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| Beside the Fontana Hilton |
Today's Miles:
11.00
Trip Miles:
176.80
Sitting by a fire, five past nine at night, a long, hard, beautiful day of hiking.
We
began a bit late, 11 a.m., because of resupply logistics. I stayed at
the Hilton while the duo went to town for food. I had the chance to talk
to John from north of Toronto, a former school principal doing a
section hike, Isaac (whom we met before) is zeroing to take care of a
foot injury, and Unsure, a young man trying to thru, but fighting shin
splints. Talking to the people on the trail is the best part of the
trail.
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| Heading to the dam |
When M & N got back we packed up and headed out. We
crossed the Fontana Dam and entered the Great Smokey National Park where
we deposited our permits in a drop box. Our only question starting the
day was about water. We had gotten water at Fontana Dam, but city water
tasted too much like chemicals. I think we're becoming water snobs.
Nothing is as sweet as cold spring water.
The climb up from the
dam is a longer, less vertical climb than coming out of the N.O.C. It's
about ten miles of steady rise. The weather was great. Clear blue skies
and a cool breeze to keep the sun at bay. At the entrance we met I'm
Lost, (Nick from Vt.) and (as he spells it) Duck Tape.
We hiked with
them all day and they were great company. Lost was in the lead and after
about an hour he shushed us and motioned us forward to see a doe not
ten feet away. She was eating as if we weren't even there.
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| Does the deer have a little doe? Yeah, two bucks! |
We got
to the Shuckshack Fire Tower, a very shaky, very high tower with
beautiful views and a floor that felt like you could push your finger
through it. A tad scary. We took some pics, climbed down and noticed
that the footing for the stairs was supported by crumbling stones.
Yikes! We had lunch, then took off for Mollies Ridge. Along the way
Mike noticed an odd looking stick on the trail that suddenly moved
towards him. We all stood still as the snake slithered it's way past us
and into the brush.
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| The tower |
The water at the shelter was listed as questionable in our guide book so we stopped at a creek about 1.3 miles
before the shelter to camel up. I said I was taking my time so I'd carry
the
water and the others could go ahead and get us a place at the
shelter. They all took off and I took it nice and easy going up the
rise. Every once in a while I noticed that Lost, the quickest hiker of
the bunch, was up ahead of me just looking back for a bit. I realized
that he was just checking on the old guy and it made me feel great
knowing that I was being watched out for. Thanks Nick. Of course, when
we got to the shelter there was plenty of good water up there. Nick
decided to move on to the next shelter and the rest of us are sleeping
in.
Goodnight.
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| The base of the steps. Gulp! |
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| The throne |
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| The dam |
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| The dam |
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| Looking back at Fontana Dam |
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| Looking ahead |
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| Proof that hobbits are real! |
I'd like to note that someone you just met stopped to check on, but not Mike. That is all.
ReplyDeleteI remember this day being so beautiful. The dam was gorgeous and it was fun hiking around there and taking pictures. This day was insanely hard but tried to keep up with Mike most of it and Lost said that Mike and I were really fast hikers.
ReplyDeleteTrail notes: Day 27: "it's hard to look angry with a fanny pack on" - mike
Grueling 11 miles today. Almost all up hill. My ankle and knees are hurting and my calves are so sore lol had fun going into town with mike to resupply. We sat in rocking chairs and ate ice cream. Hiked all day with dean and lost. We went up to the most terrifying fire tower. I am super tired and kind of grumpy. John is being such a sweet "dad". We are staying in a shelter again. Apparently we are a day behind ginko!! Lots of hills