Day 15: Afterburners On Into Town

Starting Point: Long Branch Shelter (102.4)

Ending   Point: Winding Stair Gap (109.6)

Total Miles: 7.2 trail miles, 3.0 bonus miles

Steps: 24,211

Achievements: 

We woke up to some normal temperatures.  It was nice to pack up my gear without frozen fingers.  Our goal today was to hike to Winding Star Gap by 12:45 to take the shuttle into Franklin, NC.  The desire for a shower, clean laundry, and real food was overwhelming.  With a light pack and no need to save anything in the tank, my afterburners were on.

We unexpectedly received Trail Magic three miles in.  Homemade egg and ham McMuffin breakfast sandwiches!  

It is the kindness of people like this that help me keep my faith.  They even put supporting messages on their hardboiled eggs. 

We all reached the gap with plenty of time to spare.  Out first stop?  The Lazy Hiker brewery for pizza and beer.  We hung out with some of the other hikers we've met along the way.

Left-to-right: Me, Martian, Patchwork, Josh, Peanut Butter Giant, Zack (Small Claims), Squeeze Cheese, Unknown.

Zack (now Small Claims) and I told the story of getting lost yesterday.  I'm glad I ran into him again.

While we were there, Blaze called his wife to get permission to replace his broken backpack.  She said go ahead, so he's not leaving anytime soon.

We went to the local outfitter.  I bought electrolytes, a can of fuel, and 50' of paracord to better hang my bear bag.

I reserved a room at the local Quality Inn for two nights.  Unfortunately, I don't know this town and it was two miles from the city center.  To get there required walking on the side of a four lane highway.  So, we got some extra miles...

We took showers and did the laundry.  Tomorrow, we have errands to do.  There is a Scottish museum to visit as well.

The night ended with the four Backstop Boys eating KFC and joking about how much crap we've dealt with, and we're only on day 15!