Day 42-Time For Some Boots Off

April 29-6.5 miles-Campsite to Boots Off Hostel-AT mile 428.6


We said a fond farewell to Dusty. She gave us food, and even took our trash. If it all works out, when we finish, we’ll come back and do the Smokies with her (gives us a goal to strive for).

We parted ways at the side trail into Hampton. 

But first, a little beach hike. 

And over the river (2nd bridge of the day)

Goodbye Dusty! We’ll miss you!

Our route heading up. 

There are two ways to get into Hampton. Since we were heading to Boots Off Hostel, we wanted the second option, as it takes us right to the hostel. Of course, that meant we had to do a three mile climb up, then down to follow the AT. 

It was weird because we could see Hampton, but we were walking away from it. Granted, the hostel is not in the center of town. As we came over and started down, we got a good view of Watuga Lake. 

Lots of recreating happens there. In the distance is the dam. I believe we cross over it. 

Boots Off Hostel is a pretty cool place. It’s like Standing Bear Farm, but way more upscale. The murals around the place are amazing. We met Paint Splash as we got to the sign. She has done many murals along the trail. 

Big ol’ log

Paint Splash working on the backside. 

We walked up to the hostel and was greeted with a hearty, “Hikers!” John checked us in, and gave us a tour of the place. 



Our accommodations for the night. 

My bunk

Door of one shower

Door of the other shower. The showers are made with wash tubs with holes. Water runs from a hot water pipe and cold water pipe into the tub, and out the holes. It was awesome!

The common area

More mural in the common area. 

After showering, we gave John our laundry. Yep, they do it for you. I borrowed a pair of shorts to wear while my laundry was being done. 

They have a pretty decent resupply here, so we got what we could, then at 6:00 we’ll shuttle into town to the grocery to get a few things they didn’t have. We’re going to grab dinner at McDonalds (I’d prefer Subway, but it’s not open), then head back. Thunderstorms are rolling in tonight. Once again we have timed our hostel stay well. Sure Foot says it’s going to rain tomorrow, but not very much. We are planning a long one tomorrow, so hopefully it doesn’t rain all day. 

Here’s a couple of parting shots. 

Look! Dinner rolls stuck to a tree!

Pretty little columbine. 






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 158-Safety First

Image
Aug 23-zero at Crawford Notch Campground It’s strange to write this post when the last three posts have not been uploaded yet, but here goes... Sure Foot and I had a long, tearful (on both our parts) discussion about whether it was safe for me to continue hiking, in light of the fact that Mt. Washington is very difficult and dangerous, especially with knees that are refusing to cooperate. Not only is Sure Foot concerned about me ruining my knees completely, but I am concerned about putting Sure Foot in danger trying to help me. I know he would do anything to help me down the mountain, but that might cause him harm too. I can’t do that. So, we decided the safest thing to do is for me to end my hike here. I know it seems like I’m so close to the end, and relatively speaking, that is true. But, the miles to come are much more dangerous and challenging than the previous 1800 miles.  Complicating matters with my knees, is also my depth perception issues. Before, when I could trust my kn...
Read more

Day 159-My Exit Plan is Set...Mostly

Image
Aug 24- no more AT miles-Crawford Notch Campground to the AMC Highland Center Sure Foot and I packed up this morning at Crawford Notch Campground, and made our way to the road. It took about 20 or 30 minutes of sticking out our thumbs before a nice young man named Noah stopped and gave us a ride the 7 miles to the AMC Highland Center. The Highland Center is like hiking central for the White Mountains. It is run by the Appalachian Mountain Club. It is kind of spendy, but it includes breakfast and dinner. Pre-COVID, they served buffet style. Now they seat everyone at individual tables, and they bring you a menu. You basically say what you don’t want, and they bring you everything else! They also gave us a “welcome” bag of disposable masks and a big bottle of hand sanitizer.  We were able to get a reservation here in a 4 bunk room. The  whole room is ours as they only put people together that have been together. We are in the Mt. Field room. We have a view to “The Elephant”....
Read more

Day 31-Hey, I’ve Got an Indoor Swimming Pool!

Image
April 18-10.1 Miles-Hogback Ridge Shelter to Bald Mtn Shelter-AT mile post 327.4 I slept really good last night! It started raining about 4:00am, but I had prepared for it. I even brought my shoes inside my tent (they just get muddy under the vestibule). I woke up this morning, and looked down at the foot of my tent. Hmmm, I thought, it looks like there is a shimmering pool there. Well, there was! Unfortunately, as I was set up on a slope, my sleeping pad had slid down and pushed the bathtub part of my tent out beyond the body of the tent, causing the rain to run down the tent and inside. Everything at the end of the tent was soaking wet. The foot box of my quilt was surprisingly not that wet. However, when I pulled my bra and t-shirt out of the foot of my quilt, the bra was completely soaked...I mean like I could ring water out of it! Since I only have the one bra...well, let’s just say certain body parts got to run free today! The t-shirt wasn’t totally soaked, and if it had been a w...
Read more