Date: 2017-05-14
From: Locust Gap Tentsite

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: light rain

Day 13Sunday, May 14, 2017 Locust Cove Gap (147.6) to Fontana Dam ¢Hilton¢ Shelter (165.9)Miles: 18.3 miles in 11.5 hours with two stops2017 AT trip miles: 165.9Total AT miles to date: 1460Weather: Sunny, pleasant, 60s to 70sDinner: Beef Stroganoff Hikers: Bree, Mile, Harley, Lewis, French Canadian couple, Rawhide, lots and lots more at the shelterWildlife: Signs of bear, luna butterflyWhen my son was young, we went camping to a nearby Wisconsin state park with another friend of mine and her son. That trip was memorable for a number of reasons, but the biggest being the non-stop, all-night long Whippoorwill cacophony. I got to relive those memories last night. When the first twilight incantations began, I mentioned to a fellow hiker that this doesn't bode well. He replied that he loves hearing the sounds of nature. I left before he was up the next morning so I don¢t know if he still loved nature equally as much, after what at least for me, was a sleepless night. That thing (or things) never let up¢or so it seemed¢during the dozen or more times I had been awoken. Not even ear plugs helped. Not even the grunts, snores and occasional farts of my camping neighbors could compete. Perhaps that fellow hiker fell into one of those latter categories and was in fact sleeping soundly. At some point I resorted to putting in my earbuds and let music play and finally got up for good at 5:45 to the sounds of George Harrison¢s ¢Hear Comes The Sun¢ was playing. I was the first one on the trail living up to my trail name by breaking through the spider webs barricading the trail each morning.Today is Mother's day. In the past, one of my favorite observances had been to go out for breakfast with another friend, leaving the kids behind with the dads. I mean really, most of us are with our families all the time anyway. So the real gift, at least to my way of thinking, is to get out mom of the house and away from everyone. Better yet, when she returns from her brunch¢or weekend¢the house has been completely cleaned. Today, I¢m alone on another perfect day for hiking¢pleased to have this opportunity to be out on my own and content that my family is well and doing their own things too. Well, that¢s at least how the day started. I had booked a room at the Fontana Dam Lodge a few days earlier and would have been able to check in tonight¢or even hike in the next morning for a short ¢nero¢ day, but the lure of both a shower at the ¢Hilton¢ shelter and knowing I could have a more relaxing full day at the lodge the next day was motivating. The topography hadn't looked too bad. And I assumed (correctly) that the little group I'd been keeping up with would be here tonight. The trail was pretty, the sky blue and the two piles of black bear poop, fresh. I also scooped a Luna Moth out from a water source, but most of its wings were already missing. I likely wasn't very helpful. But that bear poop was amazing! At 3 p.m. I passed the last shelter and official camping spot, 6.6 miles from Fontana Dam. I really didn't want to stop this early and rationalized that I could probably find a stealth site to stop at if I felt it was taking too long.Well it did take longer than I thought 16 overall miles should take, but I didn't stop. I mean, there was a shower at the end of my day. Finally arrived at 6:45 p.m. Very hungry. Somewhat sore. Very sweaty. Happy Mother's day indeed.And then there was the little math problem. I miscalculated. Turns out today was really 18.3 miles. I suppose I¢m happy I hadn't realized it sooner or I almost guarantee that a shower wouldn't have been enough of a carrot to get me here tonight. Got to see Mike, Bree and Harley and say goodbye again before they headed to the Smokies early tomorrow morning while I take a zero, but missed Waldo, whose parents arrived to shuttle him back up to Damascus where he¢ll resume his hike north to Maine.Bree had some Tylenol PM which I accepted and finally had one of my best night¢s sleep to date. Fell asleep in my tent listening to someone playing guitar at the shelter. A fine day after all.