Date: 2015-03-12
From: Stecoah Gap

To: Fontana Dan
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: overcast clouds

We had a good hike today NoBo from Stecoah Gap to Fontana Dam. The distance was right in our ¢sweet spot¢, we¢d like to do 15 to 17 miles/day. But the best distance for a given day depends on a lot of factors - terrain, weather, pack weight and water among others. And of course when we¢re slack-packing, we have to shape all those factors to fit with trail access roads and shuttle driver availability. So the actual distance we cover varies considerably. So far this year it¢s ranged from about 7 miles to almost 20. Several years ago when we started considering an AT thru-hike, we happened to encounter Free Bird on a section of the AT and talked with him for a while. He suggested that perhaps the most important advice is to go slow in the beginning, don¢t push your body too hard. The trail is tough and you need to adapt. Both last year and this year we¢ve seen a lot of young people moving fast and covering big mileage in Georgia and North Carolina. Certainly youth is resilient, but we also hear about a lot of knees, shins, ankles, etc. causing a lot of problems. I think some of that may be ¢too fast, too soon¢. But I shouldn¢t talk since we¢ve already pushed to almost 20 miles - my defense is that we¢ve only carried a full pack twice. I apologize for the divergence. Regarding our hike today, it started early at 7:20. Ranger drove us to the trailhead and we actually sat in the parking lot until there was enough light to see the trail. The forecast for the day was good, but the mountains were shrouded in mist and fog and we hiked for the first 3 hours in ¢tree rain.¢ It wasn¢t actually raining, but the mist was condensing on the tree branches and raining down on us, and we had to wear ponchos to avoid being soaked. But the air was warm and eventually the mist cleared.The most notorious feature today was ¢Jacobs Ladder.¢ This climb starts about a mile north of Stecoah Gap and involves a climb of approximately 800 or 900 feet up a very steep grade. Last year it was really tough for me and I was not looking forward to it today. But this year, it didn¢t seem so bad. Two factors: first, I think I paced myself better; second, I had a slack-pack on my back rather than a full pack. I think the second factor was most important. After the ladder, we had a long ridge-walk, dipped into several gaps, climbed back up to the ridge and then had a 4-mile long descent into Fontana Dam. We had great views along the lake and much later as we skirted the edge of the lake into the Fontana Dam Shelter (aka the Fontana Hilton). The shelter is perched on an overlook with a great view of the lake, a picnic area and restrooms just up the hill. We continued along the trail to the Fontana Dam Visitor¢s Center parking lot where Ranger picked us up. Currently, there is construction on the dam and vehicles can¢t cross, so this will be our dropoff point tomorrow.Today we experienced the disadvantage of NoBo hiking. We didn¢t encounter a single hiker, either NoBo or SoBo in the 15 miles between Stecoah Gap and Fontana Dam. Now, we¢re back in Bryson City for the last night in our cabin. We had dinner at Anthony¢s again, did the laundry and packed up. Packing tonight was different. Tomorrow we head into the Great Smokey Mountains, and at this time of year, there is virtually no public access to the trail between Fontana Dam and Newfound Gap (near Gatlinburg). So we have 3 days of hiking to Newfound Gap including 2 nights of camping. Tonight we¢re stuffing the backpacks instead of the slack-packs and preparing (as best we can) for 2 days of rain.I¢m not sure I¢ll be able to post for a day or two, since I probably won¢t have internet access. But I¢ll keep up and post when I can - maybe Gatlinburg, we plan to zero there.