United States
Macon County

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    • Day 2

      Day 2 of AT in North Carolina NOBO

      May 3, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

      Muskrat Creek Shelter (AT Mile 81.2) to Carter Gap Shelter (#93.5).
      Daily Mileage: 12.3

      Woke up to temps @ 35 degrees. Sunny & windy all day. A slow, steady climb of 6 miles up to the top of Standing Indian Mtn (5,400 Ft. Elev.). Beautiful views for miles. Saw and spoke with @ 20 trail volunteers on both sides of the peak. They are part of the local AT Council group.

      The trees have really started to leaf out and the wildflower growth is abundant. Saw 3 types of Trillium growing trailside (which excited me based on my love of Trillium Brewery in Boston).

      Gentle continued downhill for the rest of the afternoon to Carter Gap Shelter. Got there early (4:00) to get my pick of the tent spots. The next appropriate shelter area would’ve been another 5 miles, so opted to be safe vs sorry.
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    • Day 4

      Day 4 of AT in North Carolina NOBO

      May 5, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

      Zero day today in Franklin, NC. Staying at The Rodeway Inn last night and tonight. Back to the trail tomorrow at 8 am.

      Bobby The Greek picked me up today at 10 am and took me to Ingles Grocery store for a resupply. We then stopped by the ATM and then I picked up lunch and dinner at the Chick-Fil-A to take back to the room.

      Bobby dropped me off at @ 11:30 and I spent the rest of the afternoon doing laundry in the sink, updating Find Penguins travel journal & Facebook, and then ending the evening watching game 2 of Celtics vs Sixers. A nice relaxing day!
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    • Day 1

      First Day Back on Trail

      May 2, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

      Dick’s Creek Gap (AT Mile Marker 69.2) to Muskrat Creek Shelter (#81.2)
      Daily Mileage: 12.0

      Flew back down to ATL yesterday and Uber’d back to Hiawassee, GA hotel where I had stopped back in early March. Shuttle driver Grace picked me up at 8am and dropped me off 6 miles down the road at Dick’s Creek Gap. Have things greened up a bit in the last 2 months!

      Beautiful day for a hike, sunny and brisk. Temps started out in upper 30’s, with a high of 55.
      Steady rise the whole day from 2,700 Ft elevation to 4,500 Ft by camp.
      Passed from GA into NC nine miles into the day (see pic).
      Met and hiked with Tim (@ 50 yrs old originally from Pelham, NY), Kate (@ 35 from Philly) & T-Bone (trail name from Seinfeld episode, @ 40 from Easton, MD) today.

      Around 20 hikers at the shelter/campground tonight. Mostly “kids” in their mid 20’s. Most between jobs or taking hiatuses from current ones. 8 hikers stayed in the actual shelter and had fun around the fire pit and smoked weed. The rest of us had dinner with the group but quickly retreated to the solace of our tents. A fun first day!
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    • Day 3

      Day 3 of AT in North Carolina NOBO

      May 4, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

      Carter Gap Shelter (AT Mile Marker 93.5) to Rock Gap (#105.6) and shuttle to Franklin, NC and off day tomorrow.
      Daily Mileage: 12.1

      Woke up to frost this am and I did have super cold hands getting my bear bag down from the tree (even with 2 sets of gloves on). Slept well, though. All bundled up in my 30 degree sleeping quilt with multiple clothing layers on.

      Sunny again today with amazing views from the top of Albert Mountain (5,300 ft. Elev.) about 6 miles in. Met 2 day hikers at the top along with Jason from Los Angeles who is thru hiking. Jason and I hiked the 6 mile ambling downhill to the road at Rock Gap and took the town shuttle (only $5!), into Franklin, NC for our zero day tomorrow. Got to the Rodeway Inn (😏), took an wonderful hot shower, and then stuffed my face down the street at Sakura Japanese Restaurant. All is good.
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    • Day 4

      My Grandparent's Summer Home

      April 20, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

      Today I had a great chiro adjustment and a massage. My neck never adjusts, but today the chiropractor did what she called the "traction method". She took a rolled up terrycloth type towel and placed it behind my neck. Then she wrapped each end around my throat to the opposite side and back toward her past my mandible as she was sitting behind me. She said, "ok, keep your teeth together so you don't bite your tongue." Then she pulled up on my neck toward her and it adjusted. My massage by Michael was the deepest massage I've ever had, and really worked out some kinks.

      Tonight I'm staying in the campground where my grandparents lived 6 months out of the year, May 1 to Nov 1. Growing up, we came here every summer for vacation. Back then it was called Fort Tatham Campground after the Fort Tatham Creek. Now it is called Sun Retreats Nantahalla. It's not changed that much in all these years. I am very happy to see how well it's been maintained. The Fort that we played in is long gone, and there's a pavilion now over the shuffleboard court. Some of the cabins have painted the wood siding instead of the traditional red paint-stained look. Some of the cabins have metal roofs now.

      My grandparents cabin was number 16 right in the corner of the property on the creek. Like literally the camper is ON the creek, almost hanging over the creek. The creek is a small but rapid flowing stream that bubbles gently over the rocks. One can hear and see the creek sitting on the porch and all night long inside the cabin. Every summer we would get a big, long watermelon and wedge it between the rocks in the creek to chill it. The water was so cold. There are so many memories here, but besides nostalgia, I'm just happy to see this place thriving and so well cared for. When I arrived today, the office was already closed so I couldn't check in. I was sure that I had made a reservation for 2 nights, but I never received a confirmation email and I don’t see any charges on my credit card statement. So I'm thinking I never made the reservation. Tomorrow when I go into the office to let them know that I've been squatting on their property all night, I'm going to inquire to see if my relatives still own cabin 16. Cabin 16 is one of the few cabins here that hasn't been updated. It really looks the same as it always did. My cabin I mean a little trailer built inside of a roof overhead, deck and porch.

      The weather warmed up so beautifully today. Once I arrived at the campsite, I walked around quite a bit... both exercise and a walk down memory lane. Then I set up camp, had dinner and took a really nice, hot shower.

      Another set back today: pulled out the grill, a brand new table top grill. to grill the chicken. The screws to attach the legs to the grill are missing, so I couldn't grill. Tomorrow I'll see if I can get replacement screws or find out the size and length of the screw. I guess there is always something with camping, but especially with new campers and new equipment. I'm still in disbelief that I have no way to prevent my van from going into lithium battery collapse without manually turning the ignition on.

      Today was a day of release. Release of stress. Release of burdens.
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    • Day 3

      Lunch at Shoney's

      October 9, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

      We skipped breakfast this morning and got on the road at 10am. I finally conquered Atlanta, although, it's a holiday so traffic was lighter. We ate having something HOT to eat at Shoney's. It's chilly and we lost the sun as soon as we hit the North Carolina line. 110 miles to go today.Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Macon County, مقاطعة ماكون, Мейкън, মেকন কাউন্টি, Condado de Macon, Macon konderria, شهرستان مکون، کارولینای شمالی, Comté de Macon, Macon megye, Contea di Macon, メイコン郡, Macon Kūn, Hrabstwo Macon, ماکن کاؤنٹی, Comitatul Macon, Мейкон, Округ Мејкон, ماکون کاؤنٹی، شمالی کیرولائنا, Quận Macon, Condado han Macon, 梅肯縣

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