Day TWELVE Entry: Sep 21, 2013

Dan the policeman shares his leftover canister of fuel and shows off his 10 pound .45 cal service weapon be had been carrying. He's off to grow miniature steer in Texas after a career in Austin PD. We say good bye in Unicoi Gap.

Rock Gap Shelter 9/20
Dan from PA or big "D" when he gets to Fontana Dam. It will have taken 24 years but he will have completed the whole AT. We have been sharing shelters the last three nights and off and on again for the last seven. He's up early, stop early and nap. I am up sort of early, stop a lot more and usually roll in after nap time. Tomorrow I go into Franklin briefly to pick up the box of stuff the owner of the two Budget Inns offered to transport for me, Ron Haven. Course I don't have any cell service and  I haven't had any for the last 10 miles. So I am not sure how I'm going to get into town. Maybe things will change in the next four miles before I get to the road crossing and Franklin is 10 miles east. I guess I could walk. We are both headed for resupply at the Nantahala Outdoor Center but after today he should be a day ahead of me. It's funny but you really do develop a community. You know who is on front of you. You know who is behind you. You know about how fast everyone is going and you know just about where everyone is going to be for the next two or three days.

The shelters seem to be getting darker and nastier. I may have to start pitching a tent. This one however does have a bulletin board on bears made by the Summit Charter School.
Tonight's supper was instant potatoes with tuna salad mixed in. I don't care how hungry you are it's dang hard to put away a Ziplock quart size freezer bag full of that stuff. I'm carrying way too much food.
Rain pants are the next thing to go home . Really--if it rains you are going to get wet. Rain or sweat. If you were sitting in a boat doing some spring fishing that would be different. I've got a hood insulated rain/ wind jacket and Down sweater and dry Smartwool long under wear to recover from any chilly wet slog. I wish my underwear would dry out. ExOfficio claims one pair and what 6 countries HA! Even my Smartwool socks dry quicker!

Woke up early because walnuts or chestnuts or whatever have been dropping on the tin roof of the shelter all night long. Along about midnight a shot rings out and I jump right out of my skin. It's a mouse trap going off over head. Thanks Dave. About four o'clock another one goes off. In the morning we locate the traps and no dead critters. Maybe it was something bigger. Right after breakfast it starts to rain. D is going on but I am only going to the road crossing where I get Chuck Norris to give me a ride into Franklin NC. He thru-hiked in 2009 or so and he's married to a girl from Farmington. He'll pick me up at 8 am tomorrow. In the mean time, I have spread everything out at the Budget Inn and gone for a walk thru town. Found the "Rathskeller" with cold draft beer . One IPA down and this journaling is coming easy - maybe another and I'll think of another story. I've already decided on Elmore's Fish Fry for supper. I bought myself a t-shirt and will stick it in the box I hope I get to mail… Today, the Rathskellers just gave me a stick of Bavarian beef from somewhere not here --vitamin b they call it. They even asked if I was vegetarian first. I'm not sure if that is beer or beef. Thee "b". Franklin is another beautiful area. I wonder how I can get more than one picture in a post?

So the plan is to get on the trail early and reach the Nantahala Outdoor Center in two long days, then it's on to Fontana Dam and the Smokies.

Oh, one more thing --I am going to send my pencils and paper journal home this afternoon. I really appreciate what everyone wrote but I could really use the ounces….
And there's live music tonight! I may be heading towards a zero day here in Franklin .
64° Rain
Nantahala National Forest, Franklin, North Carolina, United States

Sent from my iPhone

Sent from my MacBook Pro:
I looked it up because I couldn't tell if Judd's auto-correcting phone was just mis-typing RatKiller or something-- Melanie

Rathskeller, Franklin, NC - review on YELP

 6/19/2013

Very chill place with coffee beer and wine. If you are on Main St look for the sign hanging above the sidewalk, just past the outfitters.