Day 14

Dinner at Elmer's

Day 14- Zero

1st day in 15 that I've laid my head in the same spot as the night before. I feel refreshed yet anxious. Dad and I spent the day being mildly constructive but mostly lazy. We ate breakfast for about two hours, which consisted of a biscuit (two for me) and many cups of black coffee. We went to the outfitter where I squared away the rest of my meals and snacks and dreamed of buying a tarp tent. The confounded Frenchmen put it in my head that my ultralight monopole Big Agnes [tent] just isn't light enough! Too bad that less than two pounds of fabric with n poles or footprint runs for about 1.5x what I paid for my whole setup. I decided that I can wait for a tarp tent. Clearly, this bothers me. We went to the Hot Springs Spa and found that there are no hot springs, just 17 whirlpool tubs along the river with natural mineral water pumped in from the earth's molten core as the operating fluid. Of course, no one told us this before we paid our $25/hr for two in #7, but we enjoyed it anyway. It may have soothed my ankle. I'll find that out tomorrow. The whole time as we soaked behind a privacy fence I was haunted by two thoughts: 1) what has been done in this tub before we got here and 2) what has the staff done about it? Regardless I lay here freshly showered and presumably still STD free. We left the spa and went straight to the bar, where we found our fellow hikers and had a few beverages. Came back to Elmer's to relax before dinner and did just that. Met Chris, Danny (Steve), and Nikki. The Vontramp family is also staying here, along with the crazy Kentucky guy from Fontana. Emily the Vontramp daughter, at a breakfast fit for a race horse. Truly awesome. Dinner was good but not as spectacular as yesterday. The salad was the best part without a doubt. Amazing greens, veggies, and dressing. I will be hungry in the morning this time, however. Following dinner, Dad, Steve (Danny), Nikki and I went to the bar and watched the [Red] Wings tromp on the Penguins to win game 1 [of the Stanley Cup Finals]. I reflected on this in my post card to Randi. I admired Nikki's choice in music at the juke bo and reflected on my lack of female trail companion. Someday. Not yet. Soon, I'll be lacking a companion entirely. I am anxious. I offered for Dad to stay on, but he's gotta go back to real life. I think he is very sad to leave, and I am sad to see him go. He'll hit the trail back to MI when I hit the AT in the morning. We'll have breakfast, go to the outfitter, then I'll bid him farewell and start the next chapter of my trek. I assume that my experience will change greatly. I expect to be faster, lonelier, more efficient, more introspective and will reach out to others more. I wonder if the miles will go faster or slower. It will be interesting. I will miss Dad. I will not miss his snoring. I will now enjoy this bed and breakfast tomorrow.

*The only other time I've encountered hot springs was in Idaho, and they were just pools within a rock formation that had just shown up on their own time. These were not hot springs at all, they were just hot tubs. I wouldn't really recommend the place... I'd just recommend you stay at the bar. It's less awkward that way. This was a fun day just chillin' with Dad as I really had nothing else to do. I think my body was grateful for the recovery. I keep calling Danny by Steve because he looks just like my friend Steve from college. I was jealous that he managed to get his girlfriend to hike with him, but that story unfolds in a later entry....



Dad Celebrates! [French tarp tent in background]



Eclectic Elmer's