Date: 2018-03-21
From: Franklin

To: Franklin
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light snow

Day 15After a good night sleep we went downstairs to the breakfast area to have a cup of tea. It was funny to see the local news crews talking about the spring snow storm . They had the news crew out on the highway showing the flurries that weren't even sticking to the roads. If you looked close you could see a dusting on the grass. Apparently they are getting more serious snow in the higher elevations and in the Smoky Mountains. We decided to take the shuttle to the First Baptist Church where they do a pancake breakfast for the hikers every morning. When we arrived we realized we were too late and had missed it. In true southern hospitality the woman cleaning up invited us in and offered the three of us bacon, some banana's and apples as well as orange juice, coffee and tea. We chatted for some time about how they started in 2008 and how it has evolved through the years. I checked out my signature on the 2011 banner and was pleasantly surprised to see the thank you card with my 2011 Katahdin summit picture posted with several others on the wall of honor. They had to get to work so we headed next door to Rollie Pollies for another cup of tea and a biscuit sandwich while we waited for the outfitters to open at 10:00. We headed to the Outdoor 76 outfitter when they opened to browse. Both Mary and Emily, who we've decided should use the trail name of "Minnie" that she was given since she was from Minnesota, had the owner/foot guru measure and recommend footwear for them. When I say measure I mean he took a sharpie and marked various pressure points and other areas on their feet, a process that took 15 to 20 minutes. Then, he took a great deal of time having them try several different hiking shoes to find the "perfect" fit and comfort level. Mary eventually found something she thought would work if her feet don't continue to feel better and will have those sent to her at a later date if necessary. "Minnie" found a pair she decided to purchase, and hopes they will help make the rest of her hike more comfortable. Had a quick beer at the bar in the Outdoor 76 and then Mary and I headed to the hostel nearby in hopes of finding the hiker who dropped their hat coming into Winding Stair Gap. No luck finding the owner, so we headed to the local library to start working on the journal updates. Luckily, the bus driver told us he was the last bus of the day, and we would need to be back at the bus stop outside the library in an hour to catch a ride back to our hotel. Got as much of the journal updated as we could, then caught the bus back to the Comfort Inn. Did our resupply at Ingles (unfortunately it is not the larger Ingles...) and then headed back to our room to organize our food and gear for the next stretch. Another yummy dinner at Willy's BBQ and back to the hotel again to finalize our preparations for the next leg of the hike. Hope to hit the First Baptist Church pancake breakfast in the morning and then head back to the trail on the noon bus. Hopefully not too much snow on the trails in the mountains, it is supposed to be sunny but cold tomorrow night.Note: We update the journal when ever we can find a computer in town. So, we usually add several entries at a time. Hope you enjoy following along, and thanks for reading.Thank you to all who have signed our guest book and wishing us well on our hike. And thank you Linda & John for the offer of a ride, unfortunately we didn't see that until we were already in town. But, thankfully Franklin has an excellent bus service for hikers.