Leaving Georgia

After the last hard climbs I needed my first zero day. Also the people on the Trail all said there supposed to be a thunderstorm with tornados on the weekend. Three fellows and I booked a room at the Budget Inn in Hiawassee for Saturday and Sunday. The last hiking on Saturday was only 0.8 miles. So, it was a Nero. That’s what a Zero with less miles is called.

Hiawassee is a nice little town. All the locals there are very friendly to the hikers. We did laundry and enjoyed an awesome tasting Burger with Pommes. You learn to enjoy the little things in life while out there. In the evening there was a party with all the hikers and a nice fire.

The day after the rain was very cold. The forecast expected freezing weather. And hell yeah, it was freezing cold outside. I did almost no breaks because I got cold instantly. After setting up tent and dinner all went to bed. I slept only a couple of hours this night. It was way to cold. Even all my water was frozen the next morning.

You realize how fast weather conditions can change in one day. The day after was a nice day. Sunshine all the day. We did a lot of miles, about 16.

AND I finished my first state out of fourteen. I left Georgia and went into North Carolina. Hello North Carolina!

My next stop will be a town called Franklin. We will also book a room in the Budget Inn. Get a shower… ? I will do a resuply there and get my permit for the Great Smoky Mountains. The elevation will get a lot higher. Some hikers around there, especially the ones from Michigan (it’s very flat there), already got a bit of altitude sickness. There not used to this elevation.