. Seventeen miles. Plus twenty bucks to stay here. Unhappy camper. Whatever. I should be able to check the score in the morning. If I can do 16 miles tomorrow I think I'll be at 100 for the week. Conveniently, there's  a shelter in 16 miles. Also, tomorrow is 300 miles. C'mon UK. 

Joules and Canary with the town of Hot Springs. 

Me, apparently looking serious. 

Back in the cozy green tunnel.