A Day of Rest

Lyle is in Hot Springs, NC. They group of 4 made it on Friday as planned but it was a very difficult two days. It rained Thursday and Friday, with a lightning strike about 200 yards away on Friday. They rounded the crest of the mountain and saw where the strike split and burned a tree. Lyle said they were very glad to be in the trees rather than on a bald spot--not that either choice is optimum in a thunderstorm! If they would have been crossing a bald spot, they would have been the tallest points so needless to say they were very lucky. The rain and wind buffeted them both days and each day was a minimum of 15 miles. So they arrived in Hot Springs soggy and tired. Unfortunately the hotel room Hank and Lyle had reserved had no heat and no electricity and it couldn't be fixed until Monday. So they canceled their reservation, got their money back and moved on. They went down the street to the next potential lodging site but all that was left was one small double bed. So, Hank and Lyle moved on to a B&B and this worked out for them. Lodging is tight in Hot Springs because it's Trail Fest and Hot Springs is a hotbed of white water rafting. The bed and shower were wonderful so it ended up all right for them. Hank was moving on today (Saturday) so I'm not sure who will be heading out with Lyle tomorrow. He mentioned a number of new hikers he has met already in Hot Springs. I guess it depends upon who is on the trail when Lyle gets there. He has picked up his next mail drop and is sending a CD back with pictures. I'll load some pictures as soon as I can...I probably won't get the box back until the first week of May. That's all for now.