A.T. Hike, Spring 2007 - Day 3,In Which I Ate a Bug

Deer Park Mountain Shelter to Spring Mountain Shelter, 14.2 miles

I descended from Deer Park Mountain about 6:30 this morning and was treated to some amazing views. I love being so high up on a very clear morning like this, and looking down at those swirling clouds gathered between the mountains! Click on the photo for a close-up. Believe it or not, under those clouds is an entire town (Hot Springs, NC), and to the people down there, it looked like a cloudy, gray day until the sun burned through a few hours later.

After the descent, I followed the trail through the main drag of Hot Springs, where the trail is marked on the city sidewalk by these cool inlaid symbols. Hot Springs might seem like just a sleepy little burg to the casual onlooker, but it’s definitely a storied locale for thru-hikers – they fantasize for miles about this place, because not only is it one of the few places in the eastern U.S. where you can experience natural hot mineral springs, but the town also features an outfitter, an ice cream shop, a pub, and several little places where you can rent a room and sleep in a real bed for the night. I didn’t stick around to explore, though, because I had hours of hiking ahead of me.

After you get through town, the trail takes you alongside the French Broad River (can you beat that name!?) and then attempts to inflict a slow and painful death via a steady, steep climb up to the top of Lovers Leap Rock. If that’s not enough to do you in, there’s more: a lung-burning trek to the top of Rich Mountain. It was during that particular ascent that I inhaled a bug. Saw it coming, felt it go in. Swallowed it. Didn’t care. It was a rather businesslike decision, really, to just suck it down the old hatch and keep moving. It’s just that I was so determinedly making upward progress on that mountain, and every step was so hard-earned; it seemed like far too much energy and distraction to stop and spit the thing out. I guess now that I’m a bug eater, I could qualify for being on “Survivor” – if I looked better in a bikini.

My lawnmower blister is healing nicely, but I’m worried about another one cooking on my toe - that abnormally long toe next to my big toe on my left foot. This morning I encased the entire digit in moleskin on all sides. It still hurts though, even now that I’m stopped for the night. I’m afraid to take the moleskin off to see what’s underneath. I think I’ll just leave it be and see how it feels in the morning.

I’m alone again tonight and much too tired to worry about bears.