Back in 2007, when I hiked the Appalachian Trail, I made a mental note of a specific section of the trail in North Carolina that I knew I’d love to come back to one day. A section with rhododendron tunnels (which I happen to love, love, love), a couple of mountaintop balds with 360 degree views, and plenty of streams to enjoy along the way. This year, Eric and I finally had the chance to travel back to that section and take in the trail as visitors for a few days. We had an amazing whirlwind adventure taking in the sights, sounds, and smells that were once just part of my routine. It was grand!
Last Monday, we drove down to Hot Springs, North Carolina, ditched our car, and made our way to a trail crossing about 35 miles outside of town with the help of a local shuttle. We hiked a quick few miles to our campsite near a stream and set up our home for the night. Here’s the tail end of the sunset that night as well as the sun a little while after rising the next morning. Sooo pretty.
Later during our second day – and after much uphill climbing – we came to the highlight of the hike, Max Patch! Max Patch is simply a stunning place to be. It’s a bald mountain amidst plenty of others so we had some amazing views of the Smokies and a few neighboring ranges. It was such a treat to sit up there in the grass and take everything in for a while and just …feel small.
While Eric and I were on Max Patch relaxing and taking a break in the fresh air, it seemed like the world just kept giving us little gifts and all by sheer coincidence. First, we met a hiker who, as it turns out, I have a few friends in common with so it was such a pleasure to meet him and hear how his thru-hiking had been going so far. Then, out of nowhere came a girl I’d been corresponding with before her hike began a few weeks earlier. I had no idea she was already at this point on the trail and it was a total surprise when she came walking up that hill. We sat and caught up a bit as if we were all old friends – one of the things I love most about the trail. What a delight. And, though I’m saving this for a separate post, one other amazing thing happened. Again, out of nowhere, a bride in her wedding gown came strolling up that hill with her groom. They were up there to take in the day and get some pictures with the mountains. It was too much of a coincidence for me not to head over and do an impromptu session! Amazing!
Here’s a shot of our new hiker friends. Can you tell just how tranquil that mountain makes you feel?
On our third day, we knew the rain was coming (insert large sense of dread here)! We hiked for about an hour before the skies let loose so I only have one image (the one on the left) from that day. The other image is also from Max Patch. Anyway, I’d been telling Eric about this tree for a while now – how huge it is, how grand it is. We even have a photograph of it hanging in our home. It’s massive and I love it! So thanks to Eric for snapping this shot as we passed by. :D About twenty minutes after this photo was taken, the rain came pounding down and did not stop all day long. We decided that, rather than freezing in our wet clothes that night and again in the morning, we’d keep on hiking all the way to town that day. It made for a big day but it felt really nice in the end!
So, since we now had a full day to explore the area, we visited a few spots in the town of Hot Springs. This is a gorgeous area at the edge of town:
The other edge of town is just as gorgeous:
And here’s the tiny little town itself:
We also headed over to Tennessee to have a picnic at another amazing spot on the Appalachian Trail called Beauty Spot. When we got there, we realized it was way too cold and windy for a picnic but we spent some time just taking everything in and sharing some food with the only hiker that passed by. This area of Tennessee is commonly referred to as Valley Beautiful which I find soooo fitting.
There were amazing barns all over the place so on our way back to Hot Springs, we made a few stops:
Okay, to those of you who are easily creeped out by spiders and their webs, I’m sorry. But I think they (webs, not spiders) are fascinating!
We had to get a shot of the train for our nephews; they would have LOVED this!
And later in the evening on our last night, we went for a little walk along the trail and ran into these guys. I’ve always thought cairns are so neat…
I hope you are having a great spring and have a little time to take in the sights, sounds, and smells wherever your path takes you.
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