Sunday 4/4
The wall controller clearly said that the room’s heat was on. The temperature outside was thirty degrees. Inside, the temperature was a warm fifty-seven degrees. Clearly, the heat wasn’t actually on. In the bathroom, I turned on the water in the shower. Decent pressure, but the water was ice cold. I let it run. I let it run a little longer. I started packing up the room. Still no hot water. Of course there’s nowhere to gripe about it since there’s no office, and the restaurant wouldn’t be open for hours.
I do review these places on hotels.com and tripadvisor.com. And yes, I’m honest.
Thoroughly annoyed, I left in a bit of a huff.
My one stop for the day was in Table Top State Park. The Table Top Trail takes you 3.6 miles up to an overlook. But, it’s mileage you definitely earn. It starts behind the Nature Center.
Between the parking lot and the nature center sits a kiosk. All hikers on the Table Top Trail must sign in. There are post card sized forms for your name, contact information, emergency contact, description of your vehicle, as well as time started and expected time off the trail. Slip the form in the slot and you’re good to go.
From there, you climb. Between the stone stairs, the random rocks and roots, it does make for a slow journey, at least for me. The trekking poles did help a great deal, but still, slow and steady.
Every half mile, there are these markers. While they’re a great way to know where you are, sometimes it felt as if they were almost taunting me. Periodically, you’d be treated to a break in the trees and a nice view.
Shortly after the two and a half mile marker, there’s a big climb to an exposed rock face, called Governor’s Rock. Nice view...
From here, it mostly a gentle downslope for the last mile, with a few overlooks tossed in for good measure.
The view from the end of the trail...
After taking a half hour for lunch and to rest my legs, it was time for the inevitable hike back down. I tucked the camera into my pack for the trip and just concentrated on my footing. Funny how it always seems a bit more loose on the trip down. Just below the 2.5 mile marker, I met some exhausted hikers heading up. They asked how much further. I told them I wouldn’t lie, they were about to hit the marker, a little more than a mile to go.
At a trail juncture, I met two women taking a break. When one said, “this is where I met the bear.” I stopped, said “you can’t leave me hanging, do tell.” So she did. She often runs this trail, starting as soon as the park opens. She came around the corner and there was a bear sitting in the trail. She stopped, spoke calmly and started backing away. The bear ambled off into the trees. She ran on.
It was shortly after 3P when I finally arrived back at the nature center. By then, there were plenty of people out on the lake enjoying the day. As for me, I was officially spent. It didn’t help that I was still feeling grungy from the lack of a shower that morning.
The good news, my motel was an easy forty minute drive. I was probably pretty ripe when I walked into the lobby of the Mountain Inn. After hauling my stuff up to the room, it felt so good to peel off the hiking boots and finally take that long hot shower.
I did consider driving a couple exits up the interstate. In the town of Hendersonville, there are five, yes five breweries, some even open on Easter Sunday. But, like I said, I was just done.
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