Government Shutdown Trip A - Day 3

Up early again (0555). As expected, the rain continued all night and was still threatening when I woke up. No worries - the reason I picked Franklin for my "headquarters" was because it is a town with AT all around and I can choose several hiking zones based on the forecast. Read and watched TV while waiting for the rain to stop. Cleaned and organized my stuff again. There had still been no progress on reopening the Government so I renewed my room so I could stay for a few more days. Eventually decided to head north, hoping to find a place where the rain would hold off for the rest of the day. Picked up late breakfast (to go) in Franklin at McDonalds (0945) and then drove north on NC-28. It didn't look good as I was driving the long and winding way - it was very rainy and the road had standing water. Continued until reaching US-19 and then got back on NC-28 until it passed the Fontana Dam, which I last visited in 2014. Decided to stop at the overlook, even though I'd already hiked that part of the trail, and then backtracked to the trailhead on the state road. Headed NOBO at 1115, wearing two layers (temps were in the mid-high 30s), carrying my winter coat and covered in my rain poncho/tarpaulin. The part of the section was as steep as the AT comes - I gained almost 2500 feet in 2.5 miles. As I climbed, the limited visibility that I'd had at the road vanished - soon I was walking in the clouds/fog. It wasn't raining too much but the humidity in that environment basically drenched me. This wasn't good because the wind on the ridge was strong and biting (and I think the temps dropped to near freezing, as evidenced by frozen water on rocks). I saw lots of birds (large and small) but no other wildlife. There were several difficult rock scrambles along the ridge and I fell down more than once - nothing injured but my pride, though! At about the mid point (just past Walker Gap), I passed three section hikers (guys' weekend) whose first words were "when does it stop climbing?" We exchanged some good trail geography and I was convinced that I needed to turn around before the shelter (my initial goal for the day) so I could avoid a major climb during the backtrack. However, I also wanted to avoid turning around at a non-descript location. As a result, I ended up reaching the Cable Gap Shelter before turning back. That meant I had to use all the determination I had left to get back to the ridge. Most of the AT challenges are psychological and today's was no different - mind over matter and I made it back to the top. When I reached Walker Gap again, I realized just how steep the climb in the outbound leg had been - it was much more difficult to go downhill without slipping on roots or on random muddy spots. Had to concentrate a lot to avoid a major spill - I usually make great time back to the car but today the backtrack time might have been almost equal with the one for the outbound leg. I was pleasantly surprised that I got some visibility as I got closer to Fontana Lake - the clouds must have been moving east the whole time I'd been gone and this cleared up the visibility near the road. I hadn't realized that the drizzling had stopped until it started up again just as I reached the road - I was already drenched so it didn't matter. Got into my car at 1645 after around 11 miles - feeling strong and happy that I hadn't turned around early. Returned home by same route as in the morning - it took over an hour to get back to Franklin but I beat the darkness by about 10 minutes (1815). After quickly showering and changing, I drove over to Sakura, a Japanese restaurant on NC-28 that I believe was previously a Chinese restaurant (Fortune House?) when I was visiting in 2017. Enjoyed sushi made by a friendly chef (from China) behind the bar. Met a local hiker named Perry (casino bartender) and had a fun conversation about the local area. Stayed until 2000. Back at my room, did more cleanup, worked on journal, read and watched TV. Bed at 2300. More tomorrow! AT Today = 5.50 miles / G.T. AT = 1291.42 miles