The Mushroom Cottage and Mountain Views

This morning I slept in pretty late at the Mushroom Cottage. I was just so toasty and comfortable! I could have stayed there all day long. But some weather is rolling in on Wednesday and looks rough. So we’re trying to do a couple big days to get to Erwin by the time that it does. Which means lying around all day long just isn’t in the cards for today.

I got ready and packed everything up. Then drank the rest of my chocolate milk, ate some cake, and Punisher made bacon and eggs! I had two breakfast sandwiches with bacon, egg, and pimento cheese. Which I’m kind of obsessed with currently. I had never tried pimento cheese until recently and I really like it. I was absolutely stuffed by the time I was done. But knew that I needed every last calorie I could get. Once we cleaned everything up we headed out. Then walked the rest of the way through Hot Springs.

Cake for breakfast! This cake from Hillbilly market was ridiculously good.

It’s crazy to see the town and how it is now. It’s unimaginably different than it was in 2023. The bar and restaurant which rented out rooms upstairs is destroyed. The large porch with over looked the river is completely gone. And while a few stores have relocated and reopened, a lot of places haven’t. The damage was really hard to see. It makes me sad for this community. I hope that they are able to raise all of the necessary funds to rebuild over the next year. Hot Springs is one of the best towns on the AT and that community does so much for the hikers.

Leaving the Mushroom Cottage. If you’re passing through Hot Springs I would definitely recommend staying here!

On our way through town we stopped off at the dollar general to grab a couple things. I forgot to get contact solution, which I will probably need more of soon. Then while we were sitting outside packing stuff away an employee came over. She was wheeling a cart filled with half gallons of chocolate milk over to the dumpster. They expired in the next day or so, so I guess they just throw them out before hand. Obviously we were eyeing the cart, and she saw us. And then handed us each a half gallon! What a world. That was the wildest event I could have imagined. Talk about divine intervention.

An AT marker along the side walk through Hot Springs.

I was still so full from breakfast that I couldn’t imagine drinking a whole half gallon quickly. So instead I dumped out my water and filled up a liter of chocolate milk instead. It is dang cold out, so it will definitely stay good for the next few hours. And the milk is practically a protein shake loaded with protein, calories, and fat. Then I drank as much as I could from the jug before we set out.

After that we just made our way out of town. You cross over a bridge and then the trail picks up on the right side of the road. We walked down by the river and the amount of downed trees was crazy. They were piled so high. Then we walked along the river for a bit before we began the climb up out of town. I had remembered it being so brutal. It was a hot day and we left town around noon. But this time around everything has felt so different. I came to the realization today that I’ve hiked over 9,000 miles since I was last on the AT in 2023. My pack is lighter now and my body is so much more used to this life. It makes a lot of sense that this time around the AT has felt significantly easier than before. A whole lot has happened since the last time I was out here hiking in 2023.

Views of the river from the climb out of Hot Springs.

The climb out of town was steep and rocky like I remembered. But sometimes I enjoy the rocky climbs and the stairs. It works a totally different muscle group than climbing up an actual trail. The steepest sections didn’t last for long. And before we knew it we were up top winding through the forest. The climbing continued, but we would go up and then enjoy a brief downhill. There was a good balance. On flat sections of trail I drank as much milk as I could. I definitely want to drink it all before the sun comes out or too much time goes by.

Crossing over a bridge along the AT.

Once we got all the way up that climb we descended very briefly. Then began the next climb! There is going to be a lot of elevation gain today from what I can see. The next climb wasn’t nearly as long as the one out of town. When we got up top there was a shelter which was empty. And then the trail brought us down briefly, before sending us right back up. The descent off of the top had a few climbs along it actually. It’s always funny when the downhill winds up actually being an uphill. Some of the climbs were super steep and had my calves burning. But they didn’t last too long.

Some stretches of trail were leisurely like this, with very little climbing and a nice flat leafy path to walk along.

When we finished the final hump and began the descent to Allen Gap I used the opportunity to chug what was left of my milk. I was so glad that I packed that out! It’s so much easier to get calories in when you can just drink them. Especially with all of the climbing today. There was very little time to eat a snack, unless you did it while you were going uphill.

After we got down to the gap we began another long climb. The first couple of miles were pretty steep and continuous. But then it leveled off a bit toward the middle. We passed by another shelter, the Little Laurel Shelter. Which was also empty. Then had another 2 miles of climbing to get up to the top. That next mile was absolutely brutal. It was easily some of the steepest grade we’ve done yet on the AT. The ground beneath my feet was covered in loose leaves with very little grip. Which made it slow going as I inched my way up. The climb had my calves burning and made my mind tell me to stop and break. But I knew I didn’t actually need to. It was just a butt kicker! But the only way to end it was to finish it.

We still had about 11 miles to go to get to Jimmy’s Cabin Shelter.

That steep section of trail felt like it went on for forever. But it did eventually calm down and turned back into a normal climb. The rest of the way to the top of the mountain was easy enough. And after that the trail was just rolling up and down occasional for a while. There wasn’t much of any steeper climbing over those next few miles.

Then we got to one of my favorite sections of trail! Around the Whiterock and Blackstaff cliffs area. There was a lot of rocky climbing to do, but I didn’t mind it. Then we got up toward Big Firescald Knob. That’s where the trail really opens up and you get on top of a rocky ridge. The visibility was fantastic and we enjoyed some great views.

Making my way up the next climb of the day.

Around this time we had began to hear voices, but didn’t see anyone. Then we turned a corner and saw two hikers coming our way. They were so nice, and the lady actually recognized me from the tattoo on my thigh. Her and her husband were stoked to run into us and weren’t expecting it. We talked to them for a bit before continuing along the trail.

Views from the top of Big Firescald Knob. 

For some reason I didn’t remember much of this section of trail after the exposed rocky area. Because in my mind the next shelter was just past all of the rocks. In reality though there were still a few small hills to climb before we got there. They weren’t bad at all, but I was just getting ready to be done. We were making really good time though for the day. Especially considering we still haven’t stopped off once for a break. My body felt good though and I was fueled up from all of the food in town.

It was a perfect day for some views on top of Big Firescald Knob.

It was right after 6pm when we finally arrived at Jerry’s Cabin Shelter. Somehow we still managed to do over a marathon before dark. Even though we didn’t get out of time until 9am or later.

When we got to the shelter one guy was set up inside. But there was a lot of space, so we decided to join him. The nights have been pretty cold. It will make our lives a whole lot easier to sleep in the shelter. Especially having an early start tomorrow. I got everything set up inside and then walked to grab water. Then made dinner and did my whole night routine. For dinner I had street corn grits from Bowl&Kettle. That one is so good! The only grits I’ve ever eaten are the street corn grits from Bowl&Kettle.

After the rocky stretch of trail we passed the AT 300 mile mark!

Today we did 27 miles with over 8,100 feet of elevation gain. Actually though, 7,000 of that gain was in the first 20 miles of the day. Which was alot! As of now we are about 9.5 miles from Devil’s Fork Gap. And someone who follows the videos is planning on setting up there tomorrow morning to do trail magic. Which sounds amazing! There really couldn’t be a better time in the day to get goodies. That will fill us up and keep us going for the next 20 miles afterwards.

If you want to support Mossy and the Mushroom Cottage, I’m going to link his go fund me below! He is currently operating an Airbnb but is in the process of adding an outdoor shower, buildings for hikers, an area for tenting, and eventually a bunk house too. ALHA is going to match donations to his go fund me because Hot Springs is in desperate need of a hostel for hikers in town. 
https://www.gofundme.com/f/at-2025-hot-springs-needs-hiker-accommodations

If you enjoyed this blog and would like to support my hike by buying me a soda or a snack along the way, there is a “Tip the Author” button below! It links directly to my Venmo. Any and all support is incredibly appreciated!