It’s the season for Appalachian Trail hikers heading north to Maine to visit America’s first Appalachian Trail Community – Franklin, NC.
Because we’re 110 miles from the beginning of the trail’s southern launch point in Georgia, Franklin gets more than its fair share of AT hikers. Why? Many reasons. Our location makes us one of the first towns where hikers can rest, resupply and regroup after having been on the trail for a couple of weeks. More importantly, the town rolls out the red carpet for our annual visitors.
Special treatment for hikers includes rides to and from the trail; affordable lodging for hikers; free meals at local churches and businesses; special services from the outdoor outfitters; and special events at the breweries and local hotel/motels. All of these welcoming gestures have a way of making AT hikers feel right at home in Franklin.
As a part of our efforts to show the world why travelers should Experience Franklin, NC, we’re interviewing AT hikers and sharing their stories with you. And the opening question is simple: why are you hiking the nearly 2,200 miles of the Appalachian Trail? And then…how do you like Franklin?
Our first interview of the series is with an Englishman who was intrigued by the challenge of the AT and who might have an educated opinion about Franklin’s Scottish Tartans Museum & Heritage Center.
This weekend, several weeks hiking the Appalachian Trail, James Pegg celebrated his 60th birthday while enjoying a free breakfast at the First Baptist Church in Franklin’s historic downtown. He was joined by about 20 other AT hikers taking a break from the rigors of the trail to enjoy the “celebrity” treatment as only Franklin residents can offer.
His trail name is “Second Breakfast” and he hails from Yorkshire, England. Here are some thoughts on his AT hiking experience so far, and his time in Franklin.
Experience Franklin: Why are you hiking the AT?
James Pegg: I have three main reasons for hiking the Appalachian Trail. The first was set many years ago after reading a particular person’s book when it first came out. And I thought one day that might be an idea. I’ve been fortunate to do lots of hikes around the planet. I walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain a couple of years ago, which is 500 miles, and you know what? 500 miles, let’s try and push out a little bit more. So that was part of the challenge: walking something a bit further.
The second reason was I had a really rough time in the place I’ve worked at for 24 years. And I needed to do something different, and this is what I thought was gonna help me. And jumping ahead, that already has. Stepping through the arch (the AT launch point at Springer Mountain, Ga.), so many demons and problems just went away. And what’s more, my work colleagues gave me a brilliant send off and showed me the love that I wasn’t feeling previously. So, that demon was certainly put to bed.
And the third reason is because I can. And a lot of people I’ve known are not around anymore. So, for all the people who aren’t able to, I’m doing it for them.
Experience Franklin: What’s the best surprise of the hike so far?
Pegg: The best surprise of the trip is the comradeship of everybody. I met “Bugs” and “No Name” (trail names for two hikers at his table) just last night, and this morning we’re already sharing stories and photos. That is something I wasn’t quite expecting it to be as full on. I met Viking on the first day. We’ve been walking ever since, and while we don’t spend every minute of every day with each other, we do catch up and that’s been superb. That’s really helped me.
Experience Franklin: We know you’ve done a lot of trails, but is this different or is there something about the Appalachian trail that sort of strikes you differently?
Pegg: I’m only 100 miles into it. I’ve got to do it nearly 21 more times (2,100 miles) to get to the end. But it’s not monotonous. There’s so much variation and so many things happen. The weather changes and it’s quite astounding how much variation there is in just a whole cluster of trees. And of course, every shelter’s different, every campsite is different. And then the bit I’m enjoying the most at the moment is having my resupply days in towns when I come in and everybody’s so very welcoming.
Experience Franklin: What made you decide on Franklin as a resupply?
Pegg: It was en route (laughing). We actually heard bad weather was coming in, so we decided to make a zero day of it (a day without hiking or making more miles). I’m quite pleased about that decision because we heard about people waking up with ice on their sleeping bags. And it gave us the opportunity to explore the whole of Franklin.
I’m a museum guy. And I went into three of them here already.
Experience Franklin: Which museums did you visit?
Pegg: The gem museum at the bottom of Main St. (Ruby City), which is some of their personal collection. It was absolutely wonderful. Also went into the Macon County Historical Museum. Has a little bit of everything in there. I didn’t do that justice because I was going around it really quickly. The employees there were talking to everybody in depth about any subject, so if I got stuck into that I would never leave Franklin!
And then the other one that I spent the most time in was the Tartans Museum. Scotland is our neighbor in England and I thoroughly enjoyed going ‘round there. In fact, an American visitor paid for my ticket and I gave her a mini sort of tour as an Englishman through Scottish history and the tartans.
There is a fascinating bit about the astronauts who took their tartans up into space and then presented them to the museum. I have to say (The Tartans Museum) was really well done.
Experience Franklin: Happy birthday, Second Breakfast. Safe travels. And come back to visit any time.
Editor’s Note: This series is completely inspired by The Mountain Gazette. A fun magazine on mountain life, and then some.
