Hi there. Wanted to give an update on the things going on. A bit much actually…
From my last post you saw that I dropped my phone in the French Broad River while rafting. After some debacle, I was able to get a new phone.(Hooray!) The new phone came in and unfortunately, it was fully functioning so I had to get myself into Asheville, NC. It was a place I had liked to go but not intended so in it’s own way, things worked out. I met a veteran Marine gentleman living in Orlando hiking around Hot Springs and he was happy to drive me in when the conversation came up. I got in yesterday morning after some breakfast and was dropped off right at the Verizon store, thankfully. Within a few minutes of being in the store, they had fixed my phone. I walked myself into town and found a cozy place to stay. After I settled and cleaned myself up, I walked into the downtown area and just about fell in love with the city. I strolled around and did some touristy things and found my way into the first micro-brewery I saw, in which Asheville is known for. From there, I hopped around based off my servers suggestions at each location. It was a interesting approach and would surely try that out again. it was surely worth being a spontaneous. You never know what fun and lesson could come out of it. By the end of the night, I had went to two breweries(One World & Green Man) and had some delicious Jamaican/Mexican fusion food. After my stops, I made my way home.
Asheville is a really pretty city. It has a lot to offer, very cultural and diverse, and people are overall nice and welcoming. I hear though, it’s pretty tough to get a job here because the city itself is booming. Someone told me the unemployment rate is about 1% and it’s very competitive. Around town it is very apparent that the town is growing as you can see some taller buildings for dwelling and business being built. I would recommend Asheville to be a place to visit one day.
I’ll be here for one more night and heading back into Hot Springs tomorrow. I can’t wait to get back on trail and moving again. I’m very excited. Once I get into Hot Springs though, there’s another issue that will arise. There are wild fires in the area and I just read that part of the AT is closed and will have to skip some part of the trail to avoid. I believe it was 14 miles, from what I heard from another hiker. Additionally, there are other areas in Virginia with the same issue and will have to re-route if that continues. These instances right here is where I find how ‘Real Life’ is so relative to ‘Trail Life’. Things are going to happen, especially unexpected things and they have to be overcome. You may not want to face these realities but things have be taken care of if you want to move on. As difficult as times can be, they can also be just as rewarding in the experience and lessons learned. Live life, love it and make it your own. As we call it on trail ‘Hike Your Own Hike’.
As I said, I’ll be making my way back to the AT area tomorrow afternoon and I’m looking forward to it. I’ve been off trail for about a week now and I’m getting antsy. I hope things will work out where I’m able to hop back on but I don’t think it’s going to be possible with the aforementioned wild fires. That is something not to mess with and I promise to be careful.
Hopefully my next post with be after some miles on trail. My next major stop is in Erwin, TN but I might get there sooner than expected with the wild fires and trail jumping. I will surely advise but please keep in mind for the time being my GPS will be off until I get back on trail.
Be well all.
Happy Trails,
Angel