Date: 2013-03-13
From: Gooch Mt

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 165.0

I made it to Fontana Dam, about 165 miles, on Weds. 3/13. Hilton was waiiting at the shuttle station when I walked down. We called a shuttle and it took us to the Fontana Lodge. This is a very nice resort type lodge, but is not very busy this time of the year so it kind of caters to the hikers by reducing there rates by 1/2. I'll spend a zero day here and rest up. I'll will start walking into the Smokies on Friday.Right before Sandman 69, Guillaume, and I went into Hiawassee, I was hiking behind Sandman and I looked down and there was a shiny new penny, heads ups, lying in the middle of the trail. I stopped and picked it up. I asked Sandman why he did'nt pick it up. He said he saw it but was too tired and too sore to bend over. His loss, my gain. I put it with some other good luck things that someone special gave me to carry.We ran into some very bad weather right after the GA/NC line. High winds, blowing snow and ice. As I was going through Bly Gap, JLo, an ultra light hiker was coming behind me. He was trying to put on his jacket but it was flapping like a loose sail. I made it to the next shelter about 6:30 and it was full. So I pitched my tent. The next morning it was very cold and putting on my boots was like putting on cement blocks. Also when it is cold like that you have to put everything in your sleeping bag with you. Clothes, water bottles, fuel cannister for the stove, all my electronics that have batteries. Plus I slept wearing a down jacket, fleece pants, fleece hat, and gloves. The next couple days it very tough hiking. The day after the storm there were very deep drifts on the mountain tops. Everyone stepped in the same footprints to save energy. Then in the afternoon the sun was very bright and turn everything on the tops and the south facing slopes to slush. The next morning we had to hike on the footprints in the slush after they had frozen.On 3/9 I left Rock Gap shelter with plans to hitch into Franklin NC to re-supply. After about 1/2 on the trail I met Sampson, from Mississippi, He wanted to go there to take a day off. We got to the highway about 9:10 AM and I was back on the trail at 11:10. The fellow that picked us up, dropped me off right in front of the supermarket. I got my stuff and got another quick ride back to the trail. About 12 miles. Last night about 8 of us had dinner together here at the Lodge. It was a very enjoyable evening. After we were done, we went into another room to pay our bills, and there was Sampson eating dinner. He said he did some big mile days and caught us. It's really funny. I may hike alone all day, then get to a shelter and there will be a lot of hikers I know there. You may not see someone for 3 or 4 days, then all of a sudden there they are.I think I'm getting used to being smelly and cruddy. I just went a week with the same clothes and no shower. I'm don't think I'll offend the other hikers because they are pretty much the same way. I'm going to try to make it through Smoky Mountain National Park, about 75 miles, before I take another zero day.Also, I got this beard thing going on. I made the mistake of shaving before I left Hiawassee. When I hiked through the storm the only thing cold was my face. So I think I'll keep the beard until I get through GSMNP. The weather can get pretty nasty up there.Happy TrailsPunkin PieSomewhere on the AT