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Dirk's Rambles

Saturday, April 3, 2021, 7:30 am

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I am sitting in Laughing Heart Hostel in Hot Springs, NC as I write this. Rolled in last night around 4:45 pm, did my laundry, ate stew donated by a trail angel, drank beer also donated by a trail angel.

April 1st started off at Standing Bear Hostel around 7:45 am, anticipating cold weather and 1 to 2 inches of snow. It was a cold walk with high winds but only a dusting of snow. It was still tough walking even without the snow. Hike 16.5 miles and camped a Roaring Fork Shelter. Longevity, Ella, Griz, Painless and some other familiar faces were there. Got there around 4:45 pm. It was so cold that everyone was doing their cooking and preparation for the evening in gloves. By 6:30 pm, an hour and a half before dark, everyone was in their sleeping bags in order to stay warm. I fell in and out of sleep all night, and mostly stayed warm. Though my10 degree bag had some cold drafts permeate the bag. We estimated the temperatures got down into the mid-teens. Cold!

Got up early on Friday, April 2nd and as soon as I got packed, I took off up the trail. The only water container I had with water in it was frozen solid. So I had to stop and filter water along the way. I had to sleep the previous night with my water filter in my sleeping bag so it wouldn't freeze.

My goal this day was to walk 17.9 miles, which I did. I arrived at Laughing Heart Hostel around 6 pm. Found Aquaman, Huckleberry, Toboggin, Stew, Dirty Pasta, and some others that I met along the trail there. We had a great time seeing each other and enjoying each other's company.

Met Keri, who worked at Laughing Heart the past two years, but this year is hiking the trail. She is going to law school this coming fall to study international policy in art. She will be doing an internship at the UN. She was interesting to talk to.
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