Kevin's AT Thru Hike

Day 27, Tuesday, 4/12 – I met Reboot’s husband, Gabe, this morning when I was eating breakfast. He was telling the history of the lodge that we’re staying in. Calling it a lodge doesn’t really do it justice. It’s really a well furnished mansion with fine wood finishing. The lodge was a facility constructed in 1895 by the Mott family. They had a sick daughter, and they thought the residence would help her condition. They stayed in the lodge for about 10 years before selling to another family. For some 60 years, the lodge was a private residence until it became a Jesuit residence in the 1950s. The Jesuit’s built the chapel and the bunkhouse, and used the space for retreats. Finally in 2012, the Nagel family turned it into the commercial property that it is now.

It was a slow morning after breakfast. It rained most of the day, which was fine, because I wasn’t camping or hiking. After a while, I walked to the outfitter. I had to buy insoles for my shoes. My arches are always sore, and my achilles still feel tight.

Here’s the view of Hot Springs from the walk to the outfitter.

Sprite’s friend Anthony came to visit this afternoon. We ran a few more errands and then got lunch at Vaste Riviere Provisions, which was a chic bistro. I didn’t expect to find this type of restaurant in a hiker town, but we were certainly glad to find it. The food was great and they had a nice, covered, outdoor seating area.

Genie, Splitzy, Justin, Nicole, Sprite, Anthony, and I all went to the hot springs in the evening. The water from the hot spring is somehow piped to several hot tubs. We had a tub right along side the river. It felt good to soak some sore muscles in a hot tub for a while.

After the soak, we went over to Big Pillow for bingo and tacos. It ended up being too loud to play bingo outside, so we all just ate tacos and hung out. It was a great zero day.

Parkour and Jetpack hiked on today. They are getting off trail in a few days for a wedding, so they don’t want to be too far behind the crew when they get back on trail.

Oh one final note. I’m going to be staying at the Station at 19E in Roan Mountain, TN in about 8-9 days. I know people have wanted to ship food stuffs to support my adventure. Well I’ve got a great opportunity. It’s Genies birthday on 4/23. If someone wants to send some homemade cookies or something, that would be awesome! Maybe reach out so I know to be on the lookout and send it to the address below. Thank you!

Kevin Glauber

C/O: The Station at 19E

9367 Highway 19 E

Roan Mountain, TN 37687