Date: 2008-03-20
From: Big Spring Shelter

To: Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: clear sky

Well, last night the rain stopped, but the wind did not. It got cold. Cold enough to place a snow-like frost on the ground by this morning.And all my pack, clothes and EVERYTHING that I hung out to dry? Frozen solid. I hiked in my Crocs for about a mile while I waited for my shoes to become supple enough to shove my blistered feet into. Okay, that was melodrama. I actually think yesterday's dampness improved my blisters. They don't hurt any more.I was really about to quit the trail today. It was the perfect combination of ingredients. When I woke up and saw the frosty ground I retreated to my warm hammock cocoon for more of a snooze, where I started dreaming about home--even my old cat Gato was there sleeping on the sun warmed sidewalk, and my mom said, "look at that dead cat," like we always say of our cats when they sleep like the dead. When I woke up, voila! Instant homesickness! And it happened to be a town day, if it was a day in the woods I would have no choice but to shrug it off. I thought I could get a cab to take me to the airport in Asheville and I could surprise the people at home tomorrow. Hey, isn't 106 miles a good enough section?So I hurried through the woods, I had 9 miles to get to Winding Stair Gap. The day was warm and sunny. After hiking about 6 miles in my dry camp clothes, my wet hiking clothes were thawed enough for me to put on. Everything was packed all helter-skelter--it's hard to compress frozen irregular objects.I didn't even stop for lunch. Yesterday in the rain my guidebook pages turned into pulp, so I was wondering how long I had left to the gap. Jeff and Miles walked up and informed me that it was about 2 miles more. I walked with them the rest of the way just in case we had to hitch. Girl doesn't want to hitch alone, guys need girl to get a ride. It's the perfect partnership.When we got to the gap there wa a church group dishin' out trail magic! It was my first roadside trail magic, I've been too late for all the others. They had cold drinks, chips, chairs and other goodies. We stopped and talked to them for about 40 minutes. There was another lady parked at the gap who was about to do a day hike. She threw off her plans and drove us into Franklin instead. We were oh, so grateful.After checking into Budget Inn, I went to talk to Vick at the front desk to see what my options were for getting out of here. He proceeded to tell me how beautiful the upcoming sections were, and how he hiked 300 miles on a bad knee. After talking to him for awhile and becoming very conflicted, I checked my email. Solace came in and Vick told him my situation. Solace decided I needed to get a beer with him and KTR, the only man in Franklin to wear a kilt as non-hiking attire. So we went to the Rathskeller and had Newcastle and popcorn, just talking about anything. I started to feel better. I hadn't just talked like that in days. I must have just been terribly loneley without acknowledging it. It's easy to get lonely when hiking solo, as there is no guarantee you'll see the same familiar faces every day.Later I walked to Domino's and placed a pizza order, walked across the street to buy a 6 pack of Newcastle, chapstick, and a calling card. On the way back to my room I noticed Jeff and Miles in their room and offered them beer and pizza, which they accepted.After about an hour of visiting I put my extra pizza and 3 beers in my room fridge. I played with my calling card. I probably used about 150 minutes out of 200 tonight. It's been 2 weeks since I talked to my mom in depth, as I'm always trying to preserve my cell bettery. Then I called Oliver, of course. It was good to talk to them.Some events of note:Earlier at the gas station as I was looking at calling cards, a townie asked if she could use my cell phone. I just can't understand how a person could be so perceptive.Also, I think one of my toe nails is going to fall off. It feels funny and it looks like it's trying to separate from the nail bed. It's so exciting.I met a lady today as I was walking to Winding Stair Gap who was a perfect example of why America is overweight. As I passed some gap I noticed a side trail to the Wasilisk Poplar, the 2nd biggest poplar in America (or the world?). I wanted to go see it, but the sign didn't say how long the trail to the tree was, and I was really anxious to get to Franklin. I walked down about 20 yards, and came back up to the white blazes.When I got back up the the AT the lady rolled out of her car and asked me if I knew where the tree was. I said, "that sign says it's just down that trail." She looked flabbergasted. She just couldn't believe she would have to WALK to see it. She said, "Well, now I drove ALL THE WAY HERE and I won't even get to see the tree!" She waddled back to her car and left.Of couse I excused myself for being too lazy to walk down the side trail...I had already walked about 6 miles and had 3 more to go to Winding Stair Gap. It was a town day--I was being pulled by the tractor beam. It wasn't my fault .