Date: 2009-03-23
From: Fontana Dam NC28

To: Birch Spring Tent Site
Miles today: 7.0

We caught a glimpse of the breakfast menu at dinner last night and all night we had dreams of omlettes, stuffed french toast, and hash browns. The hotel restaurant opened for breakfast at 7:30am, so we set our alarms for 6am so we would be packed up and at the restaurant right when it opened. We got our tired selves out of bed right on time (it was a late night watching Big Love and Flight of the Conchords on HBO) knowing that a huge breakfast was just an hour away and got to the restaurant right at 7:30 to find the place completely dark! We inquired about breakfast at the front desk and we were informed that the restaurant wasn't open for breakfast during the off season - a bit of important information that our waitress last night could have told us when we asked to see the breakfast menu!!!Breakfast plans foiled, we sullenly and defeatedly munched on cold blueberry bread, cookies, and potato chips for breakfast instead of cheesy omlettes and greasy hashbrowns. We walked to the general store down the road (which just opened two days ago and was therefore pretty sparse) where I bought a pound of tortillas to supplement my lunches which should last the next few days, then got a ride back to the trailhead where we met back up with Egghead.We entered the Smokies today, which is both exciting and slightly terrifying. Exciting because we will be hiking some big mountains, including Clingmans Dome which is the highest point on the AT with an elevation of 6,643 feet. Slightly terrifying for several reasons. First, we heard the unfavorable weather forecast for Thursday thru Sunday which called for rain, wind, and thunderstorms. If the weather gets really nasty, we'll get off the trail in Gatlinburg and wait it out. Second, you are required to stay in the shelters within the park unless they are full, in which case you are allowed to tent directly adjacent to the shelter. We haven't stayed in any shelters yet because of rodents and snorers, so the possibility of us having to stay in the shelters makes me a little weary. We are hoping the shelters are full when we arrive at them so we can tent. Although, based on recent experience, tenting close to the shelter doesn't really solve the rodent issue. If the shelters aren't full we will have to sleep in the shelters or run the risk of getting fined. Dilemmas dilemmas.Third, we'll be crossing into Tennessee a bunch of times within the next 150 miles (and solely in Tennesse for 60 miles after that). Apparently there are no privies at the shelters in Tennessee, only designated "toilet areas" where you must go and dig a hole where hundreds of other people have already dug holes. I really don't understand the logic to that.Forth, the bears! The ridgerunner we met this morning said that bears have been spotted in the park recently...Whitey told me last week that they were still hibernating and didn't have to worry about them until next month. My guidebook says that there are an estimated 1,600 black bears inside the park, one of the highest bear population densities in the country. At least there are bear cables at all the shelters in the park which makes hanging food super easy.Climbing Mt. Shuckstack today was pretty awesome. There is a fire tower on top which we climbed three quarters of the way up...it was a little too rickety for my liking to go all the way to the top. There were 360 degree views of Fontana Lake and Dam, the Smokies, and alot of the mountains we've already climbed.We are at a tent site tonight (apparently in Tennesse because of the designated "toilet areas") which is the only tent site on the AT within the Smokies. We are here tonight with Smiley Mike, Katie and Laura (from Portland Maine), Grandpa Hugh, and some guys on spring break. I'm hoping the bears stay clear of the campsite tonight!            Me and Fontana Lake:Flowers on Mt. Shuckstack:Entering the Smokies: