Hot Springs, North Carolina to Erwin, Tennessee

You know you are a thru-hiker when... You follow a sign posted on a gate for free food at someone's house.

We left Hot Springs a few days later in the poring rain, but made it no further than a hamburger shop on the edge of town. After procrastinating for a few hours we decided not to do the planned 13 miles and instead to head to the next shelter 3 miles away. We arrived at the shelter to the sound of guitar music. Goldfish was showing off his latest purchase, a hiking guitar.

It was still raining the following day, and we decided to try another 20 miler to pick up the lost miles from the day before. That plan quickly changed when we found a sign directing us to "trail magic" at the home of some former thru-hikers about 1/4 of a mile away. On the walk to their house, we were imagining everything that could possibly happen and we decided that if there was any sign of a shotgun and a rocking chair on the porch that we were out of there. We were greeted at the door by Hercules and Fal. They ushered us to the table and promptly fed us everything in sight. We started off with waffles and bacon, then had homemade bread and apple butter followed by a BBQ pork sandwich and pear crumble for desert, all washed down with coffee and iced tea. Just when they'd filled us so full that we couldn't budge from our seat, they began piling numerous books onto the table and offering to send them to us chapter by chapter. "We think these will help you question the truth. Jesus said that the only way to heaven was through him... And Jesus wouldn't lie, would he?"

We arrived in Erwin soggy and ready for a break. After dumping our gear at the Motel, we decided to take care of business by doing the laundry and the shopping. On our way back from the shopping, we noticed that people kept honking their horns at us as we walked down the street. Just as we were wondering if we were walking down the wrong side of the road or whether we were breaking some other law, a police officer pulled over beside us and rolled down the window. We looked at each other as if about to yell, "RUN!!", when he asked if we wanted a ride. "Um... Sure," we replied and piled into the back seat with our groceries. "There's a big storm coming. They say about 100 mile winds. I thought I'd save ya'll from getting wet and take you back to your motel." As we pulled up in front of the glass doors to the motel, he said, "the doors don't open from the inside. Ya'll'll have to stick your hands out the window and open them from the outside." With many thanks we waved him goodbye. Strolling into the lobby, we were met by the impressed looks of some other hikers, "How in the hell did ya'll pull that off?"