Date: 2017-11-04
From: Tellico Gap

To: Lazy Hiker Brewing Company, Franklin
Miles today: 19.4

The US approach to firearms is utterly perplexing to those outside the country but apart from some genuine hunters we've been meeting, that hasn't really been a factor out here on the trail.Until today, when I met a guy who exemplified the guns-are-essential mindset. He was a section hiker with an enormous pack that already boasted an axe and a hatchet. At his hip, he had a handgun of substantial calibre but said it was just one of a range of firearms he had contemplating carrying for his safety."I really think that if you're hiking with anything less than a .22," he said, "you're just being irresponsible."Right.I was happy he was heading the other way and I headed on, prepared to repel bears and mountain lions and other threats in my usual way: using my personality.Our lunchtime destination was Wayah Bald, which had a road leading to the top from the south and featured a substantial stone lookout that had been ravaged by fire. It was still a good place to stop for something to eat, with a commanding view off to the east.Just beyond was a forest which had burned at the same time as the stone tower and which was the scene of a trail crew learning how to fell trees safely with a chainsaw. One said hello as we passed and introduced himself as Colin, whose hostel, Gooder Grove, we were heading to that night. After that, there was a long haul along a gradually descending ridgeline towards Wayah Road, after which there was a short uphill and another final descent down to Winding Stair Gap.One of the final landmarks on this route was Swinging Lick Gap -- a Lick being a local term for a trail or route -- but I already knew what I'd find if there was a sign. Juvenile humour had, after all, already been a constant on the trail and someone with a distinctly adolescent sense of humour had earlier changed Deer Lick Gap in Virginia by adjusting the L to become a D. Sure enough, this one too was vandalised in the same way.Soon after that I emerged onto the highway at Winding Stair Gap to find the others had all already got rides towards Franklin, about 15 miles away. It took me about 30 minutes before someone was kind enough to stop and I was doubly grateful when they went out of their way to drop me within a few minutes walk of Gooder Grove Hostel, where I reunited with the others of Team KRT.This was a seriously cool place with the owner, Colin, setting just the right atmosphere. The best proof of this were the house rules: "Be kind, be kind of clean, and enjoy being."And after we'd done the chores of showering -- "kind of clean" was about as much as any of us hoped for after 2000 miles -- and laundry he was nice enough to drive us into town.We had dinner at the Detroit diner, on his recommendation, then wandered a couple of hundred metres to our real goal, the Lazy Hiker Brewing Company, for post-meal beers such as Trail Mate golden ale, Slack Pack IPA, Springer Fever pilsner and Twentymile IPA. Even better, it had a mammoth 5m/15ft long AT trail map on the wall, showing how far we've come and how close we are to the end.After resupplying at the nearby supermarket in town -- a funnier but potentially more hazardous option in light of our brewery visit -- Colin was kind enough to come by and collect us again. And he gave us a discount price to stay since there were six of us. I opted to leave my pedo bear outfit to add to his loaner clothes collection, which he was absolutely certain would be go-to clothing for at least some of the hikers who followed. It's that kind of place.Life is good.AT fact of the day: We've been looking forward to the Lazy Hiker Brewing Company for more than a month, ever since I chanced upon their beer in a North Carolina supermarket. Sadly it seems that today's "last thing" on the trail is our last brewery...