Date: 2013-05-17
From: Brown Fork Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Hilton
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 14 - The Fontana HiltonToday's destination was the gateway to the Smoky Mountains - Fontana Dam and the Fontana Hilton. It was a relatively easy 11.8 miles down to NC 28, where I picked up a $3 shuttle that's offered by the nearby Fontana Village Resort. The resort is a couple miles from where the AT crosses NC 28, and has a couple of restaurants, a lodge with hotel, cabins, a post office, and a general store with an ice cream shop. I stopped into the post office to send some stuff back home - stuff that I have hardly used - including my self-inflating sleeping pad. I ended up buying the lighter foam pad at the NOC, and I'm glad I did as I felt really no difference compared to my old one the first night I tried it out. After the post office I went to one of the restaurants and ordered a delicious BLT and fries. I came close to ordering seconds, but I fought the urge. Now I'm kind of hungry. Anyway, I then went to check out the little lodge. I dropped my pack off and plugged my phone in inside, then went outside onto the deck. There was a fellow thru-hiker out there, probably in his fifties, with a big beard, long hair and a red bandana. He had just picked up a mail drop at the lodge and was going through a rigorous process of measuring and putting drink mix concoctions together in individual baggies. We got to talking, and I learned that he's eating and drinking close to 10,000 calories a day, and he drinks one of the protein drink mixes every 100 minutes. He's pretty hardcore about it, and I have to say I was impressed. The downside is that his pack is 80lbs when it's loaded with 6 days worth of food.   I also learned that he is a south bounder who started at Katahdin last September and went through much of the northeast in the dead of winter. Did I mention this guy is hardcore? He said his pack weighed 125 with all his winter gear. Finally, the last thing I learned about him is, get this, that he's FROM LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, and is a fellow alum! How crazy is that? He was a super nice and interesting guy, and I really enjoyed talking to him. Afterwards, I went down to do some shopping at the general store. Before I got out of there, I ended up eating a rocky road ice cream cone, a nutty buddy cone, a stick of beef jerky and a banana. I held of off on the small bag of chips for as long as I could (a couple hours). I got a shuttle back to the trail, then hiked the additional 1.2 miles to the Fontana Hilton, which is, by hiker standards, posh. There's a shower house, it sleeps 24 and has a nice hangout spot with a fire ring that overlooks Fontana Lake. I went and hung out with the people who are staying down there, but ultimately chose to set my tent up just up the hill. If there's one thing I've learned on the trail, it's that in shelters there WILL be someone who snores at an incredible decibel level. I almost forgot - today was another interesting nature day. No near death experiences or attacks or anything, but I did see two baby snakes, a groundhog, a turtle (in the middle of the trail) and a number of huge (index finger size or bigger) millipedes. Of course that's in addition to the countless squirrels and chipmunks I see every day. Bring on the Smokies!Today's song: "No Leaf Clover" - Metallica