Day 16

The Plaque

Chili, Toad, and Todd

Chili’s Castle

Day 16
03.09.08
Franklin – Wayah Shelter

Woken up by Toad at 2:30 in morning because she had this strange thought that it was 7:30. It’s strange to see the sun out later this morning with the time change.

I walk down to the local quicky mart to reinvest our rolling luck with the scratch off lottery tickets. I also decide to get some coffee and doughnuts for Toad and I. I talk to Vic at the main office and sign up for the second shuttle, which should leave around 10 this morning.

Back in the room Toad and I enjoy our coffee, and I let her do the scratch off, another $2 winner. I ask Toad to take the ticket back down to the store and just get the 2 bucks and we will have some entertainment for the next town.

While she is gone I pack my gear and head up to the main office to use the internet. Ron comes in and makes an annoucement that due to the time change the 2nd shuttle will leave between 11 or 12. I head over to Chili and Tim’s room and pass on the info. I see Toad is back so I head over to tell her about the new departure time, she informs me that she was feeling lucky and reinvested our winning ticket for another ticket.

We sit in the room and she starts in on the ticket, the ticket was a loser, there is always the next town. Toad and I make a deal that we will collect loose change to fund our scratch off lottery entertainment, thru-hikers normally leave an absurd amount of coin change in town feeling that it weights too much to be added to one’s pack.

Ron has the shuttle school bus sitting in the parking lot and the whole crew piles in. As he drives us back to the trail head he tells several stories about the trail as well as a few stories that I would normally think were off color, but he told them in a manner that made sound more like a sociology study than a stereo type.

The day starts out a little chilly but the 1st 5 mile climb warmed me up to the point I was shedding clothes. I found it amazing on how warm it was compared to the bitter cold of yesterday. At our lunch break we all commented on the warm spirited attitude of Ron Haven, as well as we all thought he was the unofficial Mayor of Franklin.

This day has been tougher then expected, it seems as though we have been climbing all day. We finally hit our precipice for the day and take a nice long break on top of Wayah Bald. I sit and soak in the mountainous landscape around me. We hike another 100 yards or so and hit a stone observation tower.

We decide to climb up and take advantage of the views. We have a nice and fun filled break soaking in the late afternoon sun. Chili has decided that this stone structure is his castle that he is meant to defend. Chili has also been cracking jokes about the trail being 2100 miles long. The fuel for this humor starts all the way back in Georgia.

It seems that every sight seeing area on the trail that can be reached by car, there is some plaque emphasizing the trails distance. This now becomes a punch line for Chili. When he reads the manacle he burst into a statement of, ” What? The trail is 2100 miles, I though I would only be out here for 10 days.” We find it hilarious, especially if there are day or section hikers around, they look at him, as if he has lost his mind.

We are excited to do our 1st decent for the day, knowing that it’s all downhill to the shelter. We reach the Wayah campsites, and a sign that says the shelter is only a 1/4 mile away. My legs and feet are tired and my body is only moving knowing we will be “home” shortly. We have now been walking down hill for 20 mins and no shelter, I’m starting to get cranky, we should have been there by now.

Another 10 mins go by and we all start to think we have passed the shelter, Chili stays positive and keeps us moving, just around the bend is the shelter. The longest 1/4 mile in the history of mankind. We all settle in and reunite with Twiggy and Hunter, we are also sharing the shelter with a section hiker. Hunter passes on some news that we should hit a trail angel about 2 miles into the hike tomorrow.

The section hiker quickly cuts in and makes the statement, ” that there is some controversy of trail angels, as viewed by the A.T.C.” His claim was that it took away from the wilderness experience. I found this to be absurd, but bit my tongue. After dinner I pretty much got into my sleeping bag and passed out.