Date: 2014-04-12
From: cable gap shelter 

To: fontana dam
Miles today: 6.6
Weather: broken clouds

Saturday, April 12: day 14Fontana Dam and the Fontana "Hilton"Started the day with a giant breakfast. 3 oatmeal packets, hot chocolate, trail mix, and sausage. Trying to lighten my food pack meal by meal. Feeling good today. Started hiking around 9:15 and only have 7 miles to get to Fontana. A nice day today. No clouds in the sky and an easy downhill. I'm zooming down the hills today. Not sure if it's the big breakfast, the constant downhill, or that I'm finally getting used to the weight. Probably, a bit of everything.   Hit the marina into Fontana around noon and find a large camp site of trail magic. A couple of people have put together a nice spread for the hikers. They're old thru-hikers from Nashville and just want to create a nice gesture for the new hikers. Apples, oranges, watermelon, chips of all kinds (Doritos too - I grabbed a handful), pop and beer, and burgers starting in the grill. Had a apple, Doritos, orange, and a root beer. Sat for a spell (probably 15 min.) and hit the road to the Fontana Hilton about a mile away. It was an easy hike up & down the hills to the shelter area, all the while the dammed lake was coming into perspective. A giant lake and dam created in the 30's, helping power 3 states. The shelter came into view on top of hill a nice shelter (2 tiered with room for 20), the largest in the AT so far. Showers with warm water, and nice bathrooms are around the corner, all provided by the company that runs the dam (TVA).It was early in the day so the shelter wasn't full but I'd still prefer to tent so I walked up the hill a bit and picked up a tent area. Concrete but something. It's a good thing that I grabbed a tent area pretty far away from the shelter because later in the night the thru-hikers (that are really slow hikers) had a party and kept everyone up till 2am. After grabbing a spot, I wandered around the dam and talked with some volunteers. They said the showers near the dam are much better than the shelter showers and much cleaner too. So, I took they're advice and had a nice long hot shower, washing off the last couple days worth of grime. I also washed some of my clothes and was surprised by the amount of dirt poured out of them even with a quick hand wash. After my shower and quick laundry job, say outside and dried my clothes on a railing a bit away from the tourists. The Ginger Ninja came by looking to charge his phone and found an outlet by the Coke machine. While his phone was charging we chatted about the trail and his plans. He has a pretty light pack and is pretty fast. We talked a bit and I found out he's a bartender from St. Pete, FL & he got his trail name because of his black long underwear and red beard. After drying my clothes in the warm midday sun, Ginger ninja & I grabbed a shuttle ($3 each way) into town for a meal, a resupply, and to just check out the town (I think Ging needed a Smokies permit as well). The town was pretty strange for a tiny one gas station town. No bigger than Clam Lake but way more touristy. It's a Smokies experience for those that don't want to go into the park. Pool, tennis courts, large fire ring for 20, lots of hotel-type cabins, and even a floating lazy river pool for those hot summer days. Very different from the AT shelter I just came from and the small towns on the trail that I've visited. This town was just made for resort people. Went to the general store and bought some ramen & Gatorade mix. Then walked to the restaurant as Ging got his permit. Had 6 buffalo wings and a chicken sandwich with fries. Decent food for the trail. They had free wifi! So I took advantage of that and caught up on email and the news. Finished my lunch and headed out to the shelter via the shuttle. Ging still hadn't finished filing his permit and my lunch was more than an hour long. Hung out at the Fontana Hilton for a but with some new guys. Most have been on the trail over a month and have partied lot versus some of the guys I've been traveling with. They're fun guys but not crazy serious about getting a lot of daily miles. More social party than serious hikers. Talked with them a bit and after a while the trail magicians came back and cooked up some more burgers, hit dogs, and more snacks than 20 thru-hikers could finish. Which is a ton! It was a good time and after dinner I went back to my tent to relax while others kept partying late into the night. Way late in the night (in hikers' time) - 2:30am they stopped partying, thank goodness I had ear plugs otherwise I wouldn't have gotten any sleep and I was even 150 yards away. Hikers that were staying in the Hilton didn't get a lot if sleep (the Atlanta runners). Journaled and relaxed before bed at 9:30