aklarsen11

Had another wonderful pancake breakfast at First Baptist Church in Franklin. Today a group of us are planning to slack pack the next 10 miles. It’s suppose to rain, but we should be done before most of it roles through. I was glad to have the opportunity to break in my new boots. It was nice hiking without all the extra weight, however, at mile 2 the rest of the group decided to call it early and get off after 5 miles. I couldn’t argue since they were my ride, but I found not being in charge rather ...

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Got up at 7am this morning to go to a free pancake breakfast from the First Baptist Church in Franklin. They do this every morning for a month and this is their 12th year. It was delicious. 🥞 Then went to Outdoor76 to get new shoes. Hopefully they will work just as well as my old ones. I tried calling REI for a refund or replace but they said they don’t cover “wear and tear”. UGH. Got my food resupply and relaxed most of the afternoon. It suppose to storm tomorrow, so I’m going to try slack ...

Justin (WW2 outfit guy) showed up at the shelter last night, so I got to see more of his set up. He has basic pots and pans and requires a camp fire to cook. Last night he made a flapjack on a skillet over a fire. He has a pestle and mortar to grind his grains or something. I would not have the patience. Took it slow this morning and made my way into Franklin. Got my hotel room, showered and did laundry. Found the one restaurant in town that had a steak. It was beautiful. Now to bed. 😴

A couple of people in our group stopped at the previous shelter, so we talked about stopping early today to let them catch up. However, I got an early start to the day and the first 8 miles flew by and I made it to Carter Gap Shelter at lunch time. There I discovered a 3 inch tear in the toe of my right boot. I remember tripping over a root on the trail. It must have ripped a hole. Luckily, there is a boot whisper at Franklin, so I guess I’ll get new boots there. That in combination with the time ...

Today was a new personal best, 12.2 miles. It was a long day, but exciting. Achieved a new milestone today, crossed the Georgia border into North Carolina. Hooray! Was immediately met with a steep climb. What someone the previous night at camp coined “The Great Wall of NC”. Was able to push through, but was greeted with some trail magic at Deep Gap. They had ham, banana pudding, and Easter colored hard boiled eggs. It was a great boost to finish out the last mile of the day. Taking a nice relaxing ...