day 18 - 3/28

i took a nearo day today, meaning i did so little mileage that it was almost a zero day. when i rolled into town yesterday after hiking 23mi i got a room at a hostel and got to take a shower and sleep in a real bed. i had great food and talked to some awesome thru hikers. this morning i got up late at 8:30 and just had a leisurely day in hot springs. i got some much needed supplies and of course more food. i had lunch with some other hikers and then set off around 15:30. i ended up going 11.4mi to the next shelter. it is kind of scary when i start to consider an 11mi day as a nearly zero day of hiking. i also realized that a bed isn't all it's cracked up to be, meaning that i sleep just as well if not better outside in my hammock. the laundry is definitely overrated, too. it is hard to describe to someone who is in everyday life just how stinky you are to someone who has been on the trail. with all the perfumes in all the different products i can now smell a day hiker almost half mile up the trail. of course i realize that i am just as stinky in a less pleasant way. so, to go from smelling dirty and woodsy, aka blending in with your surroundings, to wearing clothes that have been washed in very smelly detergent is a little shocking to the olfactory cavity. it also is making me itch quite a bit for some reason. so taking a shower ends up having the same effect. i never thought i would say this, but i prefer just rinsing off in a stream because then i don't stink and scratch. lol. i've become such a dirty boy. lol. oh well, all thru hikers tend to have their own biosphere of stench - kind of like linus from the peanuts cartoons. i think he is the one who always has the cloud of dust and fumes around him. whichever peanut is the dirty one is a fitting visual. i am feeling a little pooped and run down today so we shall see what tomorrow brings. my plan is 21.3mi to flint mt, but there are some frickin hard climbs tomorrow so my feet and knees will do the deciding. 11.4mi from hot springs to spring mt shelter. 282.8mi total.