Stretch, Zippy, and I take out first Near-o into the town of Franklin! We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Gracious Plates and had a fun evening hanging out with other hikers at The Lazy Hiker Brewery.
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The next day we did the boring stuff: laundry, resupply, gear maintenance. Stretch and I loved the Gracious Plates restaurant so much, we went back for dinner with our friend Fresh Prince!
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After our refreshing Zero Day, we head out back to the trail, where we said, "Farewell" to Zippy as she zipped off into the woods! :) It was such a pleasure hiking with Teresa "Zippy" but it was time for her to flap her wings fully and move like the wind! Stretch and I continued together and had the most amazing views at the Wayah Bald Tower before hunkering down at the nearby shelter. Such an amazing day!