Day 38, Wednesday, March 21. Laughing Heart Hostel—Zero Day

Yesterday was the last day we will be on that trail. It’s snowing hard today and our minds are made up. We knew this would happen when we started the trail. The goal always was Hot Springs. Hot Springs is the LD50 (borrowing a phrase from my DOE weapons days) for the AT. Let me explain.

LD50 is the amount of radiation exposure that will kill 50% of the people who experience it. Hot Springs is the first town that the trail actually runs through. 15% of people quit by Neel Gap only 30 miles from Springer Mountain. Another 10% quit before getting out of Georgia. Another 25% quit between the NC state line and the end of the Smokies with Hot Springs being the exit point. 50% of people who attempt a thru-hike have had it by Hot Springs—the AT LD50.

When we started our hike, our goal was not to make it to to Katahdin, it was only to make it to Hot Springs. We have completed that goal. Who could possibly hike with the thought of going nearly 2200 miles? Our goal was to beat the LD50. When we head out tomorrow, our goal is to not be the 5% of our age group who don’t make Katahdin. Barring major injury, we will prove what I knew from the beginning but couldn’t face—we will hike 2190 miles through 14 states and finish on top of Katahdin.

We headed to the Smoky Mountain Diner for breakfast. It was (and still is) snowing hard but weather doesn’t stop hikers from eating, and, last night, I proved to everyone that I can eat! This morning, it was Patches turn to shine.

With a good night of sleep, hot showers, laundry done, and two big meals under the belt, it’s time to resupply. An old friend of Bunny’s from high school has told us she would send us a care package to Hot Springs. The Post Office was our first non-eating stop in town. We got the package from Alice and were blown away on several levels.

Alice and her siblings spent a lot of time in North Carolina around and on the AT when they were growing up. She wrote us a very touching letter about her sister, Marsha, and her brother, Paul, who both had wanted to thru-hike the AT. (These are the two people next to the fireplace in today’s feature photo at the top of this post). Tragically, they both died way too young and never got the opportunity to do their thru-hike. Gazelle was with us when we opened the box she sent and read the letter. We were so touched. We are dedicating the remainder of our hike to Marsha and Paul and hope that they are traveling with us.

With the incredible amount of food Alice sent us, we only needed to get a couple of things to complete our resupply: a new bite valve for Bunny’s platypus (hopefully the last one—I explained to her they don’t mean for her to actually bite the valve, just squeeze it with her teeth), a new pack cover for Bunny’s pack (since she generously donated hers to Standing Bear Hostel when she left it on the porch), and a new pair of glove liners for me.

With all the food Alice sent us and the few items we bought from the local outfitter, our work was done and we had a little time to play. We scheduled a hot tub timeout at the local hot springs with Lady Bug, Stickers, Patches, and Postcard. On the way, we stumbled upon a 12 pack of local beer which could only help to enhance the experience. The six of us got in the hot tub full of natural mineral water directly from the ground and enjoyed the sounds of Jimmy Buffett (a hiker can never pass up a buffet). We sat in the open air next to the French Broad River with the snow blowing down horizontally all the time patting ourselves on the back for not hiking today. Life is good here on the AT.

EFG