The shelter/camp site we stayed at last night was on a steep hill side which meant our sleeping surface was also. There were very few tent sites to choose from and Snapshot and I were literally tent stake to tent stake. Neither of us slept more than 2 hours as we continuously slid off our sleeping pads due to the slope of the hillside we were on. A very long, uncomfortable night but we both survived. We started early this morning, leaving camp at 8:00 am as we needed to make our way to our shuttle pickup site by noon. We did really well and covered the 7+ miles in less than 3.5 hours. While waiting for our shuttle a car whipped into the parking lot and a gentleman by the (trail name) of Solace asked if we wanted a ride into town, which saved us time and money. Solace was quite the character. A three-time AT thru hiker, he had the funniest stories and comments to share with us and we we all enjoyed his sunny personality. After a quick stop at a local trail shop, he showed us around the town of Franklin, gave us some recommendations and then dropped us off at the plush Hilltop Inn ($75/night) where we will stay tonight and tomorrow night. It’s funny what your idea of luxury becomes after 4 days of no showers, no bathrooms, sweating, putting on dirty clothing each morning and going to bed on the ground each night. To have a room with real beds, a working toilet and a shower – well, it’s practically heaven.

Every hostel and motel near the AT has a “hiker box” where other thru hikers have discarded items they no longer want or need and anything in the box is free for the taking. So, before checking into the motel we all dug through the box at the Hilltop Inn ( just as we have done at other motels and hostels) almost as if it was Christmas morning, searching for a few free goodies. Today I found an unopened can of Blue Diamond almonds (which Snapshot and I are using as our room snack), an unopened container of baby wipes and a small plastic bottle that I can put some liquid hand soap in. At the last motel I dropped several items into the hiker box and hopefully that will help out other hikers. But, we have all come to the conclusion that we have fully made the transition to “hiker trash” much quicker than we anticipated. And, I am sure my wife is reading this and sadly shaking her head! We look forward to a full day off tomorrow, something we have not had since our journey began, along with some good food and exploring the town. A local church bus will pick us (thru hikers) up at our motel tomorrow morning, feed us a good breakfast and then drop us back off at our motel all for free – it’s one of the things that the town of Franklin does to celebrate Appalachian Trail hikers from the first day of spring through Earth Day. One last note, we stopped by a small bakery this afternoon to pick up a few drinks and snacks. The young lady at the cash register asked if we were thru hikers and we said “yes”. She said “OK, you are all set. Someone donated a gift card to cover the food costs of thru hikers”. We were all astonished by such a kind gesture from someone we will never meet. We did leave a nice tip for the young lady to show our appreciation.

Pictures/video below from last 3 days