Elizabeth's+Scripts+Episode+Three

Day Three will begin by leaving Jones Meadow heading downhill among rock outcrops for the next six miles until reaching Allen Gap. At this point the trail crosses a Tennessee highway, and a grocery store at this location sells cold drinks, sandwiches, and ice cream. The store also keeps a trail registry which hikers can sign and leave words of trail wisdom for other hikers.  Four miles past the grocery story, we will end the Day Three hike. This relatively easy hike through forests of Fraser magnolia, black gum, tulip-tree, cinnamon fern, rhododendron, bloodroot, hepatica, blueberries, and blackberries will offer the hikers an opportunity to relax and take in all of the natural beauty that the Appalachian Trail has to offer. We will spend the night at Spring Mountain Shelter before beginning the final day of hiking on the trail. We will begin the Day Four hike at an elevation of 3,300 feet in the Cherokee National Forest. We will be passing a Bear Sanctuary. There are an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 bears living in the southern Appalachian region. All precautions will be taken to avoid any run-ins with these natives of the area. We will be walking by patches of sunflowers, jewelweed, Joe-Pye weed, milkweed, grapevines, witch hazel, Christmas ferns, maidenhair ferns, Solomon’s-seal, mandarin, starry campion, blackberries, wintergreen, and trailing arbutus. Rhododendron, shagbark hickories, and sassafras will also be growing all around us. This section of the trail is well known for its abundance of spring wildflowers. On this final day of the hike, we will reach a cleared area with an old fire tower. The Smokies, Black Mountains, and the French Broad River can all be seen by climbing partway up the tower. This cleared area also has abandoned buildings, a picnic table, and huge yellow letters which can be read by airplane pilots above. As we pass Hurricane Gap, Rich Mountain, and Tanyard Gap, we will cross two footbridges over creeks and eventually come to a pond with a concrete dam. When we reach the French Broad River, we may be able to see rafts, canoes, and kayaks on the river. A large ledge jutting out from a cliff 500 feet above the river is known as Lovers Leap. In this area, there is a legend of a Cherokee woman who killed herself by leaping off of the ledge after her lover was killed by a rival. Today, hikers can go out onto this ledge to get better views of the town of Hot Springs and the French Broad River. We will continue on the trail over a bridge in between a cliff face and river rapids. River rafting is a very popular activity in this area. We will also be passing by the Nantahala Outdoor Center before ending our four day hike on the Appalachian Trail in the town of Hot Springs. The springs in this area were discovered in 1778 and attracted crowds of health seekers. A resort with a large hotel and European-style bathhouse were built, but the resort had been abandoned by the early twentieth century. In 1917, 2,800 German prisoners of war were kept in the hotel. They built a model Bavarian village that was destroyed when World War I ended.    Civilian Conservation Corps members working under President Roosevelt’s New Deal Works Progress Administration occupied the area while working on the   Appalachian Trail. In 1991, the mineral baths of the Hot Springs Spa were reopened as individual sites along the river instead of a single bathhouse. The mineral waters found at the spa are said to have healing powers. Healing powers will probably be needed at the end of this final 10.5 mile hike which drops from 3,300 feet to 1,326 feet.

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