Date: 2018-11-27
From: Stecoah Gap

To: Fontana dam
Miles today: 15.6

We got up at our usual 6 and we made us eggs and toast for breakfast. I'm very excited because I've been sleeping well and so for the last 3 nights I have not had to take melatonin, this is a good sign for me. I'm feeling pretty energetic and my hiker hunger has once again found its way to my belly. I can't seem to eat enough at dinner and I'm snacking after just to fulfill my needs. It was a balmy 24 degrees when Lee dropped us off at Stecoah Gap. I'm really missing my neck warmer but my buff is making do. as we increased in elevation the trees became encased in rime ice. It was once again beautiful. the rhododendron leaves were frozen and hanging curled up and limp reminding me of the way hand-dipped candles look when they're hanging to dry. We stopped for lunch at cable Gap shelter where we were surprised to meet another southbound hiker named Wildlife, she's from Boston. She's hiking solo and was slackpacking as well and also let us know that up ahead of us we would run into two section hikers. Today we're hiking North and Wildlife is hiking South so we left in opposite directions after an extremely brief lunch due to the cold. once again my water bottles were freezing and I had to break through ice at the top of the bottle in order to pour water out to make hot chocolate. I also had to for the first time put my wool leggings on over my tights, and I wore two layers on my hands from the shelter thru the rest of the hike. A pair of gloves with a pair of mittens over them just to keep my fingers warm. I wasn't quite warm enough and I thought when I finished the hike I'll stop at the outfitter at the Nantahala Outdoors Center (NOC) and grab a warmer pair of mittens or perhaps rain mitts. Moisture from my exhaled breath is forming on my eyelashes and freezing! I'm pretty sure these temperatures are stunningly low for this area for this time of year and tomorrow will be colder. I know that my package with my neck warmer is being delivered to the post office today but unfortunately there's no way that I would be able to make it there before they close so tomorrow I'll have to plan accordingly so I can finish hiking in time to get there before they close at 4:30. My buff is thin and I'm using it as a neck warmer so I double it up but the material kind of gets caught in my mouth sometimes when I'm breathing and it doesn't stay put. Toward the end of the hike we did see the two section hikers and then we came down into a parking lot at a trailhead where the bathrooms were still open ( seems they're open all year unlike NH). I saw a hiker standing outside and I waived but we didn't stop instead we just continued on to the Fontana Hilton which is a shelter that has heated bathrooms with showers, a phone charging station, trash bins, and a beautiful view. it's actually the Fontana Dam shelter but it's nicknamed Fontana Hilton because it has all of these amenities. I was freezing and I stopped in there to get out of the wind use the restroom and soak up the heat for a few minutes before proceeding down the paved drive wildly exposed to the biting wind and to the parking area by the visitor center where Lee was waiting. I was extremely grateful for the heat in the car and a pup on my lap! We stopped at the NOC at 4:35 to discover that they close at 4. So strike 2 on getting warmer tomorrow, I'm just going to have to suck it up buttercup! we went back to the camper and had dinner and retired for the evening toasty warm under my blanket with Romeo.