Day 29 - Well, we started the day before sunrise knowing it would be long. The hillbilly style Standing Bear Hostel grew on us. The star rating went from a 1 star out of 10 to a 3 when we found out there were sheets for the bunk beds and they recycled. We had a frozen egg and sausage biscuit for breakfast which was a nice change of pace from oatmeal. What a hard day! I would venture to say that it has been one of the hardest yet! We hiked a little over 13 miles. 9 of them were uphill and it was hot! Our goal was Max Patch for the night, but due to incoming weather we decided to camp at the bottom just passed it. It's amazing how just one thing can change your attitude. By mile 11.5 we were spent. As we arrived at the base of Max Patch, Flute looked up and asked if this is where we get on the chair lift. The climb up was just as cool as I remembered. We hiked with a guy named Full Time today and he said that if we had told him how good the view was going to be this afternoon, he wouldn't have believed us. We lounged in the sun. Laying in the grass, we pointed out where we had been and where we plan on going. It's view is 360 degrees that is out of this world. The next time you are near Asheville, NC check it out. There's a gravel road that leads from Hot Springs, NC and takes you within a 1/4 mile of the summit. It was a great evening watching the sun set behind Max Patch. The 4 of us enjoyed a perfect campfire and some beautiful Native American music by Flute. 19 miles to Hot Springs then spending the weekend with BJ's mother and my family. You meet people of all kinds out here including some weirdos, but not Full Time. He quit his factory job after 19 years to do this hike after a friend of his died at the age of 48. After Bj's extra sick day we began hiking the Smokies with the next group in the amusement park. Thats where we met not only Full Time, but the snoring couple, and a father/daughter (Long Time and Click) from NY. The daughter has her own photography business in NYC and is taking time rekindle her passion hence her trail name Click.
Country Mouse and Shadow
Location:Max Patch, NC
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