Paths are made by walking
June 1, 2023
AT miles: 15.5
Ascent: 4524’
Descent: 2251’
Weather: glorious— sunny with puffy cumulus in the low 70’s
Sightings: interesting butterflies
High points: Max Patch
I climbed over 4000’ today! Wow!
I got up at 4:00 am, and Nate drove me from Hot Springs to Standing Bear Hostel so I could start my 33-mile hike north to Hot Springs. I arrived at 5:15 am, which is long before sunrise. I decided to hang out in the kitchen and wait until I could hike without a headlamp. I drank old cold coffee and looked at weird books. That place is truly bizarre!
At 6:15 it was light and I started my steep ascent up Snowbird Mtn. (4263’). The mountain laurels are in bloom, so the trail was really pretty.
Snowbird Mountain is a bald, so the views from the top were fantastic!
At the summit there was a strange rocket-looking object. Owned by the FAA, the structure is a VOR, which stands for “very high frequency omni-directional range”. This has something to do with aviation and navigation. I found it bizarre to see this high tech structure in the middle of nowhere!
Then the trail meandered, sometimes heading up and sometimes heading down. The footing was always easy, so I made good time.
Eventually, the trail started the steep descent up to Max Patch (4629’), the most famous bald on the entire AT. It is renowned for its 360° views of the surrounding mountains.
ime.
I truly felt like running around singing “The hills are alive with the sound of music.” There were mountains in every direction. The Smokies were to the south-west, and Mt. Mitchell was to the south-east, but mountains were just everywhere. It was sublime.
The top of Max Patch is normally crowded (there are two parking lots close by), but since it was a weekday there’s almost nobody there today. I spent an hour there, dumbfounded by the openness, the space, the views, and the joy of being alive.
Some very nice elderly people who live nearby gave me a banana and even took away the peel, so I didn’t have to carry it to Hot Springs. They were super sweet and just added to the wonder of the day.
But all good things must come to an end, and time was ticking. After an hour of sitting, just absorbing the view, I headed down the mountain. The last part of the day felt like walking through the park. The woods were open, and the trail remained me of walking through Worlds End in Hingham.
I eventually reached the shelter. I ate dinner with Aaron and Trooper and Magellan. Beast (a guy who has just finished five years in the army and hikes with a 50-pound pack) showed up and very kindly made a lovely fire. Unlike most thru-hikers, he has made a fire every night on trail! We appreciate his fire making skills!
Quite late in the evening, Casper showed up. She is a super-friendly very fair blonde college graduate. One thing I’ve noticed is that almost all of the thru-hikers in this wave are college students or recent graduates who couldn’t start their thru-hike until early May. The older people started their through hikes over a month ago!
What a fantastic day!
Today’s a great day for a long walk in the woods!