Date: 2009-04-02
From: Brown Fork Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam Shelter
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: light rain

Although I got up a little after 7 am, I was one of the last to leave the shelter! Everyone was out of there early! It was only 8:30 am, and Richard said he felt guilty for sleeping in (but that he needed the rest after such a tough day yesterday). It¢s so easy to get caught up in a competitive frame of mind out here. If you don¢t hike the same mileage as those around you, or if you leave camp later than everyone else, the feeling that you are now behind, arises (as well as the thought that you might never see the people ahead of you again in this wandering community... )We have to keep reminding ourselves that we should hike at our own pace, on our own timeframe, and that everyone has to rest at some point, meaning that we will catch up to one another eventually. If only we could quell the worry that always seems to rise up¢¦      I left camp at 8:50 am and knew it was going to be a hard day. It was a mostly downhill day, and combined with the effort I put in yesterday, I knew I would not be hiking fast. I started slow and took some pictures, and soon Richard overtook me. I was now the last of my group. We all planned on going into Fontana to pick up our mail drops before heading into the Smokies. I didn¢t want to fall too far behind everyone, as I didn¢t want to have to find a ride alone (again). Although I couldn¢t see anyone ahead, I told myself they were just minutes away.       After a few hours, raindrops began to fall. I put the rain cover on my pack and opened my umbrella. When I came to the next shelter, I heard voices, and was happy that I had caught up. But then, I saw three hikers in their raingear, already marching up the hill. Lonesome Roads was the only one not to have actually left the shelter. I jumped in and charged up the hill to catch up to them, and became the caboose on a four man train in the rain. I usually like to be in the front, but because I was so tired, I had no problem having others set the pace for me today. When the first two cars had to take a rest after an uphill, the train split apart, and the third car ran off¢¦ I assumed the intermediate position until I needed a change in layers and some food to eat. By the end of the trail, Lonesome Roads was hot on my heels! We moseyed over to the marina where Richard, Cup-a Joe, and Paul were all waiting for the shuttle into town. There were public restrooms there, so I went inside to find that I looked a hot mess! The wind had caused my hair to stiffen out in all manner of direction, and my lips were visibly chapped. I tried to put myself back together and then we loaded into the $3/person shuttle to town. I saw in my guidebook that there was an ice cream shop near the post office, so I anticipated settling in for a treat. Unfortunately, it was closed. However, I had plenty of other treats awaiting me¢¦ I got 3 pieces of mail- two boxes and a postcard from a fellow hiker who wanted to offer some encouragement! I received my mail drop from Erik, and the other box was a care package from Persistent, containing all kinds of yummy treats that I never buy for myself! I dug into them right away and my taste buds were exploding with happiness! She included a large ziplock bag (which I was wanting¢¦) and a new pack of body wipes (I shared my opened pack with Richard and Chance, who were on the porch sorting through their goods, so we could clean ourselves¢¦ ¢My face is covered in dirt!¢ exclaimed Richard with surprise. ¢It¢s as if I have been rolling it through the mud!). I had a nice feast on the porch, while we sorted, and rested, and repacked in no hurry. I bought a lemonade from the General Store and drank that with my carton of goldfish from Persistent, then I ate her packet of M&Ms with a cup of coffee to warm me up, then I ate the baked bar that Erik sent me, and then one of the tortillas so I wouldn¢t have to carry it. There was no cell service there, but there was one dial-up computer, so we all hopped on to write brief e-mails before taking the shuttle back to the trailhead. We had just over a mile to get to the shelter where we would spend the night, as a storm was expected. Texas Chill and a few others were there, and more would come in throughout the evening. I got the top floor of the right hand side of the shelter to myself, but could hardly sleep at all due to the crashing and banging of one one particular hiker who was continually getting up to relieve himself, or simply thrashing about. This was also my first night sleeping on a hard shelter floor!