Day 19

We did a lot of planning today. 

We woke up around 7, to a temp that had to be in the high teens. It was a pretty cold night, and one that I'm really glad didn't involve any wet gear from the day before. 

We tore down camp, ate breakfast, and got on trail right before 9. Our plan today was to get into Hot Springs, resupply, and go anywhere from a mile to 3.5 miles out of town. After eating, we chose the mile option. 

Before explaining town, and taking a step back, we had two mountains to get up; walnut, and bluff. By 12:15, we were about 5 miles into the day, and up and over both of them. 

From there, we only had less than 10 miles into town, predominantly all downhill, which we made short work of. 

Once we got in town, we went to the post office and got our resupply, ate at the smoky mountain diner, which is just as good as in 2020, and got a few more food items at dollar general. 

Really, there wasn't much to say about the hike today -- other than being a little chilly, we probably only hiked for slightly longer then we were in town. 

One thing we did do however, was attempt to plan out what the next 3 weeks will look like, which when solidified, I'll include in a blog. For now, we're going to do 3.5 days into erwin, neroing in, and then 2.5 days into banner elk, with a nero and then a zero. After that, it'll be Virginia and like I said, I'll write about that later. 

I'm currently camped next to the French broad river right outside of Hot Springs -- I'll certainly enjoy the warmer temps and sound of the running water tonight. 

Daily recap:

Total miles hiked: 15.5 miles

From: Lemon Gap to the French broad river

From: 260.6 to 276.1

High: 50 and sun

Low: (morning): high teens probably

Low: (night) Low to mid 30's

Ascent = 2,940 feet

Descent = 5,056 feet

Thanks for following along. 

Tyler M.