Back on the trail north of Hot Springs, NC with Montreal and Kutsa. They turned up in Hot Springs last night just as Maggie and I had given up hope of connecting with them. Today we walked out together after saying good-bye to Maggie at the French Broad River. It's great to be with them and to rejoin the trail community. I'm the odd man out this year since I've not shared the trail with the many thru-hikers I've met. But I am friends with Montreal and Kutsa who are part of this year's community.
Finding my two friends in Hot Springs was as much of a joy as them showing up at White House Landing in Maine after we had parted for what we thought was the last time in 2002 in New Hampshire. We climbed a lot today, took a long lunch by a small pond and found a campsite just under a ridge where we witnessed a glorious orange sunset behind purple mountains. We walked up deep ravines whose slopes descended into darkness. We walked through sunny, leafless forest and cool rhododendron shaded grottoes. So much to write about: Asheville, the Bon Paul and Sharkey Hostel, magic in Hot Springs but it's too late for today.
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