hiking (a very small portion of) the appalachian trail

I've never been to North Carolina.  Before I go on, let me admit that the photo above was taken after I had driven less than 100 yards past the sign, decided that yes, I really DID need a picture by the state sign, turned around in someone's driveway and did things right.

My long-time friend Kara turns 40 this month.  Being a NC native, her bucket list wish was to backpack a 40-mile stretch of the Appalachian trail for her birthday.  As life would have it, she went and got herself pregnant with baby number four, so the 40-mile thing,....well.......

But there is still hiking.  And a cabin in the woods.  So we tweaked things a bit here and there and the trip was more eating restaurant food and soaking in hot springs than gnawing on trail jerky.  But more on that in a bit.

We reached our cabin Friday afternoon with a couple hours of daylight left.  We tossed our suitcases into the "Goldfinch," inhaled the mountain air, grabbed a couple water bottles, and went half a mile farther into the itty bitty center of Hot Springs, NC.

We hit the trail right away, following the painted white dashes.  (look behind Kara's head.)  We knew the forecast for Saturday was rain, so we didn't want to waste a single second of this:

The AT literally runs through the town for a couple blocks, right on the sidewalk.

After you walk through town (it's only a couple of blocks) and over the bridge, the trail leads you down to the French Broad River.

The trail was pretty clear.  Sometimes it was steep, sometimes we had to maneuver over rocks, but for the most part, we took our time taking in the scenery and stopping every 30 steps to take another picture.


I mean........

I look at this and it's my happy place all over again.

Unfortunately, by the time we were done hiking and back in town finishing our man-sized burgers, Kara realized that she had sprained her ankle pretty badly.  Back at the cabin, we got some ice on it, propped it up, and waited for two other girls driving in to join us for the weekend.  

With the rain in the forecast and Kara's sprained ankle, hiking wasn't looking good for Saturday.  

But this was:

A mile and a half underground, there are 100-degree hot springs full of minerals good for your skin and muscles, and since the 1800's, this town has been capitalizing on them.  We scheduled a mid-morning hour-long soak and said "who cares" to the trail and the rain.

Kara couldn't get in since she's pregnant, but by golly, she could get that ankle to soak!
The two girls that joined us are Kara's friends Joanna and Debbie.  They were young and fun and great to have on the trip.

Here's a picture of how the bath houses are set up.  They're private except for the side that faces the woods and the river.  They pipe fresh hot water into the tubs before each session and drain it when you're done.  It was the perfect temperature and it did make my skin feel good.

What's left of the original bath house is on the property.
(The history of the hot springs is really interesting, but long, so if you want to read more about it, click on this link.)

We spent some of the afternoon browsing the town's few shops: an outfitter, a local artisan/coffee shop, and a jewelry/antique shop.

The rain let up during our shopping so we decided to do some more hiking.  (Kara had to stay and sit by the river.)  

 It misted and sprinkled but we pressed on in our ponchos.  The views were still something to behold.

Back in town later that evening, we had ribeyes and grilled local trout at the Iron Horse and shared a very rich, very dreamy chocolate almond torte between the four of us.  

We finished the night with a movie and I was off early Sunday morning to make it back in time for my friend Mia's wedding.  The drive home was stunning, but it sure is difficult watching the mountains disappear in my rear view mirror.  

Kara and I have been friends for almost 15 years now, and we're a steadfast, patient duo.  We share an equal love for the trail, and our little weekend trek just whet our appetite for more.  We have our eyes fixed on the anticipation of getting back to the AT in a few years and doing a backpacking stretch. Only thing is, we're not getting any younger, so if we're going to match the miles to the years.....

Well, keep calm and trail on.