Been to Franklin

Beth, George and I met Ward last Saturday in Franklin, NC.  He and Matt arrived at our pickup point a couple of hours early and hitch-hiked into town with a "nice, older couple" who gave them a tour of the town.  We met at a very interesting outfitter store in the middle of downtown.  Matt was there, but he had arranged other accommodations.

I had not heard of Franklin before our trip.  It's a unique town.  On Saturday we had dinner at Caffe REL, "REL" being the initials of the chef-owner.  The restaurant was attached to a "Hot Spot" - a convenience store, with which it shared bathrooms, which made it all the more interesting.  REL clearly catered to local clientele with a few out-of-towners like us sprinkled in.  No wine list (only wines by the glass, but decent).  No credit cards (cash or check only, even from out-of towners).  No pretense.  Extensive menu.  Lots of fun.  We fed Ward a heavy meal at Taco Bell, then again at REL a few hours later.  He's already losing weight from his trim body, despite the fact he's consuming lots of calories.  He can eat anything in sight.

We found Matt walking down the road on Sunday.  He found his own entertainment on Saturday night - no need for the Russells.  We took him to an outfitter on the edge of town (the downtown store was closed), where he and Ward restocked gear and supplies.  They cannot carry a lot of food at one time, so they are constantly restocking.  (Hikers know there is a trade-off between weight and comfort.  For a thru-hiker, every ounce is meaningful, and they will shed or defer every ounce possible).  We also picked Matt up on Monday morning to take he and Ward to back to the AT.  Matt found more entertainment on Sunday night - the local hangout found out he was a thru-hiker and gave him complimentary food and drinks all night.  Matt is a character.  He's traveled most of the world and is quite conversant about other cultures.  He will move from mechanic to flight engineer for a refueling plane (the big ones) when he re-enters the Air Force this fall.

Ward filled us in on some of his stories.  Helen was a bust, as only three businesses seemed to be open - The Helendorf Inn, the liquor store, and Wendy's (which they found with directions from the man in the liquor store).  It sounds as if they just slept in, washed clothes, then ate at Wendy's, before leaving early the next day.  They could not find adequate supplies in Helen, and therefore took a side-trip into Hiawassee the next day in the middle of their hike.

Ward also told us more about his previous 2-day layover at the Neel's Gap hostel.  This is a place where many hikers send gear they do not need home, and where they buy other gear they think they need.  The place is manned by a couple of guys who seem to have little need for contact with the outside world.  They spent a zero day here on Super Bowl Sunday.  One of the guys there was named Lumpy (everyone eventually gets a trail name).  Lumpy owns the hostel.  The other is a former Navy Seal.  Lumpy and Navy Seal convinced the owner of the "luxury" cabins located behind the hostel to let the group watch the Super Bowl in one of the vacant cabins, as there were no other televisions in the vicinity.  Lumpy then remembered they could not buy beer in Georgia on Sunday.  He quickly pulled everyone together, hopped into the "company car", a Suburu Outback station wagon, and made way to North Carolina along back roads.  He tried his best to make Ward and Matt sick, but to no avail.  Ward thought a lot of these folks, as they treated him well.  Good memories.

We left Ward at the AT around 10:25 Monday morning.  He is well-fed, well-stocked, clean, has clean clothes, and is in good spirits.  The weather has been very difficult so far, but he thinks he is better prepared now.  The next week also looks very good for the hike to Fontana Dam and then through the Smokies.  He has set his Spot device to send automatic signals, which means there will be more marks on the map.  We'll see how long his batteries last using this method.