On Thursday morning I left Hiawassee and resumed hiking from Dicks Creek Gap (Mile 69.3). It rained all day, so please forgive me for the lack of photos. I did stop to document the GA/NC border, however:

One state down, thirteen to go!

In the interest of focusing my effort on the path immediately before me, I have been repeatedly reminding myself: just don’t quit in Georgia. Revised mantra: don’t quit in North Carolina. After a soggy and otherwise unremarkable day, I set up camp at Muskrat Creek Shelter (Mile 81.1). The rain ended just before dusk, much to the relief of all the hikers at the shelter.

Friday was a gorgeous sunny day, and I opted to take advantage of the weather by hiking a few extra miles to cut down my Saturday mileage into Franklin. This area of the trail passed through several sites affected by wildfires last fall.

Not much in the way of shade.

Friday also brought some really fantastic ridgeline trails over Standing Indian Mountain (Mile 87.6).

Trees are nature’s tripods.

I ended up camping shortly past Betty’s Creek Gap (Mile 97.3). This is the first time I have camped in a creek bottom, rather than on a mountain. Although the ground is more suitable for tenting and the temperature more stable, I disliked how dark it was in the morning! I was hoping to make some progress up Albert Mountain (Elev. 5,213 ft) before dawn, but apparently the creek bottom birds are on a different schedule than the mountaintop birds I usually rely on as an alarm clock.

Nevertheless, the trail up Albert Mountain was beautiful in the early morning. My pace was absolutely abysmal on this climb, not because of the terrain, but because I kept standing awestruck at the views.

Couldn’t walk away from this one for at least 10 minutes.

The top of Albert Mountain (northbound) is a very fun 400-ft rock scramble. I reached the fire tower at the summit (Mile 99.8) to find I had the whole place to myself!!

My favorite view of the AT thus far.

To add further excitement to an already fantastic morning, I also passed mile 100 today!!

Thanks to whoever made this mile-marker; I’d have walked right past it!

The remainder of the day was a series of random hills and gradual descent into Winding Stair Gap (Mile 109.5). Another thru-hiker advised me to call one of the shuttles listed in the AT Guide to get into Franklin for a resupply. Jim, Beverley, and Chuck are long-time residents of the mountain communities near the trail who volunteer their time transporting AT hikers from road-crossings to town and vice-versa.

When Jim arrived to Winding Stair Gap, he offered me a bottle of water and a banana (“potassium!”) and proceeded to inquire about the condition of my feet. He said he’s had to drop several hikers at the clinic in town this week due to foot and joint injuries. As we drove into Franklin, he told me about his career in the armed services and as an engineer for AT&T. He said he doesn’t hike anymore; he’d had enough of that in the army, but he loved the mountains and admired what the hikers were trying to do.

When he dropped me off at my hotel, I asked what I owed him for the ride and he explained that he and the other shuttles didn’t charge fees but did accept donations. This kind of good will towards hikers (“trail magic,” as they say) has been ubiquitous along the AT. The tight-knit community of the trail continues to surprise me and fill me with gratitude every day.

I had hoped to put together a post on my trail diet, but to be honest I’m still kind of figuring that out, myself! I resupplied again in Franklin today, so I’ll have three different diet strategies to compare.  Tomorrow morning I will continue hiking again out of Winding Stair Gap, with the goal of reaching Fontana Dam (Mile 163.9) by Thursday. Have a great week, everyone!!