Monday, June 6th

Deer Park Mountain Shelter (271.7 mi) to Laughing Heart Lodge (274.6 mi)

Hiking Miles: 2.9

Total Ascent: 367.5 ft

Total Descent: 1,254.3 ft

Total Grade: 573.4 ft/mi

Steps: 20,135

We woke up around 6 am after a rough night’s sleep. The hiker who tented close by snored the entire night, but we would have plenty of time to chill (and grab a nap perhaps) in Hot Springs. After having a quick energy bar and packing up our gear, we headed on trail by 7:30 am and hiked 2.9 miles, mostly downhill, to the Laughing Heart Lodge.

We arrived there at 9 am and were welcomely greeted by Gabe and Ali inside the lodge. They were very hospitable and allowed us to check out a few of the available rooms before choosing the one we wanted. We chose the Monarch Room (with four large windows side by side) that was situated directly above the lodge’s front porch. It had a king bed (that could be separated into twins), a private bath, and a spacious sitting area.

Since the room was already prepared, we immediately moved our stuff in, then headed downstairs for a light continental breakfast in their kitchenette. Then we proceeded to the diner in town and ate a large, hearty breakfast. I had the ultimate pancakes with apples, cinnamon and whipped cream.

After stuffing ourselves, we decided to check out the Outfitters store. We also went into the Public Library, and I saw a few Stephen King books that I hadn’t heard of. It wasn’t a big library, but it was quaint and there were a few people browsing. We then returned to the lodge to pack the bear can with items that we wanted to ship home, and inventoried our supplies. We then proceeded to the post office and mailed home the bear can (along with our ice cream mason jars), then resupplied at a Dollar General.

Early that afternoon when I was doing laundry, I accidentally left my metal spork (in the batch of laundry) wrapped in my Jet Boil cleaning towel. Unfortunately, I could not stop the cycle once it started, however the attendant said there was nothing I could do except for letting it complete. I was more concerned about the spork damaging the machine, but if he didn’t care, I didn’t either. I suppose if it were an emergency, pulling the power cord would stop things. It turned out fine – no torn clothes, but not the optimum way to clean an eating utensil.

A highlight of my day was playing whiffle ball with a boy who was tossing up a ball and hitting it. I remembered those days when I would do the same (all by myself) with my imaginary baseball teams. I offered to pitch to him and he was excited. I taught him a few hitting techniques, and in no time he was ripping my knuckle ball! The boy currently lived in Vegas with his mom who was here with him on vacation. But his dad lived in Philadelphia and the boy was a Phillies fan – his favorite player was who else but Bryce Harper! “Restless” had been watching from a chair on the grounds, and after we were done playing, she commented that it was so heartwarming.

Stevie & I had a beer today while we sat and chilled. For dinner, we went back into town to the Hillbilly Market and bought subs and drinks, took everything back to the lodge and ate it at a table set up outside. While at the market, I had met a female shopper who saw my Nahamsha jersey that I was wearing and she commented “Nice Shirt” on her way out. Later, I sat on the front porch and watched some of Stevie’s videos that Tarryn posted on our Instagram page – “Maxie’s Patch” – Hilarious!

All in all, it was a nice chill day – a “Nero”. I video chatted with Teresa and she said that she signed up for a Yoga class and tonight was her first one. That is so cool – especially whereas it sounded like fun and it helped her with getting a bit more social interaction.

I think my new Fitbit is broken. Stevie and I spent hours trying to troubleshoot it but it was unresponsive. The repair hotline I called was no help either, so I decided to hike on without a Fitbit.