Date: 2005-06-07
From: Franklin, North Carolina

To: Fontana Dam, North Carolina
Miles today: 55.0
Weather: scattered clouds

This is the third installment of my novelette group emails. It covers our trek from Franklin, North Carolina, to Fontana Dam, North Carolina, where the Great Smoky Mountains National Park begins. Eventually all of this will also be chronicled in a day-by-day fashion, so bear with me for a bit...May 19th, 2005 through May 28th, 2005 (don't quote me on these days!!)Dear Everybody Who Didn't Fall Asleep Reading The Last Novel/Email That I Sent: Sorry about the last lengthy email, but the Artimus guy was nutso, so I HAD to share some of the great details. Oh, and for anybody that tried to use my direct link to my online journal, there seems to be a bit of an issue at the moment. I'll let you all know when it's working, but in the meantime, if you still wanna check it out, go to www.trailjournals.com , then click on journals. go to the 2005 Appalachian Trail journals, and then look for me, which is listed as "Loofa Pun Von Burgundy." It will eventually just be "Loofa," but in the meantime, that's how you can find it. Anywho, a little more about what we've been experiencing out here, for those who might be curious... Cody and I got to Franklin, North Carolina, needing to re-vamp our journey. We got a hitch into town from an awesome lady named Lynn, who put up with our stench and got us back into civilization. We stayed at a place called the Haven's Motel, and let me tell you, it was smooth. They say they that they cater to hikers; if silverfish on your sheets, and 1970's RCA television sets that don't work are what hikers crave, then this place was the bomb! Cody and I had some good conversation, and the trip seemed to have some fresh legs. We stayed the night, and were running some errands the next day, when we met some other thru-hikers at the Haven's. There was Ben, who's from Maryland, and goes by "Peacepipe" on the trail. He's a veritable legend out here, because his walking stick is carved up quite nicely, and doubles as a pipe that he can smoke out of! Then there were two girls from the chili capital of the world, Cincinnati, Ohio. They called themselves Grace and Elaine. We all hung out and got aquainted over way too many Pabst Blue Ribbons (affectionately known as "PBR" in my world), and thus hiking the next day was a slim possibility. We all got along pretty well, so after we recovered we decided to hike out together. The first night back on the trail, we were at a place called Cold Springs Shelter, and we had the worst storm I have ever seen. Maybe it seemed worse cuz we were at like 5,000 feet, but I swear the world was coming to an end that night!! Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh, but it was crazy...Cody tent-camped outside the shelter, and when he woke up in the morning, there was a river running underneath his tent! We hiked on, and said adios to Peacepipe and the Chili-Cook-Off Champions (this is a running joke because they insisted that Cincinnati-style chili is way better than Texas-style chili. Does Cincinnati even have a "style" of chili??). Our next stop was at a place called the Nantahala Outdoor Center, on the Nantahala River. They have some great whitewater rafting there, and they have a decent outfitter for hikers who need gear. We hung out and did some laundry, and then ran into Ben, Grace, and Elaine again. We all relaxed and ate, then hiked out a couple miles to a tent-site up the mountain. The hike out of the NOC is widely considered to be one of the toughest uphill hauls on the southern AT, and on a full stomach, trying to follow Cody, who hikes faster than the speed of light, it was extra grueling. We all hung out around the campfire, and Cody and I amused everyone with our seriously sorry skills when it comes to hanging our food bag. You can't leave your food on the ground in the woods. If you do, you will not have food in the morning. Mice, chipmunks, bears, and any number of other things will eat your stuff! So, Cody and I tied a rock to our rope, and tried in vain to chunk the rock over a tree branch, in the dark. We almost smacked each other with the rock, we got at least three trees ridiculously tangled up, and scared some guy camping down the hill from us with all of the noise. We are definitely woodsmen. Next morning, we set out for a seriously tough day, finishing the tough hike out of the NOC. We said goodbye again to Ben, and the Cincy Girls, and off we went. We hiked so fast and so far, that, at about sundown, Cody was sick enough that we had to hitch a ride into a town, after we finally found a road crossing. We stayed in a motel in Robbinsville, North Carolina. I mention this town only to warn you to avoid it at all costs. Bad news, weird people, end of story. The next morning, we caught a ride back up to the trail with some guy who kept telling us we should "blaze one with him," before we got back on the trail. He explained that weed was all he messed with anymore, because he had to be responsible for his daughters. Good man. Glad to know that Americans have their priorities in order!! Back on the trail, we had about 15 miles or so until we were in Fontana Dam, North Carolina. We knocked it out in about 6 hours, and got to Fontana at about 8pm. This was kind of my first "checkpoint" on the trail. The Smoky Mountains start here, and after 160 miles of hiking, it felt like a bit of an accomplishment. They call it Fontana Dam, because of the 480 foot dam that is there, but they really should have called it "Fontana Prison: The Resort That Doesn't Let You Out." We picked up a phone that was near the trail, and I did what it said, and dialed "0." The shuttle came, and took us into the "village." Cody and I thought we'd get a Dr. Pepper, maybe some Gatorade, and then get back out to a shelter on the trail that was close by, so we could save some dough. The guy drove us straight to a registration building, where the nice man walked me inside and the not-so-nice lady at the desk asked me, "hostel or inn?" I said "uh, um, uh" about thirty times, and then silence. We stared at each other intently. I'd been ambushed! Damn them! So, I inquired as to pricing, and chose the inn, which was cheaper with two of us staying in the same room. This place defies explanation. Not just the inn, but the whole little village. It's like in the song, "Hotel California," when they say, "...you can check out, but you can never leave." They have nothing there, and even nothing closes at 4:30 everyday!! The ONLY place to eat is at the inn's restaurant (and I use that term loosely), and when we had arrived, they were already closed! Cody turned on the charm, and sweet-talked the restaurant workers into giving us the food that they had planned on taking home. The next day, we ran into several people that we'd been hiking with on and off, including Bonnie, who was like our trail mom, and Ben, Grace, and Elaine AGAIN!! I think they were following us, trying to steal our chili recipes to take back to Cincinnati with them. We all hung out, relaxed, and talked about anything but hiking. We met an amazing guy named William before we left. William has hiked the nearly 2,700 mile Pacific Crest Trail (Canada to Mexico), has lived in rural Alaska teaching kids, and was born in the smoggy haze of Houston, Texas. He's super insightful, and is a truly inventive and ultra-lite hiker. We were all amazed at his under-20 pound pack, especially when he dumped it out to reveal what he had, and challenged us to think about all the junk that we were hauling around and really DIDN'T need. Then we all said goodbye to Grace and Elaine, who were taking a break from the trail (probably to go to some chili festival or something), and then Ben, Cody, and I took off for the Smoky Mountains...I had been told by EVERYONE that I'd met so far that I'd be SURE to see my first bear in the Smokies, and so I was stoked. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, here we come... TO BE CONTINUED... (If this wasn't boring enough, just wait for the next installment!!) CHRIS (aka "Loofa")