At first light on many days, X often does her impression of a 20-something young macho rolling over for another forty winks. But not on a town day. On Town Day, X is like a kid on Christmas morning. And today was no exception as she zoomed down to beautiful Bland. The only surprising thing was the number of times she stopped to talk to people on the trail who we were seeing for the second or third time.

At US 52, we got to try our hand at real live hitchhiking for the first time on the trip. We had Yogied a ride into Marion, and had folks come looking for us going into Franklin, but this was the first time we’d stuck out our thumbs. We had hoped at best to get a ride in the back of a beat up pick-up truck. But the third car coming towards us pulled over, and it turned out to be an elderly couple in a fancy new car. In our “hiker stinky” condition we were embarrassed to touch the leather seats.

They took us directly to the Big Walker Motel (named for a local mountain, not some famous AT hiker), where we found packages with new shoes for N and our replacement water filter. So, it was like Christmas!

We showered (oh, how X loves that first splash of hot water!), ate well, and even had a short nap. The only downer for the day was the news that our new friend Little Wolf was going home with a hip ailment. He’s been a great fellow hiker, and will be missed. We got to meet his wife (who had come to pick him up) at the motel, and it was obvious he was in good hands.

The day was too short, as this entry may be as well. We can’t waste time journaling when these comfortable beds await…