March 23, 2008 (5.5 mi.)

Easter Sunday started very cold - tarp over hammock had frost all over it. Very hard getting out of bed this morning, out of my nice down cocoon into 30 degrees and windy. But the day warmed up when the sun came out, and I made Dick's Creek Gap by about 1:45. Stuck out my thumb for about 1/2 hour, but at the exact moment when I'd given up and was ready to hike the 1.5 miles down to Cloud 9, Frank, the owner of the hostel showed up in their Blazer. No exaggeration - I literally bent down to pick up my pack, and looked up to see him pulling into the little parking lot there at the gap.

Cloud 9 is beautiful place. A lodge - style house sleeps about 11 people, and an attached bunkhouse holds about 10 more. For $20, you get the run of the place - a prestocked kitchen; a living room complete with sofas, recliners, big-screen TV, computer; dining room... and a freaking jacuzzi! Neel's Gap was a nice break from the woods, but it is pretty much what you expect from a $15 a night hostel located in a building built in 1937. This looks and feels like a home. I was planning on taking a zero day in Franklin, but given that they're calling for cold, rain and snow tomorrow, I'm taking it here. It's got nothing to do with the jacuzzi, I swear.