Date: 2005-04-18
From: Fontana Dam Shelter

To: Fontana Dam Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

It feels like I¢ve been here forever, though it¢s only been two days. Guess that is forever on a trip in which I¢ve been moving over 70 miles a week.I intentionally started late yesterday since I had nothing better to do. It did allow me to see Slim start hiking the wrong direction, a feat that provided our morning entertainment. On the climb out of the shelter, I picked up a second hiking pole for experimentation. It was eye opening ¢ again. I was reminded that a second pole really, really helps, especially on the up and down hills, both of which we seem to have in abundance. The uphills beat you up, the downhills beat you down, and poles help to ease both. I¢ll be looking for some trekking poles in Hot Springs ¢ it¢ll also help give me some more options for getting up my tarp.I rolled past the road crossing by the marina a bit after noon, and then did the annoying last mile to the shelter. It¢s called the Hilton, and for good reason. Take a normal shelter, make it twice as wide, add a second level, and duplicate it across the aisle and you¢ve got the Hilton. Free showers are reasonably nearby, restrooms are genuinely close and we¢ve got an electrical outlet down by the fire ring. All that¢s missing is a horse shoe pit.Low Bridge, Andy, the Professor and I settled in quickly, but Crazy Legs jetted for town without even checking it out. I¢m all for saving a few bucks and enjoying a very nice setting. I don¢t need the bustle of town right now. We almost had the place to ourselves ¢ only Dirty Harry drifted in after us. Doc Holiday Inn, however, did swing by briefly after dark to say hi. He¢s been hiking with Dirty Harry, but was staying in town instead. He took off for the Smokies this morning, since he¢s taking a section off starting in Gatlinburg. I won¢t see him again until Trail Days.We got up early and went to town this morning, where I began my day of eating. The inn had an all you can eat breakfast buffet that was worth its $8.50. I didn¢t eat again until supper ¢ but more on that later. Let¢s just say the buffet made the hitch in worth it.I did some laundry, checked out the weak outfitter¢s store and got my maildrop packages. One was my food resupply, and the other was the drawstring for my pack ¢ plus homemade cookies, courtesy of Mom. Thanks Mom! It was then, that I got my brilliant idea of the day. I bought charcoal, and Andy, who was hitching to Robbinsville to check his email, promised to pick up some hamburger meat and buns. Oh, yeah.Low Bridge stayed in town so the Professor and I hitched back to the dam. I spent the afternoon doing sleeping bag adjustments, sewing on the drawstring and adjusting the Velcro tabs on the bag and pad. It took a long, long time ¢ but then it was burger time.Oh, how I loved those burgers. Sweet, sweet burgers ¢ juicy, grilled to perfection, and topped with cheese. We even had extras that we distributed to the new shelter residents, one of which was McGyver. Interesting note ¢ he does professional video and recognized my camera; I hope to get some time to pick his brain at some point. Our trail magic thunder, however, was dwarfed by Smurf and his father. Smurf thru-hiked a few years back and brought by three boxes of Bojangles chicken and biscuits. We ate well ¢ after everybody was stuffed with chicken and burgers, we still had a box of leftover chicken.A ranger also swung by. Some guy has been missing for a few weeks and he was looking for info. Nobody has seen him, though. We also learned that Bush is going to be in Cades Cove on Friday for Earth Day. I¢ll be reasonably close by; I wonder if there will be an security checkpoints on the trail!Lately the shelter has been filling up ¢ we¢ve probably got a dozen or more residents milling about. It¢s a regular reunion ¢ Mr Sweepers, Headfirst, Jude, Dandy Lion and many other faces I¢ve seen from time to time are all here. That reminds me ¢ I saw Jay and Megan in town today, now called Good Ole Boy and Sloppy. They¢re starting the Smokies tomorrow. Maybe I¢ll see them again for a bit. Luckily, it¢s a big shelter, but I¢ve moved upstairs where it¢s slightly less crowded. Hopefully I¢ll get an early start tomorrow to beat the rush, but we¢ll see. I may or may not stop over by the Dam¢s shower on my way out. But the Smokies are here at last ¢ it should be fun. The weather sounds good for the next few days, which never hurts.