Franklin has been an AT (Appalachian Trail) maintainer for 17 years; first with the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club (GATC) and currently with the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club (SMHC). He has been the volunteer manager for the 31 miles of the AT in the Nantahala National Forest for the past two years and has been responsible for refreshing the volunteer in the forest agreements. He has been the SMHC’s representative to the AT Regional Partnership Committee for the past two years. In addition, he is heavily involved with the on-boarding and training of new trail maintaining volunteers for SMHC and have been engaged with their outreach efforts with area colleges and universities.