Appalachian Trail SOBO Day 111 – Franklin the last town stop
14th November 2023
Wayah Bald (2078.9) - Carter Gap Shelter (2104.9)
Daily miles: 26
Total miles: 2093
It was a cosy night. I felt Toe and May Queen’s bags against me for most of the night which was great because it kept me warmer. There were a couple of instances where I rolled off my mat and rolled into them. I also had to blow up my mat again in the night and I did it while still lying on it which wasn’t as effective.
Around 5am it really needed blowing up again but instead I just lay on my back and it was just about ok.
The few times I did poke my head out of my bag the stars were amazing, the sky was so clear, but because of the wind I kept my head mostly entirely covered by my bag. I slept in my fleece too and I wasn’t too hot. I had my tent fly over me because I thought it would be a good wind barrier but when I woke up it was entirely under Toe.
I’ve been sleeping with the Nacho mask on but only like a hat to keep the top of my head warm because it sticks out the top of the bag, but everyone gets a kick out of it.
Sunrise
Sunrise
The cuddle puddle
People’s nightmares
Sunrise
Robin Hood
Look at all those shiny man made fabrics!
The sun rose and we sat together and watched and we don’t do that often, I ended up leaving camp a lot later than I intended at 7:30am. First port of call was the trash can and pit toilets. Then we all did a road walk together.
Wayah Bald
The road parallels the trail and it was a good break from the leaves. Me, Toe, May Queen, Robin Hood, Jet and Late Start all took the road for about 5 miles until we joined the trail again via a very steep forest service road and I lost everybody because I was so slow. I met Robin Hood at a shelter and I realised that I was in front of everyone rather than behind having taken a different route.
Dirt road walk
Very steep trail!
I walked with Robin Hood for most of the way until we came to Swinging Lick Gap which had been changed to Swinging Dick Gap, then we hiker trained it to the road.
Swinging “Dick” Gap
We got to the road at 11am and started hitching. We had split up and we were standing in different places, Toe’s group got the first ride and there was room for 1 more so I jumped in! The guy took us to Ingles the supermarket in Franklin and we went in to resupply. 3 days. I got the usual and hoped it would be enough. I also threw away some of the food I had been carrying for weeks without eating. Only a few more days of trail food.
We (Thigh High, Jet, Toe and I) didn’t want to go anywhere else in town so I went to the deli bit of the supermarket and I ordered chicken with mash and mac and cheese as the side. It was nothing special but it filled a hole and I ate it all. I also got a chocolate milk to wash it down.
It tasted marginally better than it looked
Resupply
Being hiker trash in Franklin
I reorganised my stuff and we sat outside for a bit discussing next part of trail. There is this bit we are calling the penis. Or the dick. Because - boys. There is the opportunity to “cut the dick off” with a short cut to cut off 10 miles of trail. This would mean the trail would be a smooth curve, resembling a Ken Doll, hence we are calling it the Ken Doll Cut Off.
Some people wanted to do it. Others didn’t. I was tempted, it shortens the trail by 10 miles! But in the end I decided to “ride the penis” rather than cutting it off. I knew I would be night hiking, but I came here to suffer!
We had got into town around 11:15am and we left town around 1:30pm. We were walking up the road to get to the main road so we could hitch and Toe had her thumb out as we were walking. A box truck pulled in just ahead of us and he was willing to take us back to trail. It was a little out of his way but he didn’t seem to mind. We jumped in the back of it. Highly unsafe but we lived to tell the tale.
Box truck hitch
At least there was a lot of space
Happy to get a hitch, even if it was super sketchy!
I bashed my knee with my trekking pole earlier in the day
Never seen someone happier to be in the back of a truck
Toe having a breakdown about trail being nearly over
I was back on trail about 2pm and I still had 16 miles to do. I put my head down and got on with it but I was on the struggle bus again. My tummy hurt and I was generally just feeling bad. About an hour in the need to poo was urgent and not waiting around for anyone so I had to go regrettably close to the trail, because it was either that or in my pants. After that I did feel better.
Naked trees
13.8 miles to camp
So. Many. Leaves.
Water source
Racing sunset
This sign is very weathered compared to 2018
I plodded my way up to Albert mountain, thinking I wouldn’t see anyone else until camp and that I wouldn’t make it to the fire tower for sunset. Well I just about made it before it got dark but the fire tower was locked and sunset wasn’t that great anyway.
Albert mountain fire tower
Cal, Neptune, Thigh High and Late Start were up there eating dinner and I hiked down with the latter 3. The first mile was super steep and rocky and it was nice to have the others there to make sure no one fell as it was now dark and headlamp time.
I kept with them for a while until I needed to pee and that would make so many times I’ve had to stop to pee today. I put of my waterproof jacket and hat to keep warm.
It got dark at 6pm and I was hiking for just over 2 hours in the dark. Battery powered headlamps are annoying because you have to carry a bunch of spare batteries around with you because all this night hiking burns through them.
The hike wasn’t actually too bad although I was getting increasingly tired of kicking rocks. I hiked half of it with Neptune and he freaked out because he heard a ‘growl’ but it was in fact an owl.
At the shelter I ate 2 pain au chocolates and some crisps and cheese and then cleaned my teeth (my cheeks are sore with ulcer type things) and went to the toilet and got into my bag as soon as possible. It’s 22:10 now and I’ve fallen asleep twice trying to to write this. My legs are throbbing.
