 |
|
| April 8 Barefoot Sisters Sighting Hello. On Friday, April 6th, Paul phoned from Hot Springs, NC at 3:00pm. He called from Hiker Hostel, Which he explained as sort of a project at somebody's home, which consits of plywood walls, a dozen beds, and a shower, all for $10. He was planning on staying there Friday night, but was going to splurge and get a private motel room to sleep in a good bed on Saturday night. These plans would make for his first zero day since March 17th. Hot Springs is apparently a good town to spend a day, Paul's major goals were to do some laundry, and rest his feet. He received his first maildrop, and thanks Mom (aka The Easter Bunny) for the candy. Paul is still going faster than he expected, and has been over-estimating how much food he needs. He has been eating well, and feels good about his pace. He did his first 20mile day last week. Paul was going to meet some fellow thru-hikers at a pub Friday night. Leftovers is planning to meet him after spending the day with friends of his that live in NC. Also going to the Pub were hikers Soapstar, Surefoot, Peepdog, and Miracle Mike. Miracle Mike did a southbound hike in 1999. About two days before Paul reached Hot Springs, he noticed some barefeet footprints on the trail. He had heard about these two sisters from Maine who were doing a yo-yo. A yo-yo is when a hiker starts the trail at Katahdin, hikes to Springer, then turns around and hikes back to Maine. The rumor also says these siblings where hiking barefoot. At a time in the AT when Paul was noticing frequent dropouts due to blisters, he thought this rumor was a myth. Sure enough, those footprints were the tracks of the Barefoot Sisters. Paul caught up with them Friday. They had begun the yo-yo last June, and are now on the northbound direction. Paul said they were really nice, and they do have a pair of sneakers so they can go into stores and restaurants. Paul is also hiking around the same pace as Windex, a thru-hiker who is doing it for a fundraiser benefit for a disease that took her sister. Wednesday night Paul ended up hiking some more after he called, and found himself camping at Painter Branch. Thursday he spent at Roaring Fork. (Note that the the shelter we missed when Paul reported from Fontana was Cable Gap Shelter.) The next point of contact from Paul will probably be from Erwin, NC which is about 70 miles from where he is, or even possibly Damascus, VA, 150 miles. Paul sends his best to everyone. Todd |
 |