Spring Break Trip - Day 2

Up with the sun (0630) to get some trail miles while Mollie caught zzzzs at our cottage on Watauga Lake. Drove to the AT trailhead on US-321 (I'd last hiked from the spot in 2015) and headed SOBO, up Pond Mountain (0700). Again the weather was awesome - I saw great views of the lake and the town of Hampton during the climb. I only encountered two hikers on the outbound leg (probably Ridgerunners) so the main NOBO bubbles clearly haven't made it this far yet. As I neared the summit, I caught the strong scent of campfires from the thru hikers (SOBOs) camping on Pond Flats. I made my way to the best turnaround landmark I could find (mossy tree and fallen log). Talked briefly to some campers and slackpackers during my backtrack. Made great time on the way back down, finishing the 6.5 mile day by 0945. Drove back to get Mollie and to continue our Spring Break adventure! Mollie was ready to go when I returned (1030) but skipped breakfast. After checking out of the hotel (1030), we drove to Hampton (TN) and got air for the tires. We also ate lunch (McDonalds) in town (1100). Mollie and I then explored the TVA dam site on the north side of Watauga Lake. Weather was great and we saw lots of farms on the way (sheep, cows, horses, chickens, dogs). The lake was so pretty! Tried to rent a kayak on TN-91 but the shop was closed. We later used US-321 to get through Elizabethton and reach I-26 and then continued towards Asheville. We stopped at the very nice Tennessee Welcome Center just before leaving the state and got directions to Hot Springs (over mountain). Used TN-452 to find our next attraction, Rocky Fork State Park. We hiked a bit in the woods there, enjoying the many waterfalls. Continued into North Carolina and followed NC-212 and NC-208 to reach our a place to stay (Alpine Motel at 1600). We ate dinner at the Iron Horse Restaurant in Hot Springs (1745) and then walked part of the AT (Alpine Court to NOC parking lot on east side of the French Broad River). There was big excitement in the vacation trailer park near the trail: four alarm fire! We talked to the scared residents before heading back to the room, logging another mile of AT. [AT Today = 0.50 miles / Grand Total AT = 898.82 miles] Mollie made friends with the hotel "house chicken" while I listened to the trail tales of the thru hikers in the courtyard - this is the life! We watched TV and caught up on internet service (we hadn't had signal all afternoon). Mollie met the "house chicken" and we listened to thru hikers telling their stories in the courtyard - we watched TV and read books until bed time (2230). AT Today = 3.26 miles / G.T. AT = 898.32 miles