Franklin, North Carolina 4/5/18

Today (Thursday) we are in Franklin NC doing our resupply and doing laundry and eating lots of good food! We got a motel room and a few showers in so that was a nice extra treat since we don’t often stay the night when we are in town. It’s so pretty here too with trees blooming and flowers coming up…it’s beautiful spring weather!

The last few days….

Saturday…we went into town to resupply in Hiawassee GA. We hitch hiked for the first time and got a ride into town in a matter of a few minutes. I’ve been really surprised at how much the towns here cater to hikers in their grocery stores and restaurants and people often stop to chat and ask where we are from and how our hike is going. We enjoyed some aaaamazing burgers for lunch before we did our food resupply. As we were starting to hike out of town a lady pulled up and asked if we were heading back to the trail. We didn’t even have to thumb for a ride. The people around here are so friendly and nice.

We wanted to get back to the trail in good time to set up camp and then take a zero day on Sunday. Our zero day was so much fun. For Easter lunch we had mixed veggies with LOTS of butter, mashed potatoes, and broccoli cheddar soup with bacon bits and cheddar cheese added. We even packed out fresh fruit to enjoy too! We often crave fruits and veggies and red meats out here since that’s something we don’t normally pack out.

Monday…we crossed the border from GA to NC

Wednesday…we passed the 100 mike mark

I have been having some trouble with my feet really hurting a lot so when we stopped here in Franklin today we went to an outfitter here that have people that specialize in feet and shoes. We talked to them and told them what’s going on and so they took measurements to make sure my shoes weren’t the issue but they said that my shoes are a good fit. They recommended that we do fewer miles and take a few zero days. That’s not really what we wanted to hear but it was so good to get some professional advice. They said most people push to hard at the beginning and then later it takes them off the trail. We were enjoying the trail family we were hiking together with but hopefully we find the pace that is good for us and I just have to remember it takes a few weeks for our bodies to get used to this hiking. I get so wrapped up in the making miles mentality instead of just enjoying each day and just stopping when we feel like it.

So for now we plan to enjoy a few zero days, eat lots of good food, and give our bodies a bit of time to heal and rest.