Date: 2014-03-31
From: Fontana Dam Shelter 

To: Mollies Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I felt energized enough after night's rest to take a shower and rinse out my running shorts and t-shirt. (Fontana Shelter has a shower house with flushing toilets also.) I also found an outlet up high and got a few minutes charge on my backup battery. At first, putting the wet shorts and shirt back on was a bit of a jolt on a chilly morning, but surprisingly they adjusted to my body heat and started drying right away. Subway, the former hiker who provided trail magic the night before, came past my tent and said he brought 40 sausage and biscuits from McDonald's for the hikers. I went down to picnic place and got the next to last one. I devoured it before I got back to my tent. I must say, it was the best sausage and biscuit I have ever tasted. I notice that my appetite is picking up and my taste-buds are becoming more appreciative of the flavors they encounter. I read there are snack machines at the Fontana dam visitors center, so I was hoping to get breakfast from a machine and save my food bag contents for the GSMNP. I had a few snacks left over from Franklin when I prepared the five-day food bag and I had just tossed them in the top of the bag and was living off them plus trail magic. (Five packs of oatmeal from a hiker who finished up at Nantahala for example.) When I got to the visitors' center, there was only a soda machine and I had no change. I wasn't going to wait until May 1st for the center to open, so on I went. However, as Long Bow and I were looking around the place, a day hiker from the East Coast with a girl friend from Seattle were setting out for a day hike up to the fire tower then back along the lakeside trail. He had hiked the Pacific Coast Trail, so I wondered if their relationship had budded along that trail. He offered Long Bow and I each an orange. I ate mine right away and he put his into pack for later. I had a pack of replacement electrolytes collected from a hikers box, which I poured into one water bottle and used for hydration. I also had a Clif Shot raspberry with caffeine I had been saving for when I really needed it. Turned out the tough climb out of Fontana is when I needed it. If my math is right that was a net climb of 3700 feet in altitude plus an extra 700 feet to re-climb after dip into Ekaneetlee Gap before climbing back up to Mollies ridge.      As I finished my examination of the dam structure and started on across the dam to GSMNP, a shiver of excitement ran up and down my spine as the realization sunk in: I am at the Smoky Mountains! GSMNP is a place special to me in its on right, having been a poplar vacation destination for me for most of my married life. But it seems to be a special landmark along the way for thru-hikers. Perhaps the excitement is a combination of the 70 miles of wilderness, Clingmans Dome the highest point on the A. T. and a world famous destination.      I paid $20 and downloaded my thru-hiker's GSMNP permit back in Franklin with an ETA of March 31, so that was right on the money. At the beginning of the park it was like an official ritual for me to tear off the bottom half and date for today and tear off the top half to carry with me. I now have 8 days to get through the park. I have 5 nights planned for the park.       Long Bow went into the park with me and we passed and repassed each other during rest breaks. Once, while ahead of me, he got photos of two wild piglets who were in the trail ahead of him. I suppose the big bad wolf got the third little pig. The park service will be glad to hear that because they would like to get ride of them all. Since today, is one big long climb I stopped sooner rather than later for the night. This would make the later days in the park longer hikes since total climbs would be less. I did the Shuckstack Fire Tower, although I only climbed the first flight of steps. The next landing was old wood, so I stopped there. Farther up rails were also missing. I surmised I could see plenty from that vantage point. I could see where the watchman's cottage had been at the site.      I got to see a beautiful sunset at the end of the day, as I scouted the hill above camp looking for wood for the fire.