Zero To Hero – The Trek

Hello again! Sorry for the delays. I’ve been putting in some serious mileage and fell super behind on these. Luckily, I have the ending of NC/TN all written out. So all I need to do now is fill in from Hot Springs to where I am now. Back to your regularly scheduled blog posts.

The ability of the human body to recover overnight shocks me every time. After pushing so much the previous two days, I really thought I’d be smarting more than I was. And yet the next day, leg pain… away!

The sound of hard rain jolted me awake, but I didn’t want to be yet. It’s a Zero after all, there’s no rush to the day. So, decided to rot in bed a bit longer before rolling out back to the Smokey Mountain Diner. Normally, there’re other options, notably Iron Horse Station. But that got completely wiped out by Helene. And while they’re working on it, good things take time.

Oh, Non sequitur, but, rate the loaner clothes fit. I miss the pants.

On my way downstairs, Elmer and I had a moment of bonding. He was listening to American composer Aaron Copland’s “Rodeo,” and by the sounds of it, Bernstein’s recording. We discussed music a bit. Copland’s “Appalachian Spring (Ballet For Martha)” is actually one of the things I hold onto as “emergency inspiration” for the trail. It captures the essence of Americana in a way that other mediums don’t. I just love music…

I challenged some friends at home to chess variants while waiting on my food. Nothing serious, just a version called “Crazyhouse.” My friends gave me more time on the clock since I was on mobile, but even after being out of practice for a few weeks, I was still able to hang on! It’s kind of a fun way to feel connected, even though we’re in completely different spaces.

While I chowed down on my chicken and waffles, I ran back into the band of Crazy, Trash Dog, JC, etc. They’d spent the previous night tenting, and were going to Nero while staying at the campground. I also had a lovely conversation with a fast hiker named Brian, who was in town to Zero with his wife.

At this point, I had a small dilemma. Elmer’s is old school — it only takes cash. And I’d used up all my cash in Gatlinburg, and forgot to his up an ATM. Well, luckily, I was in the only building in town that had an ATM, the diner! Problem solved… except it was out of notes. And they didn’t know when it’d restock. So I instead made my pilgrimage to the only other ATM in town, cash back at the Dollar General.

Ran into James of small pack fame here again. We discussed some nutrition strategies, mostly for breakfast. He recommended me these “super cookies,” and while DG didn’t carry them, I now knew to keep an eye out. I ended up just buying some potatoes and meat sticks, and getting cash back. Thank you to the staff of the Hot Springs DG for saving my bacon here.

Next stop was Bluff Mountain Outfitters. For those not familiar with the town of Hot Springs, a quick geography lesson. The town’s crossed by two waterways, Spring Creek and the French Broad River. During Helene, the French Broad River flooded, and so almost everything between Spring Creek and the river itself was completely affected. Bluff Mountain Outfitters was one of these stores.

Luckily, they were able to move to a new location on the west side of town. I didn’t need anything new per se, other than a restock on electrolytes, but any excuse to check out gear and ask for advice is a plus in my book.

After which, I took a trip down to the Visitor’s Center to get an idea of what in town was still open and what wasn’t. Unfortunately, I forget the name of whoever was running the center, but he helped point out what still was around and what wasn’t. Iron Horse, as I mentioned before, is still closed. The library and Vaste Riviere Provisions were both moved to temporary buildings. The library had some new books donated, and now occupied an old church, with VR provisions right behind it. He also told me about Artisun up back by where Laughing Heart Hostel used to be (Laughing Heart’s closed in 2025… and not due to Helene), which is a little coffee shop with some local art on display. He also let me know that Big Pilllow Brewing was open, and where most folks hung out at night. I thanked him profusely, and then moved into the library.

Somehow, 25 days in, the library with only items that were from a post-flood Helene world is also the first computer I’ve had access to. And thank goodness there was! I finally could crank out some blog posts. Normally, I try to write blog posts the night-of. Sometimes, I’m too tired. Sometimes, I don’t have any inspiration. A lot of times, I can’t get images uploaded. So having computer time was nice. I spent about two hours here, and got one or two posts done. Also spent time writing to my therapist, and asking about the locals’ experiences with Helene. Many houses were flooded away, or completely destroyed. One person told me about her experience being rescued in a raft! Luckily, the local Mennonites have been helping out a ton. Rebuilding houses, replacing damaged or lost vehicles, etc. I hate to quote a Marvel film, but in a way, Hot Springs isn’t a place, it’s a people. And the people are coming together to weather the storm of post-Helene.

After a  long library visit, spent the rest of the day doing typical thru-hiker chores. Went to Hillbilly Market for a real resupply, and finally started on a different type of food journey. Up until this point, I’ve been packing like I’m preparing for the apocalypse. But, I have a light pack! Which means I have the luxury of carrying some heavier items out of town. Grabbed a few locally-made muffins, and most importantly, a red bell pepper to enjoy on trail. 

I also met Elmer’s cats! Their names are Sunny and Cheer (I think. I’m so sorry). Cheer? was the friendlier of the two cats to me. Chris warned me that they were still a bit skittish… and yet I was able to get her onto my lap. I was a VERY happy camper with a cat on my lap.

For dinner, it was finally time to mix it up. Instead of going to the diner again, we took a trip to Big Pillow Brewery. The dude from the visitor’s center told me to go to Hunt and Gather Wild Food, and the only thing I regret wasn’t getting more! Their Bison Bugolgi? Delicious. Other members of my party went to the Taco Truck nearby, which was also A+ food. Spent time there meeting Yogi, who happens to be vlogging his trip this year. A funny interaction happened between us where he mentioned he was from Southeastern PA, and I somehow nailed his “suburb” of Philadelphia in one shot. He was completely shocked by this revelation.

Crazy was also there with his crew. He’s trying to convince us to go back to Damascus for Trail Days when it happens. Tempting… but I think this year, I want to focus on my own hike. Maybe next year!

On the way out, I took some pokes around the remains of the shops that stood before Helene. I also stopped by the taco truck, which was delicious! And talked to some of the staff about mushrooms and things to look out for. While I’m not an expert forager, maybe it’s time to start getting into identifying plants… Then again, gotta be careful about it.

Back at the hostel, I spent time packing up my bag in preparation for the next day, and called mom. Always call mom when you can on your thru-hike! I fiddled around a bit in Elmer’s very extensive music room, and then talked to two new hikers I haven’t met yet, Jupiter and Watergirl. It turns out I’ve been semi-“searching” for Jupiter this whole time. On my first day at Springer, a couple from Connecticut told me that there was a hiker from Maine that just departed right before me. And while I wasn’t necessarily actively looking for her, it’s just a cool connection.

Watergirl meanwhile had hiked the trail previously in 2020, and was doing a section hike to train for her thru-hike of the PCT this year! Best of luck to her. 

Going to bed… I was a bit anxious. Tomorrow starts a new, but old mode of hiking for me. Being my own boss again. Scary… but maybe necessary. Night falls, the day brings clarity.