Day 31. Hot Springs to the Hemlock Hollow Hostel

I left Hot Springs in the morning with How Bout. I hated to leave. Hot Springs is an extremely hiker friendly town. The towns people all extended a helping and in one form or another. It's nice to see there are people in this world willing to go above and beyond for a stranger. It touched me in many ways and forced me to examine how I treat strangers. Sadly there was no comparison.

The climb out was nice crossing over a rock outcrop called Lovers Leap. You can see the small town fading in he distance.

During the trek I passed a small pond with a dam. It was used many years ago for a near by tobacco factory. It was very serene and calming to me. The water was still and clear.

I scaled the Rich Mountain Fire Tower for additional views. Ironically, there was a cell tower within feet of it however no signal. The views were nice. Since the start of my journey, I have tried to take all the extra side trails that lead to something appealing such as the fire tower.

I saw my first sign of spring today, a small non venomous snake slithering across the trail. A good sign for warmer weather.

Today I hiked 16.3 miles to the Hemlock Hollow shelter. A nice family run business in Greene County Tennessee. I tented next to a stream and had a wonderful nights sleep.

So far I have hiked 290.2 miles!!!