Day 6: 4/8/2016

Our first zero day was well spent. Last night,  we ordered some pizza for delivery,  and kind of went a bit crazy…

We got to sleep in a bit, which was nice… especially nice not having to pack up camp. We kind of lounged around for a while, had some leftover pizza for breakfast, then finally headed into town around noon.

Our first stop was the post office, but on our way there, we happened to run into the two Canadian girls we met at Neels Gap. They were also taking a zero day,  and it sounds like they’re starting back on the trail at the same time as us. I think we’re starting to form our little hiker bubble,  but it’s still early.

At the post office at sent home about 3 pounds of stuff that we didn’t need. The guy working there was very nice. In fact,  everyone we’ve interacted with down here have been very kind. You’d think that maybe people in these “trail towns” would get sick of hikers, but for the most part they’re really interested. In fact most people all how many days it took us to get here.

The next stop of the day was,  naturally,  the beer store… Bacchus Beer and Growlers. This is a must visit for beer lovers on the trail. They offer tasting flights: 1 taste for $1,  4 for $2, and 8 tastes for $3. Of course we went for the flight of 8. They had 16 beers on tap,  so we went for as many Georgia beers as we could, though they did have a great selection,  including the jai alai IPA from Cigar City. We picked up a six pack of Orpheus from Atlanta for the rest of the day. We enjoyed taking to the two guys serving the beer, and I certainly recommend this place for the AT through hiker beer lover.

The next stop was the local supermarket, Ingles, for a resupply and a little lunch. For lunch, we just got 6 slices of turkey,  six slices of provolone, and some buns from the bakery… a cheap and tasty meal for any hiker on a budget.

When we returned to the inn, we stopped by the on site gear shop, as we wanted to look at possible insoles for our shoes to help our knee and feet pains. We both picked up some super feet insoles, and we’ll report back on how well those work for us.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, icing our sore spots, and Alex drinking beer.

It’s been a good off day, but we’ve decided that we’re going to hit the trail again in the morning. Even though it’s supposed to be a bit chilly on Saturday night,  we’re feeling the itch to get back out there and put some miles in. I’ll be using our emergency space blanket to make sure I’m warm enough.

Hopefully we’ll get some cell service in the hills, but if not, we should hit our next town by Thursday.

That’s all for now!  Back to the trail by 9:30 tomorrow morning!