Franklin (4/11/10)

Today was an awesome day. Rock Gap shelter (where I camped last night) was about four miles from Winding Stairs gap - the trail-head nearest to Franklin, NC. I got up this morning pretty late (~9:30) and headed down to the trail head where I learned that there was a shuttle going to Franklin at 11:30. I got on that shuttle and got to Franklin sometime a little after noon, where I booked a room at Haven's Budget Inn - where Christine and I would spend the night.

From AT 2010

Christine pulled in not too much later, which gave me a chance to shave off my nascent facial hair. I showered and then we headed over to a Mexican restaurant down the street. Almost everything in town was closed today because it's Sunday, but a few places were still open. After lunch, we hopped in the car and headed to the other end of town so that I could pick up a few things that I'd need for hiking.

While on the trail, I've been using flip flops when walking around camp - so that I can dry out my feet. But the problem with flip-flops is that you can't (comfortably) wear socks with them - which is uncomfortable when it's cold out. So, I picked up some crocs (which a ton of hikers have b/c they're so lite, but also cover all of your feet. I also got a new pair of socks as well as a new winter hat and some gloves which will actually dry out in a reasonable amount of time.

From AT 2010

After that, we went back to our room where I spent some time on Christine's laptop, uploading photos and writing some long-overdue blog entries.

From AT 2010

All in all, it's been an excellent day. I'm more or less re-supplied for the next few days, me and my clothes are somewhat clean and, of course, spending time with Christine has provided some much needed morale.

That's about it for now. Expect some more entries sometime later this week. Thanks for reading!