Date: 2006-03-21
From: Trail Magic Haven

To: Franklin, NC
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up at 2 am in order to perform a nightly ritual and noticed that the ice on the trees had melted. It gave me great optimism about the coming day.        By morning we saw that the temperature had climbed to fifty degrees. The rain came in spurts, but we wouldn¢t have to deal with the freezing temperatures. A fog rolled in that gave the woods a mystical and eerie look. Gatorade and Fishin Fred had the fire burning and pancakes cooking on their saw blade griddle. They were not only trail angels, but trail gods during our time with them. One nights worth of altruism has to be worth a year of amazing karma. We said goodbye, got contact info and pushed north.         We were glad we didn¢t try to climb Albert Mountain the night before. The ascent required excellent footing and careful placement to scramble up the mountain. At the top we were rewarded with the awe-inspiring view of¢¦¢¦fog.        The rest of the day felt as if I was at home walking laps around the field house track. The terrain was soft, flat, and made for excellent progress. I took a few photos because the dense fog created a great shot. With three miles left the fog lifted, the sun came out and we crossed paths with another trail angel, Crutch. Crutch is thru-hiking for his second time/year in a row and is providing some services for some fellow hikers. He fed us sandwiches, chips and Mountain Dews. He told us about Ron, a man from Franklin who owns a couple of hotels and provides a free shuttle for hikers. Crutch offered to let us slack pack, meaning he would throw our packs in the shuttle and meet us at the next gap. We declined and he called to have us picked up at 2:30.        Ron¢s a great guy. He provides a free shuttle even if you don¢t stay at his hotel. He allows packages shipped to his hotel, whether you stay there or not, because its closer than the post office. He also drives you anywhere you want to go in town.         After settling down into the hotel we did laundry, ate dinner at an all you can eat steakhouse and went to the grocery store. I went on the internet to check my email and found some great things. It was great to see my guestbook at the trail journals signed by more people. My dad took care of my cell phone and put my car to bed, thanks dad. I also got an interesting job offer from the YMCA. Jobs are a strange thought to have right now. I¢m glad I don¢t have a teaching job lined up because I wouldn¢t enjoy my trip as much. I¢d want to push, push, push to get home sooner. I¢d also keep a more careful eye on my time schedule to make sure we didn¢t get off track.         Since this journal is online I can¢t as easily use it as a personal confessional. There hasn¢t been anything that I¢d want to write, but haven¢t. At the same time, thoughts about my life¢s direction isn¢t great reading material. With that said, as a warning for my personal dilemma! What am I going to do when I get back? Nicole has a year of school. I¢d like to be closer to her but job prospects in the greater metropolitan Farmington area are dismal. She will go to graduate school after graduation, so I want to go with her. That means I¢ll probably need to pass on possible career path employment possibilities. No on wants to fill a position for only a year and then go through the hiring cycle again, after investing a year in an employee. That brings me to the YMCA possibility. It sounds fun, interesting and right up my alley, but is it at the wrong time in my life? Staying home while Nicole goes to graduate school isn¢t a great decision for our relationship. Well¢¦..I guess I have FIVE months to think about it! Hahaha! Man that¢s funny.