Loose Leaf Notes

Joe got off the trail at the Nantahala Outdoor Center but not before a second blast of cold weather in his two week AT hike.

Feeling celebratory after hiking 145 miles, he got in his comfy new crocs and waited for our son Josh, who lives in Marshall NC, to pick him up and drive him to Marshall to meet me for a ride home. 

In his excitement he left his hiking shoes on the sidewalk, but some of his new friends with trail names like Disco, Come-along and Lil’ Chap retrieved his shoes and texted Joe the above picture before putting them in the mail.

I arrived in Marshall before Josh and Joe and had time to have an Iron Rail IPA at the Old Marshall Jail, Josh and his wife Emily’s historic, repurposed boutique hotel, bar, cafe and market.

I drank my beer on the sunny deck by the river and read some of the Brick Factory bricks that help make the OMJ a community art installation and monument to the history of place.

Joe went from the pared down trail life of living out of a pack to a bunk at the Old Marshall Jail (rooms and suites were full) and it felt like heaven.

Our reunion and our time in Marshall was made even more special by a visit from Matt, the son of a dear old friend, who happened to be in Asheville and looked Josh up for a visit.

Joe was hungry the whole time we were there, and between Zadie’s Market and the Star Diner we were well taken care of.

I talked with Matt, whose been following the progress of the Old Marshall Jail Hotel Bar and Market, about old times, beer and cars. I took this picture so we could send it to his dad and tell him it was Matt’s Uber to the city to hook back up with the friends he was traveling with.

Matt lives in Maine, which got section hiker Joe thinking about meeting up with his hiker buddy Scott (shown in the first picture) for the last two weeks of the through-hike and maybe use Matt’s place as a base. A bookends hike, Joe said. ________More on Joe’s AT hike HERE and  HERE.