Day 27: Teaching the Kids to Hitchhike

Starting Point: Mount Collins Shelter (203.1)

Ending Point: Newfound Gap (208.0)

Total miles: 4.9 trail.  Bonus

Steps: 18,632

Injury: Chaffing

Achievements: Hitch into a Town

We have a large group of hikers going into town and a limited number of shuttles.  As I do not have a relationship with any drivers other than Ronnie Brown, we'll be late in the queue.  Captain Blogger is excited about trying to hitch, so I hold a class.

Take off your glasses, smile, wave, and make sure your AT tag is facing the road.  When someone stops, thank them, apologize for how you smell, and offer to pay them for gas.

Hitchhiking requires persistence and accepting rejection.  In less than ten minutes, a woman stops and can take two.  As I handled the hotel, Captain Blogger and I went first.  We agreed to stop at CiCi's an all-you-can eat pizza buffet.

The Dunkeroo and Sweeper were picked up less than five minutes later by a hiker we shared a table with at the Fontana Dam restaurant.

As the hotel wasn't available until 2 p.m., my first goal was to take in some calories.

Mission Accomplished...

After lunch, we checked it and did some laundry, showered, and recovered.  We walked a bit of Gatlinburg, but as a tourist town, everything was expensive.  The hotel is nice with a great view, and is just $25 a day per person.  We'll wait out the weather in comfort.