Date: 2012-03-23
From: Fontama Village Resort, Fontana Dam 164.7

To: Fontana Hilton Shelter 165.8
Miles today: 1.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was our fifteenth day,and we planned to only hike one mile, to the Fontana Hilton Shelter, so after breakfast we relaxed until check out time, then ate lunch. We met Chip, Nak, Hawk (very fast), Birdman the young (has a pet bird) and Sean in the restaurant. We also met a woman whose husband is a ridgerunner on this section of trail. We hoped to run into "Kentucky Graybeard" somewhere in the Smokies. (Random note: Ridgerunners are hikers who are paid a stipend to hike on the trail. They are generally former thru hikers. Their job is to help hikers, and spread the "leave no trace" ethic.) On the way to catch the shuttle after lunch, we stopped at the general store to get more instant breakfast, and postcards to send the grand girls.We caught the shuttle back to where we'd been picked up yesterday, then hiked to the Fontana Hilton Shelter, a distance of 1.1 miles. (Random note: The Fontana Hilton is so called because it has a plumbing and hot showers, built by "Papa Smurf" a few years back.) At the shelter, we met Bookworm, whom I'd roomed with at the NOC, and lots of others, who were planning to head into the Great Smokies National Park tomorrow, as are we. We had a nice fire with good company, with "Dessicated Bones" and his friend "911" (named because he got hurt often, and, in fact, ended up having his finger stitched up at the ER tonight.) We actually arrived early enough for me to reflect on the last couple of weeks. We've hiked 165 miles with only two small blisters. (Gary's had two, and I've had none so far.) When we started March 4 at Springer, it was winter. As we've hiked we've watched winter become early spring. We started seeing the early spring wildflowers a week or so ago, and now the hillsides are covered with them. We've lately been seeing more butterflies than before, and we've started seeing and hearing more birds. We've been bitten by countless black flies, but have not seen any ticks yet. We've only hiked one day in the rain, over Blood Mountain and into Neel's Gap, though it's rained several nights. The weather has ranged from cool to hot. Though we've seldom needed to hike in jackets, we've been thankful for our down jackets at night. We've met many interesting people with interest "trail names." (Random note: Trail names make it easier to learn names, when there are so many people's names to learn. Most people have trail names, either ones they thought of themselves, or ones given to them by other hikers. Trail names usually focus on a trait of the hiker.) We've hitch hiked into towns to resupply and get a soft bed and town food...something we hadn't done before. We've acquired a taste for instant breakfast and energy bars, and instant mashed potatoes with tuna...none of which we eat at home. We've learned to get up at sunrise and retire at sunset, and we've seen beautiful sunrises and sunsets while doing so. We've appreciated our lightweight backpacks, and after two weeks of backpacking, we've been eating much more than at home. We've learned to be more efficient at setting up camp after hiking all day, and breaking it down in the morning. We've even found that, for the most part, we hike at the same speed, as we trudge up and down the countless mountains, admiring the scenery. We've come to appreciate the little things...like being in a shelter at night during a rainstorm, and getting a shower in town once in a while. All in all, it's been a great introduction to our thru hike, and we're looking forward to the next 2050 miles as we continue our "epic adventure" towards Maine and Mount Katahdin. Life is great on the Appalachian Trail, especially when you've become comfortable and appreciative of what the trail has to offer.