I'm still hoarse from this lingering summer cold so no rafting or other adventures for now, before I leave for Asheville on Friday. Instead I've read several books, one a novel about Hot Springs during WWI, when the Mountain Park Hotel (the spa built near the hot springs) served as an internment camp for 2,700 German sailors from vessels docked at American ports that were seized when the US declared war.
I did go to see the springs, really just hot tubs on the grounds where the huge hotel had stood. Rather than mere soaking I decided to splurge on a massage and it was terrific.
Another book I read was a new biography of Grandma Gatewod, the first woman to thruhike the Trail, doing it alone at age 67 in 1955 after reading about it in National Geographic. She went on to hike it 2 more times, each time in tennis shoes with just a simple sack over her shoulder, no guidebook or tent or sleeping bag or the rest of the fancy gear carried now. She had a shower curtain to keep the rain off, and little else--the first ultra light hiker as well.
Of course Bill Bryson made fun of her, calling her "eccentric, poorly equipped, and a danger to herself. (She was forever getting lost.)" She also hiked the complete trail 3 times, roughing it, while Bryson barely did a little more than a third of it.
But she hiked because she wanted to, on her own, long after her 11 children were grown and she had finally escaped an abusive husband. A true folk hero of the trail.
I did go to see the springs, really just hot tubs on the grounds where the huge hotel had stood. Rather than mere soaking I decided to splurge on a massage and it was terrific.
Another book I read was a new biography of Grandma Gatewod, the first woman to thruhike the Trail, doing it alone at age 67 in 1955 after reading about it in National Geographic. She went on to hike it 2 more times, each time in tennis shoes with just a simple sack over her shoulder, no guidebook or tent or sleeping bag or the rest of the fancy gear carried now. She had a shower curtain to keep the rain off, and little else--the first ultra light hiker as well.
Of course Bill Bryson made fun of her, calling her "eccentric, poorly equipped, and a danger to herself. (She was forever getting lost.)" She also hiked the complete trail 3 times, roughing it, while Bryson barely did a little more than a third of it.
But she hiked because she wanted to, on her own, long after her 11 children were grown and she had finally escaped an abusive husband. A true folk hero of the trail.
Jim:
ReplyDeleteLooked for a way to contact you more personally, like an email address, but found nothing.
It was awesome getting to meet and chat with you at Elmer's back in June.... Where are you now???
Would love to hear from you again, soon!!!
Scott "One Leg" Rogers