Into Franklin, NC

After 6 nights in tents we made it to Franklin,NC - a great little trail town in the mountains. A quaint little Mayberry Main Street geared almost exclusively to hikers.

They had a huge banner on the square for through hikers to sign. And a famous outfitter where the show guru holds court. Cornbread's shoe blew out so he needed a new pair. We got a whole lot more than that - the shoe guru spent about 90 minutes educating us on every bone and tendon in the foot. Takeaway: Your calf is not a leg muscle - it is a foot muscle. New shoes were bought and now we are back at The Barn, our second hostel. This time we are sleeping inside - we are expecting a thunderstorm tonight.

The last three days we marked two significant milestones. First, we made it out of Georgia. Secondly, we crossed the first 100 mile mark. That happened on top of Albert Mountain. It was bittersweet - sweet that we hit the century mark. Bitter that the last 800' in elevation was straight up some steps carved into the granite mountain almost 90 years ago. That was after 90 minutes of tough climbing to get there. To put 800' into perspective, imagine taking the stairs in an 80 story building....with 40 pounds of gear....after sleeping on the ground for a few nights....and after hiking 10 miles. That's why we were bitter. lol.

But we made it and are now resting up for the next push that will lead us into the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.