We were a little bit of a quiet group today, Obi Wan has to get off the trail to return to Switzerland. We are going to miss him. We are also concerned with Major Tom, he needs to let his feet heal. Even though he has the blisters, a pulled tendon on the foot, and a mild ankle sprain he is determined to get back on the trail tomorrow. We are worried that if he does, he will not last a week and maybe cause worse damage.
In the morning after a good breakfast at the Mountain Diner, I started going through my gear- cleaning, repairing and organizing. I went to the outfitter and purchased some freeze dried food and a new hiking shirt. I went to the laundromat but discovered that all of the six washer machines and six dryers were out of order.
Obi Wan was having a very difficult time finding a shuttle to get him out of the mountains and then to Atlanta for his flight home. He needed to borrow my phone because he could not get call backs from messages with his Swiss phone number. An idea was starting to float through my head, Road Trip. If Major Tom or I could get to Asheville we could rent a car and see Obi Wan off to Atlanta and it would keep Major Tom off the trail perhaps long enough to heal. I mentioned the idea to Obi Wan and Hellcat and they liked it. When I mentioned the idea to Major Tom, he just rolled his eyes.
We had lunch, I then went to the Hillbilly Grocer for the rest of my resupply and some laundry soap. If I couldn't find a place to do laundry I would have to do it in the sink. I asked around and found out a nearby hostel would let you do it for $5. Hellcat and I trekked to the hostel while Obi Wan was still trying to find a shuttle.
After we returned from the hostel we mentioned the road trip idea again to Major Tom, he started to look for nearby places to rent a car. After seeing that the nearest location was 40 miles away he seemed to give up.
We went to dinner at Iron Horse Station. While dining, all of us expressed our concerns to Major Tom, but he was concerned with the logistics of getting to Asheville. Obi Wan disappeared leaving a beer half full. We paid the bill and as we were walking back to our cabin Obi Wan came running up and said he found a shuttle for the morning. He went across the street to the bar looking for a shuttle driver where he was pointed to a woman, unfortunately, she had crashed her car a few days earlier. She sent him to the outfitter store owner who called a friend who promised to pick us up at 9 am the next morning. After a whole day of calling drivers and leaving messages, looking for shuttle drivers, he accomplished his task by spending 15 minutes in a bar. I guess that is how things get done in some of these small towns.
We got back to our cabin and within WiFi range and Major Tom reserved a car in Asheville. Tomorrow ROAD TRIP.
No comments:
Post a Comment