April 16, 2024 4 min to read

AT Blog: 22 and 23

A Zero Day with 9 Pizzas

Day 22:

Last night’s sleep was OK. We had a sleeptalker in our room which made it tough going to bed but eventually went to bed.

Lobster and I were up early to get breakfast. Since today is Sunday the local dinner is closed. Fortunately Laughing Heart has just decided to start doing breakfasts on Sundays only since so many hikers need it. Breakfast is good with a waffle maker, fresh coffee and of course eggs and sausages. There are other options too but we chose the one with the most food. We chat with Local and Sonic that morning.

Eventually I head back to the bunkhouse to pack up. My parents are making an overnight trip to Hot Springs for me and we are sharing a hotel room with 2 bedrooms. It’s mostly a chill morning as I pack and I pull out the poptarts I bought as a snack from the dollar general. Turns out Lobster has never had poptarts before, and I give him a toasted one. He thinks it’s pretty good.

Eventually we go get lunch (have to recover calories, I’ve already lost 10+ pounds). During our meal my parents make it!

I bring my stuff to the room, the room has a renovated bathroom and 2 full queen beds in separate rooms giving me some nice privacy.

My folks also brought plenty of goodies with new food and drinks and also lots of goodies for everyone I’m hiking with. We are having an unofficial party at their Airbnb rental, so I bring those goodies to it.

For the party Waywalker was able to call the pizza place and asked for 1 of everything, for a dozen hungry hikers. We consume 9 specialty pizzas that night. The party super chill as most of us enter food exhaustion. But we have some chill talks and laugh about how it feels like a Friendsgiving gathering.

Eventually I head back to the room, hang out with my parents some more and head to bed.

Day 23:

Up early to catch breakfast at the Smoky Mountain Diner in town. Lobster Taxi and my parents are planning g to eat breakfast early so we can make big miles today. My parents and I are the first to arrive, and we meet up again with Auggie!

He had pulled a 27 mile day prior but got in late at night, so he wanted an early breakfast and happened to catch us. We go ahead and order when Lobster and Taxi arrive.

We chat for a long while taking breaks to munch on a delicious breakfast (I did chicken and waffles). We chat about school curriculums, my brother, Taxi’s experience as a teacher, how the trail is going, what Auggie has been up to and so much more.

As it gets close to 8 AM, we finish up and head out. I get my gear from the hotel we were staying at and say my goodbyes to my parents again. I then go and meet up with Taxi and Lobster on the way out of town.

The walk out is very pretty, starting with a river walk then eventually clamoring up Lovers Leap Rock, with great views of the town of Hot Springs. As we keep going we eventually spread out. I was huffing a decent amount as my body was still trying to digest breakfast. Today’s schedule is 19.6 miles all the way to Little Laurel Shelter. A tough day but we have the food and the rest to do it.

We pass by a prescribed burn area that had just happened early last week. It was done in a controlled manner to help maintain the wildlife of the forest. Many invasive species are not fire resistant and have encroached on many areas due to fire suppression, which results in worse fires years down the line.

The wind tears at us all day. It’s not terribly cold, but wind chill makes it cold. Lobster hates the wind especially in camp.

We run into the southern cookie lady (aka Peggy) who has a cabin just off the trail and she was offering water and cookies to hikers! She was really nice and we chatted about the various bear problems we all have had.

The last 3 miles to shelter is tough, as my body is tired and sleepy from the change of pace. I eventually make it to camp shortly after 5 PM, and while the area is nice. It’d on the ridge and is unprotected from the wind. Lobster hates it, but that is where we must camp. I decide not to use the shelter as it’s facing the wind and we may rain.

We do a quick meal, trying not to get blasted by 50 mph gusts, and turn in for the night praying for no rain.