Hemlock Hollow Inn Hiker Hostel

Sorry for the lack of a post last night, but there's been almost no cell signal or Wifi at all for the past three days. Hot Springs is a great little town, but it's a little behind the curve in technology.

With the crowding in the hostels and large number of people still in the bubble, it can be exhausting for me. Two days of fishing and minimal social contact were exactly what I needed to refresh. We left the French Broad River Sunday morning, as soon as there was a break in the rain.

Our hike for the day took us to Hemlock Hollow Inn Hiker Hostel (shown on the map below as a little bunkhouse symbol), which is located in Greenville, TN, just off mile marker 288.1 of the Trail at Allen Gap. We arrived along with the bad weather that swept up the East Coast and were in for a stormy night. Between the cloud and tree cover, apparently the SPOT signal did not transmit that night.

Today, there was a mix of rain and snow showers, with high temperatures around 30 and wind gusts up to 35 mph. Unfortunately, this led me to take another zero here, waiting for the weather to pass. I certainly chose an odd Spring to hike, when it comes to the rapidly changing weather patterns. Cool temperatures are ideal for hiking, but when you throw in rain, high winds and snow it can just get dangerous. Dead tree limbs and unstable trees are called widowmakers for a reason. Unfortunately, there is also a monetary cost associated with every delay and hostel or hotel stay; that's what can make a hiker leave the Trail as fast as an injury. Let's hope there aren't too many more days/nights like this.