Miles Hiked Today - 0
Total Miles on AT - 109.4//2,193 (4.99%)
Overnight at Budget Inn in Franklin, NC
Total States Completed - 1/14
Today is my very first Zero day of the trip. That simply means I made no forward progress on the AT Trail today. These days will hopefully be very limited - but very important when they do come around. I’ve been hanging out in my hotel room at the Budget Inn in Franklin, NC.
Around lunchtime - I went out to walk to the store to get a bite to eat. In the parking lot of the Budget Inn was the group I’d be hanging around with earlier on the trail. Nota, Maddy, Abby, Triple-B, Josh, Wilson, Pepper, etc. Crazy!! They all screamed out my name. It’s my current Tramily.
They were all freezing cold and wet as it’s a rainy day here (great day for a Zero). There were limited rooms available at the Budget Inn. Because I had a room to myself with 2 beds - they asked me if they could share. Now - I had everything laying out in my room and it was really nice to rest peacefully. But - you gotta do your part sometimes. So — I’m now sharing my room with Wilson, Josh, and Triple-B. This room is small (really small). I gave them the spare bed and the floor space. We are crammed in here. This reminds me of the time at Mardi Gras in New Orleans when 8 of us shared a room near Bourbon Street. Because it was over the actual Mardi Gras week - the price for our room was $400/night. So we had people laying all over the place. People coming in at all hours of the night - stepping on each other. It was a beautiful thing. The big difference — I was in my mid 20’s at that time. I’m in a different phase of the game now. Rest and recovery is so important for me to be successful on this journey. I’m helping today - but will try to avoid multi-bed hostals and crammed rooms down the road. Good times will be there - I gotta get in that comfort area first.
I spent nearly 3 hours laying out my projected schedule for the next 2 weeks. The big reason to project out is understanding where the resupply points are on the trail - and what it’s going to take to get there. COVID-19 is influencing things big-time in the trail towns. (as it is throughout the world). Honestly - I don’t know what to think right now. My mind is so scrambled. This task is difficult enough - but layers of difficulty are being added daily. Resupply locations are all closing. I was on the phone today making sure places would be available- but this is a moving target. Stay tuned - I might be bellied up in a hotel room in NC for a bit pending how things develop.
Here’s to good health and good fortunes for everybody out there! Hope to be coming to you live from the trail tomorrow night!
Icing my foot - chilling on a Zero Day
Backpacker Haven
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