It’s definitely been a Pammy kind of day. Took a .8 mi. detour to see the Wasilik Poplar, the second largest poplar tree in the US. It’s 26 feet in circumference. And there was a waterfall nearby. I am in Fern Gully! Then I walked a mile off the trail and sporting my fancy rain pants, fleece jacket, and lovely blue terry houseshoes while my clothes wash. Everybody laughs at my shoes but I know they’re just jealous. So I’m sitting at Rainbow Springs Campground. Showered and had pizza and a Dr. Pepper for lunch. Yummm!!! Hope I can hitch a ride back to the trailhead. Several people here – so I asked Caboose and Tinkerbell (from Oregon) if they wanted to wash clothes together to save time. There are only two washers. So they bought soap and I paid to wash and dry. I shared my pizza with some hungry young thangs.

Well, going to make a phone call, pack up and go.

Let me go back to this morning. When I came back from the "tree," Jiff was sitting on the trail with the others close behind. She was glad to see me and said they were all worried about me. She said especially Topher kept saying he hoped I was all right. They were all going to ride with Doug or hitch into Franklin to spend the night, and I’ll catch them (or them me – I’m a little past Winding Stair Gap) tomorrow. Trying not to get sucked into the town thing too often since I’m on a pretty tight budget. Rainbow Springs was okay for just a shower and washing clothes. They are in it to make money though. The shower was $3.50 (fine), but then $1 more for a towel which turns out to be more of a hand towel than a bath towel. No washcloth, no soap. I got soap out of the hand dispenser and ran to the shower with it. I was already undressed and wasn’t dressing and walking back up the hill to buy soap. Anyway, I had a long hot shower, ate, and washed clothes. No luck hitching back to the trail, so my total non-AT miles today were 2.8, in addition to trail miles.

It’s supposed to freeze tonight. Another pitiful bear bag hanging. There are a couple of other people camped here by a stream. It was too far to the next shelter. It’s actually rather nice to not have so many people for a change, though I do enjoy the company of the gang. Met another Trail Angel this afternoon. Take-a-Break thru hiked last year. Gave me a lemon pie. Ate half for dinner with my chicken soup and will have the other half for breakfast. Trail magic is contagious. If someone gets some magic during the day and someone else misses it, we nearly always share. Manchester gave me a cheese stick this morning that he got yesterday. Griz shared some bread and veggies last night.

Time to bundle up and settle in. Oh, the cooler temps the last two days have necessitated more pit stops to pee … which requires that I take off my pack and wander off into the woods off the trail with no white blazes to find my way back. I have a lofty goal. I want my legs to get strong enough that I can squat to pee with my pack on and have the strength to get up. Yes … my priorities have changed! Ha Ha!

There are more couples out here than I expected. Mostly young - early 20’s. Had fun chatting with Caboose and Tinkerbell today. Would love to read their journals one day to see their perspective on the trail. While I would have loved to have done this in my twenties, I can’t help but think I appreciate it a lot more now. Tumbleweed and Farmer Bob seem to be enjoying it too. They’re about 60. I did meet one older couple, probably 60-ish, Lucky Duck and her husband, Fly Rod (from Massachusetts … where else?). She said they’ll probably end up flip flopping later and doing the north to south to finish. Her hip was hurting her. Anyway, some of those "kids" aren’t that much older than Will. I admire them and enjoy them a lot. As Topher says often, "It’s all good!"

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