Appalachian Trail: Day 26
Disclaimer: This post is NOT sponsored. All the gear mentioned in this post was purchased by me at retail prices. I have no affiliations with any of the companies or brands mentioned.
Short day today. Due to resources, I had to go into Gatlinburg. I was hoping to skip it, but being low on fuel and battery power made heading into town necessary.
I woke up at Mt Collins Shelter to pouring rain. I didn't want to get up, but I knew I had a 5 mile hike to get to Newfound Gap for the shuttle into town, so I donned my rain gear and started hiking.
I unfortunately just missed the shuttle into town at Newfound Gap, but it did give me time to visit the trail magic going on. Oh, honey buns are so good!
After waiting around in the cold wind for about and hour and a half, the shuttle came back and I was able to ride it into town. It stopped at the outfitters and I walked to the hotel from there. There were closer options, but I went to the one that the guide claimed had coin laundry on site. Turns out, they don't. Fortunately, the town has a free trolley, so I road that out to the closest laundry mat to wash clothes. They did have a tub which I sat soaked in for a bit. That was nice.
When I walked into the laundry mat, I started looking at the vending machine for soap, but the lady who works there spotted me and guessed I was a hiker. Apparently, they have a box of laundry soap for hikers.
While washing my clothes, I got some photo editing done and posts ready to push. Got myself a sandwich from Dominos for a late lunch and waited on the trolley back to town.
Unfortunately the outfitters closed at 6 before I could get back, so I will have to stop by and get fuel from them in the morning when they open at 10, that means a late start.