Slack Packing

I had planned on spending an extra zero here in Hot Springs, everyone else here seems to be doing 2 or 3 but I had a last minute change of plans. I was able to arrange a day of slackpacking with the hostel 17 miles up the trail. Slackpacking is essentially day hiking without your gear. Just the essentials for the day. I hiked with my rain coat, sunscreen, guide book, lunch, sun gloves, water filter, phone, and wallet. The Hemlock Hostel sent someone over to pick up my pack for me and gave me a small lightweight day pack and I was off! While leaving town I was convinced to check out this hiker mini house cabin thing which someone purchased just for the hikers. It's a small hangout with couches and a kitchen and wifi. There's usually a volunteer there making cookies. I got three cookies and had my photo taken. The owners like to have a photo of each of the hikers that come through holding a whiteboard with their trail name and date. I had my photo taken in a rush while I was still eating a cookie!

Trail markers that are in the sidewalk that runs through town. 

The local river flooded from all the rain. 

It was so nice to have the lightweight pack on for a day. I was still so sore from the 20 mile day but I figured that I could do it since it's almost like carrying nothing on my back. I was going probably 2.5 miles per hour, maybe a bit faster. There were a lot of rough uphills that made me extra greatful of the light pack. I had a particularly late start because this was so last minute, I left at 11:30 and had 17 miles to go. I didn't have much of a choice but to get there since I don't have anything for camping in or dinner. It misted slightly towards the end of the day. I am so done with rain.

There was a damn in the woods

With a pretty lake at the top

The view from the top of a firetower near the trail. 

The trail came up to a road and I was really confused on if it was the road or not. It turns out that the forrest service won't let the hostel put a sign up there saying to keep going. A lot of people got lost here walking down the road for miles trying to find the hostel. I walked a bit down the road myself then decided to get back on the trail and keep going. I was so stressed out worried if I was going the right way or if I was just walking further and further from the hostel. I did however come upon the road and a little sign that said Hostel with an arrow. The opposite direction had a purple blaze which kinda looked like a blue blaze from a distance.  Apparently purple means private property. The guide book even says that it's private property but of coarse they have to put up a perfectly shaped rectangle that looks like it's the trail to the hostel. I went the other direction where the arrow pointed. The whole way there was ill marked and it looked like northern Wisconson until the dirt road hit the more main road. Then it looked like the deep south with falling apart run down trailer homes with unkept yards and everything. The road got to an intersection with a house with maybe 10 large dogs who bolted up to the fence in their yard barking up a storm. They had two great danes, when they barked you could hear it echo back from the mountains. It was so loud and jarring to pass this house. There was a worn out sign that said the hostel was .4 miles up the road. I was so afraid of being lost out there. There were faint blue blazes very far spread apart that I was following. I did however make it and they had room in the bunk house!

Farm along the way to the hostel. 

I was able to get sheets and a towel. I ended up with one of the small hard towels that you are meant to put on the floor in front of the shower. Before leaving the office I got a chicken pot pie, a cresant sandwich, and a pint of ice cream. I was told that there was a freezer in the bunk room since i was worried about it melting by the time i was ready to eat it.

The hostel was pretty empty despite what they seemed to think it would be like over the phone (fully booked). Alex was there. I met him like 2 weeks ago at the start of the Great Smokey Mountains. He's one of the many people that I keep running into. There's also another girl I met named Pogo. It was nice there. By the time I got to my icecream it turned out to be melted! I stuffed i further back into the freezer hoping it would freeze overnight.

 I had been putting gauze and athletic tape over my heels to protect my raw heels. I didn't think about it before but I aparently taped over that giant blister which I drained days ago. I pulled the tape off and it ripped off the blister and pulled up and ripped my healthy skin too causing it to start bleeding.

Tonight at Hemlock Hollow Inn I'm at mile 289.7 with 1900.1 left to go.