April 28th

Hey everyone, hows it going? Its been a while, there's a lot to cover, lol. A couple days after Hiawassee we met a kid named Dave at one of the shelters. After talking with him for a little he invited us to his Dad's house the next day to sleep in a warm bed and get some real food. We couldn't say no lol. He had his car parked at one of the gaps a little bit down trail. It shortened our day a bit a little but it was well worth it. When they talk about "some good ol' southern hospitality" they're not kidding. He made us foot baths for us to soak our feet in. I dont know if ive been treated to well as a guest. On a whim, Dave decided he was gonna try to go to Maine with us lol. He wasnt very organized but we we're glad to have him along. He was with us for few days but he had to stop in Fontana and we haven't seen him since. We're hopin he catches up.

The Smokies were really cool. We saw a bear our first day in. It came out on the trail about 50 feet in front of us. When I saw it, I just stopped. Dan said, "whats up?" I just whispered, "bear." It turned and saw us, then slapped the ground as if to bluff charge. We just slowly turned around and started walking away. We were with an older couple at the time, who were on their second thru-hike, and the guy just kept walking towards it and it ran away. I saw another one yesterday morning on our way to Hot Springs. I put my hiking poles up in the air and gave a little shout and it ran away. They really are much more afraid of us than we are of them.

We stayed at a cool hostel right outside of the Smokies a couple days ago, called Standing Bear Farm. The guy who runs it built a bunkhouse, cabin, outdoor kitchen, laundry room and a booth for interenet/phone use. The people were great. We tried to post there but the computer was a piece.

So now we're in Hot Springs. Got here yesterday. We took a nice to soak in their natural hot spring water, got some good food and stayed the night at Elmer's house. Its been nice to relax and let our legs recover. They're getting stronger and our pace has gotten a little better but our bodies definitely still have some more adjusting to do.

All in all, things are well. Well, we gotta hit the trail so we can get to the shelter before dark. I know it was a little long but thanks for reading! Take care.
-Nick