Appalachian Trail Day 11 - Culvert campsite to Franklin, NC - TOWN DAY! (mile 98.2 to mile 109.4)

We had a restful and uneventful night at the culvert camp. We head out early knowing tonight's destination is Franklin, NC; a trail town where we will resupply, get a hotel room with shower and do laundry!! And real food and a craft beer!!  A Town Day puts a bounce in our steps. We have no idea how we will get into town from the trail, but hitchhiking is always a possibility! But first, we have 11.1 miles and some hills to go...

GG and Karma Trekker down the hill

Today is a milestone on the trail. Literally. The 100 mile mark is less than 2 miles up Albert Mountain. The climb is straight up carved stone steps for 700 feet. A fire tower located in a clearing on the top of the mountain offers spectacular views; some of the best we have seen so far, and a promise of what the trail will increasingly offer in the Smokies. 

Albert Mountain Fire Lookout Tower

Mile 100

The day is beautiful. We have been blessed with lots of sunshine and mid-70's so far, which is a blessing. However the pests are ferocious!  Black flies are biting me in a crazed, swarm like way every time I stop to soak up some sunlight. The little beasts prefer the slashes of light streaming between the trees over shade, so I learn to rest only in the shade of the large tulip poplars and sycamores. 

Around noon we descend into Rock Gap. A small parking area and a trash can looks like a great snack stop. We have loads of trash we carried for days.  A small bus pulls up and lo and behold a whole bunch of backpackers disembark. They are clean and look so fresh! A sign in the window advertises shuttles to and from Franklin for 5 dollars!  The driver informs us that the last shuttle from Winding Stair Gap is around 3 pm. If we hurry we can meet the shuttle and won't have to hitchhike. 

We see Smiles!! I thought for sure he would be way ahead of us, but he enjoyed a town day with the other hikers. We meet Broadway, Kabu, and lots of other hikers who tell us about the great food they had in town. The excitement is short-lived as we immediately have a 700' gain with full bellies in the increasingly hot weather. We pass a southbound slack-packer whose name is Just Gordon. Slack-packing means you day hike with a lightweight pack, and shuttle between spots. A lot of people will slack in and out of trail towns and stay in town 2 or 3 nights at a time. 

The shuttle picks us up at 3:30. On the bus, heading from town to Rock Gap, is a lone female backpacker named Joanie Cash. She tells us about the brewery and food trucks. We are salivating!!

We arrive in Franklin around 4 pm. By the time we check into Hilltop Inn (the former Ron Brown's Haven), shower, start laundry, pick up the boxes of food and supplies we mailed ahead 2 weeks ago, and eat dinner. By the time we start to repack it's 10 pm and tomorrow's first shuttle is around 9 am. The weather is too nice to zero here, and we still have 160 miles to go, so a quick turn-around.  We have one king bed, and Kelly decides to sleep on the floor.  We have our Tramily! 

Franklin, NC

Todays stats: 11.1 miles, 1700' elevation gain

Section total: 40 miles, 8000' elevation gain

AT total:  111 miles, 25,700' elevation gain