Date: 2015-04-03
From: Dick's Creek Gap/ Hiawassee GA

To: Winding Stair Gap/Franklin NC
Miles today: 40.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Thunder storms in the a.m pursuaded me to sleep in. My good friend Gayle, aka "Gutsy", patiently waited as I organized my boxes to send home and bounce forward.   Then she drove me around Hiawassee, for some last minute errands.We got a late start, so our goal was just Dick's Gap to Plum Orchard Shelter. Good thing because it was a steady climb out of the Gap. Dinner was subs we picked up at Ingles - great idea Gutsy!! Quick, easy, and no cooking.There were both familiar and new faces at the shelter.   Of the new faces, there were a few small groups of hikers traveling together. Some serious, some on the AT just to party.I set up my cozy little tent, and Gutsy stayed in the shelter. There was a nice little fire, but everyone pretty much turned in when it got dark. There was a giddy excitement about reaching the NC border. It is a huge mental boost to complete a state. Rumor has it that 30% of AT hikers never make it out of GA.In the morning I packed up and had breakfast with Gutsy, then we went our separate ways.   She went south to her vehicle, and I went north to the NC border. It was an absolutely gorgious day for hiking. I reached NC about 2 p.m. My face almost hurt from the huge smile I had!! However, the smile soon faded with the 2 long hard rocky climbs I faced right after the border. WELCOME TO NC!!! I grew concerned that I would even make it through NC if the whole state was going to be this way. Fortunately the trail much improved after the 2 climbs. The tread was pretty smooth, and the climbs and descents were much more gradual. I knocked out 12.2 miles and made it to Standing Indian Shelter. Level tenting space was limited, so we were fairly close together, but for the most part everyone was considerate of one another.I was grateful for another morning with a dry tent.   No rain or dew. Water on the fly, foot print, and tarp I use for my pack adds so much weight to the pack. The day was cool but clear with a steady breeze. I felt great and was making good time with the improved trail. I knocked out 11.3 miles and reached Betty Creek Gap with plenty of energy to spare. I set up my tent and enjoyed my bag dinner while talking with a nice family from Madison Wisconsin who where section hiking with a VERY well behaved 5 year old. I slept great.Once again I gratefully packed up a dry tent and headed out. But it was foggy, cool, and there was a stiff breeze. I was facing Albert Mountain.   The initial incline up was relatively easy. But the guide showed a noticiable spike in elevation, so I did not know what to expect. There is an option to blue blaze, or take a side trail around Albert Mtn., but I already decided no blue or yellow blazing (where you skip sections of the trail and get a ride to move ahead) for me. When/if I finish the AT, I want to be able to honestly say I hiked the ENTIRE AT, every mile, every white blaze.So up and over Albert Mountain I went. It was steep and rocky, and at times slick from the dense fog. It reminded me of a climb up Katahdin a few years ago, but not quite as steep and of course no way near as long. I really marveled at the log steps which were painstakingly interspersed among the rocks. So much work went into building that trail when a fire road/blue blazed trail around the mountain was available. Hmmm, made me wonder why anyone bothered. Perhaps the trail was built before the fire road.I reached the summit and was rewarded with nothing but white fog. No view. Just slick rocks. My only reward was cell coverage. So I booked a room at the Budget Inn in Franklin for the next night. Then I moved on. I stopped briefly at the firetower. Hikers can climb it - about 4 flights of metal stairs, but they looked slick from the fog, and there was no view, just a white wall of fog, so I skipped it.After the strenuous rocky climb I was concerned about the descent, but it was nothing but a gentle sloping smooth tread. What a relief!!!The rest of the day was relatively easy and I made it to Rock Gap Shelter by mid afternoon. My initial plan was to camp there and catch a shuttle, a mere .1 mile hike away in the morning. But it was too early in the day to quit, and I still had plenty of energy. So I hiked on to Winding Stair Gap. Two fellow hikers were going to camp just beyond the Gap and catch a rental car in the a.m. (Enterprise REALLY does pick you up, even on the AT at certain Gaps.)So I knocked out 12.2 miles, for a total on the AT of 109.8 (YIPPEE, another milestone - triple digits), and camped with the others .3 north of the Gap. It was not as far from a road as I would have liked, but I was camping with a small group for safety. The campsite, which is listed in the AWOL AT guide, was right on the AT and right next to a stream. Not exactly LNT appropriate, and previous users left quite a mess, but we felt we had no choice.I got my tent up, and just started to eat my bag dinner when it started to rain buckets. So much for the weather reports!! I carefully ate my dinner under my tent fly. (I have a firm rule about no food in the tent or cooking near the tent to avoid any lingering food odors.) I waited for a break in the rain to hang my food, then got ready for bed. Although I was very cozy in my tent, I was seriously worried all night about flash flooding of the creek. Fortunately there were no problems.I woke up very early and packed up my gear. I planned to catch the first shuttle into Franklin. So I hiked .3 miles back south to the Gap/road. I found a hiker who camped right at the road side - a VERY dangerous practice, and I reminded him so. A very nice man (Rodney) with an old pick up truck pulled into the parking area and set out trail magic for us - breakfast on his tailgate, complete with a table cloth. He had freshly baked banana bread, fresh fruit, OJ, and coffee. Although he was a man of very few words, and never personally hiked the AT, he apparently had a soft spot for thru hikers. His generosity and thoughtfulness was very much appreciated. Then there was even more trail magic. A nice local woman named Karen dropped off 2 hiker friends and offered to take some hikers into town. So 4 of us piled in. She was an absolute delight to talk with. Not only did she give us a lift into town - 11 miles, for FREE, but she gave us the scoop on where to go, eat, and drink!! She even went out of her way to show us where things were, then she dropped us off at the Budget Inn.I quickly checked in - surprisingly my room was ready. I dropped my pack in my room and headed to town. Time for new boots, and Outdoor 76 was supposed to be THE place to go for boots. I was treated very well there, and highly recommend the place. However their selection in regard to other gear is somewhat limited. But they have all the basics. They give a 10% discount to thru hikers, a $10 voucher for a restaurant if you buy over $50, and they have a tap room if you want to buy a beer while you shop. It is a really cool AT hiker store.Franklin is an AT trail town, and everyone I encountered so far has been very friendly and helpful to hikers. The 1st Baptist Church provides a free all you can eat pancake and bacon breakfast to AT hikers. They even pick up hikers and transport them to the church!! So I will definitely be hitting the breakfast.The AT is calling, and I have many miles to hike ...... but before I can move on I have the usual town chores to finish.