What, what??!  I’m in North CAROLINA!!!  One state down, and 13 more to go.

This will be sort of a quick post.  A comedy of errors and fun times in Franklin, NC prohibited me from blogging yesterday and this morning the internet was out at the Budget Inn.  I am stealthily sitting outside a coffee shop mooching off their wifi.  Everything is closed on Sunday in this town.  Everything but the Hardees and McDonalds, and I am not that desperate.

Anyway, I am currently in Franklin, NC but am about to board the 11:00 shuttle back to the Trail.  I couldn’t have timed my zero day more perfectly.  Yesterday, Outdoor 76 – the local outfitter – threw a free shindig with live music and beer from several local breweries featured in their tap room.  That’s right – an outfitters with a tap room.  How cool is that??  It was a mini hiker festival, if you will, with a gear swap and time to chat.  Afterwards, myself and another solo female hiker pigged out gratuitously on handmade pasta, meatballs and pork belly with fresh-baked bread.  Paired with that, the beer, sugary pastries, cheesey omelet, fried potatoes, burger with onion rings, bacon and coleslaw I consumed over the last day, plus some, my cholesterol is surely banging on the roof.  Oddly enough, I could probably comsume more.  I am insatiable.  I fear I am becoming the quintessential hungry hiker.

Overall, this has been a really great stop for me.  Besides the fun times in historic downtown Franklin, my room was upgraded to an efficiency at no extra charge.  Granted, it’s the Budget Inn (and I DO mean “budget”), but it was nice to have an apartment-like setting all to myself for a day.  Who cares if the shower floor was literally falling through to a dark mold-infested black hole and that the pipes sounded like they would explode.  The bed was soft and I had a pillow!  Slept like a baby.

Sorry – this isn’t fancy due to time constraints (I got 20 minutes til shuttle time!), but here are some highlights from my second week of hiking, as copied from my paper journal, no time for editing:

– Whoa, nelly!  I survived my first hail storm on the Trail.  Talk about a hustle!  Gravel-sized balls of hail pelted me on a mountain side, followed by a monster thunderstorm and lightening.  I’ve discovered that no matter how tired I am – how much my legs, feet and back are aching – nothing, *NOTHING*, will put more pep in my step than a thunderstorm barking up my ass!  I sprinted up and over that mountain like a kid on Pixie Sticks, I tell you what!  Or maybe, it was more like a clobbering, panicked hunchback with trekking poles.  Either way – I was propelled by sheer adrenaline to shelter!

– This past week I spent a lot of time hiking by myself and camping relatively alone.  In some ways, I find it quite beautiful and meditative.  Especially in the morning after I get going – watching the world wake up.  It’s peaceful, the birds are chirping and the sun beams are peeping through the trees.  At times like that, you gotta stop and soak it up, and breathe in the fresh air and potential for the day.  It feels like the way the world is supposed to feel – normal.  …And then there are times when that feeling runs its course and I get frustrated with a climb, annoyed, sad and down-trodden.  That’s tough for me.  I get anxious for a human connection – which always eventually happens – but remind myself that it’s all a part of the process, and to accept and learn from it.

– Considering the above-mentioned comment, I thoroughly began practicing my self-talk this past week.  Self-talk is voiding your inner monologue and spewing it out to the mountains.  It’s a great way to entertain yourself (and other unfortanate people you come across).  Bonus: helps keep the bears away.

– This is most definitely a guy’s sport.  Not that it wasn’t expected.  I spend a LOT of time hanging with a bunch of dudes.  Farts, burps and snot rockets are all the rage.  It’s nice and all, and they have all been very respectful of the female folk, and have certainly offered some great conversation, laughs and support, but more women out here would be welcomed.  So come on, ladies!  I promise it’s not that bad 🙂  Can’t exactly talk to the guys about bra issues and the sweat debacle.  Nope.

On that strange note, it’s time to peace out.  Sorry this is so scatterbrained and rough.  I wish I could write more, because there is so much more, but it’s shuttle time.  And, yet again, I haven’t had the time to post photos!  Bwahhh!!!

Until next time, when I hit Gatlinburg, baby!