Hot Springs

I'm in Hot Springs, NC for 3 zero days! (zero day: a day in town where absolutely no miles are hiked) Megan, Kristin, and Allison are coming into town tomorrow to celebrate my birthday with me. I'm so excited. I'm so fortunate to have people in my life that would fly/drive here in the middle of the week to spend my birthday with me; though I'm sure the promise of whitewater rafting, massages, and hot spring soaks might have had a little to do with it. We are staying in a rustic cabin the first night and then splurging on a Hot Springs Resort room with a spring water filled jacuzzi the second night. The "rustic" cabin will probably seem like roughing-it for them but will be very comfortable for me.
I got to town a few days early so until they get here, I'm staying at Elmer's Sunnybrook Inn. I got the last room available last night, which is actually the mothball smelling attic, but I can't complain. After being wet and cold for 3 days, I would have slept in the dog house. The rest of the house is amazing though. It's a 2 story house that's over 100 years old and filled with antiques. All meals served at the house are organic, vegetarian, and delicious...just my style. The town of Hot Springs is very small but has a few restaurants, a library, a Dollar General and an outfitter...which is everything I need.
For the past 3 days, it has been cold and rainy. The first day was kind of fun... splashing through puddles and mud. After being wet for 24 hours, it got old. The trail can only take so much water before it turns into the world's longest slip-n-slide. Every step is slow and planned or you end up on the ride of your life down the trail. The skin on my feet started peeling from being soaked all day. My feet look like they belong in a zombie movie. By the time I got to town last night, everything I own was at least damp, if not soaked. I keep telling myself that this is part of "the experience" but its hard to keep your spirits up when you are so uncomfortable. On the trail they say: No pain, no rain, no Maine.
At breakfast this morning, a hiker who camped a mile away from me told his bear story. There are bear cables at most shelters to hang your food bag and cooking stove from, along with any other smelly things you have (toothpaste, lotion, etc.) If you decide to camp somewhere other than a shelter, you have to hang you food bag from a tree branch at least 6 feet off the ground and 6 feet from the trunk of the tree. The trick is to find a tree where either the tree trunk or the branch is small and flimsy. This way, the bear won't feel comfortable climbing up the trunk or out on the branch to get your food. This hiker had his food bag in the tree with 2 other hikers. Soon after it got dark, the hikers woke up to find the bear on his way down the tree with 2 of the food bags. A few hours later, the bear came back for the last bag, but the guys caught him in the act and managed to scare him away by beating their hiking poles together and barking at the bear. At 5:30 in the morning, the bear came back again and was running down the trunk of the tree and into the woods with the food bag by the time the hikers got out of their tents. Relentless! There have also been signs posted about people getting their whole packs stolen by bears. Apparently, they just pull a sneak attack. Hikers will put their packs on the ground and the bear comes running out of the bushes, grabs the pack, and goes running back through the woods with the pack. lol. Its so funny to picture but I can't imagine how devastating it would be to get your whole pack stolen. Most people are carrying around thousands of dollars in gear. That kind of financial loss would most likely end a hike.