Date: 2014-07-17
From: Brown Fork Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 17.0

This would be my last day on the trail - at least for this summer. I had hoped to hike up into the Smokies but I was stopping at the edge of the park - 30 miles short of my goal - for several reasons. #1 I had a rude back to Indiana ... no #1 I missed my wife, #2 I had a rude back to Indiana, with my wife, #3 we had a new teacher that accepted a position in May quit while I was on the trail. I did my part of the interview process on the phone from the Nantahala Outdoor Center. We hired a new person and I needed to set up and prepare for two days of training for her. So this would be my last day on the trail. There were no big climbs today. Most of it was downhill to Fontana Dam after some minor ups and downs. One high point of the day was wild blueberries. I came across a patch of blueberry bushes on the side of the trail. I tasted one, it was fantastic, the best blueberry I had ever eaten. Now I have never been a huge fan of blueberries; I prefer them in pies or muffins or pancakes, but these were delicious, or possibly I was starving, or both. I stood and ate for a while then I decided I better keep hiking to get to Fontana Dam to meet up with my wife. So I hiked on, but the blueberry bushes continued, so I kept eating. It was like a trail side banquet. It lasted for about 200 yards. After about a hundred yards of walking and eating I remembered seeing unripe blueberries and I was glad they weren't ripe because bears love blueberries. Today I was thinking, no wonder bears like blueberries so much. I used one eye to watch for ripe blueberries and one eye to watch for bears. Finally the blueberry patch ended. I had left a fair amount for the bears. I'm about half a mile I ran into another blueberry patch. Thus one was picked clean. Hmm... was it Boy Scouts or bears. This time I used both eyes to watch for bears.I had taken my earbuds along in my pack to listen to use my phone as an iPod while hiking. Today was my last day of hiking and I hadn't listened to music yet. Often u would "ding" music while I hiked. I didn't really sing it out loud; singing it in my head let me dedicate all if my breathing to hiking up and down mountains and the singing actually founded better if it was just in my head. But today I decided to use the earbuds and listen to music. I was moving along at a good pace listening to Matt Redman sing "Oh no, you never let go!" When I felt this burning sensation on the back of my ankle. I looked down and a yellow jacket was attached to the back of my sock, stinging my ankle. I brushed him away, but he clung tightly. I had to pull him off. As soon as I did, two others attached themselves to the front of my socks and started stinging me. I had to pull them off. Another one stung me on the right eyebrow and another one got under the strap for my hiking pole and stung my right hand. I started swatting and running...well running as much as I could with a 28 pound pack on my back. It wasn't until a couple hundred yards of running and wildly swatting at yellow jackets that I realized the irony of doing all this to the tune of "Oh no, you never let go!" Finally I realized I was swatting at thin air and I slowed down to a walk. Then I began to think about my EpiPen, I carry one because I am allergic to honey bee stings. These were not honey bees, so was I allergic or not! They were sure stinging, and the first dating was starting to swell up. Other than running with a pack while flailing my arms, I didn't seem to be having trouble breathing and I saw no rash or hives on my pulse points. I decided I didn't want to stop and dig the EpiPen out of my pack. I also decided the EpiPen was probably one more item that should be carried on the outside of my pack so I could get at it quickly. I hiked in listening to "Let Everything That Has Breath Praise The Lord." I came to the bottom of the mountain to the Fontana Dam boat launch. I figured I was almost at the dam and I would do a nice easy stroll along the lake to get there. That turned out not to be the case. It was three more miles to the dam and it was up and over a hill. I kept hiking back into the forest. I got glimpses of the lake through the trees. It seemed strange to be hiking next to a large lake. I came to a clearing and an asphalt drive which turned out to lead to the Fontana Shelter, Aldo called the Fontana Hilton. It has paved walks connecting the shelter to showers and restrooms. They say you can call for pizza from the shelter, but I was off to the visitor center to meet my wife. As I walked down the hill towards the dam the Smoky Mountains came into view across the lake just as I was listening to a Vineyard album and the lyrics were "I lift up my eyes up to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes you, maker of heaven, creator if the earth. Oh how I need you Lord, You are my only hope, You're my only prayer. So I will wait for you to come and rescue me." Listening to those words while looking at the highest mountains I had seen on this hike and while thinking about my hiking adventure coming to an end, I could hardly hold it together. I walked slowly across the dam so the moment could last as long as the song. I had spent thirteen days walking and living in regal mountains that were part of his creation. I had seen huge layers if rocks tilted ninety degrees by powerful forces that God had out in place. I had seen wild flower landscapes more beautiful than any landscape designer could create. I had seen vistas with row after row of tree covered mountains. It is an amazing and inspiring creation and I had the privilege to enjoy it for awhile without too much interference from civilization. Then I remembered that in a few minutes, it would be my wife who would be coming to "rescue" me and if I headed back across the dam to the visitor center where they had free showers, I might smell a bit better by the time she arrived. When she did arrive (and I smelled better, not great, but better) we drove around looking at Fontana Village. It looked like a great lace to stay, but also looked like it would be too expensive for our budget. As we drive around I saw Laura walking down the street. Laura is the only other Northbound hiker I had run into way back before Hiawassee, GA. I had tried ti catch up to her, but I was always a half day behind. I regularly ran into people hiking south who had seen her the say before. So our last evening we went to dinner with Laura and we shared trail stories. We talked about the people we ran into, the shelters we stayed at, the common spots we ended up off the trail. She was hiking in so I told her about some if the upcoming hostels and shelters. I got to relive parts of this year's hike and last year's hike. It was the perfect way to end my hike.