Date: 2009-04-29
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam, NC
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: broken clouds

We continue to have nice weather and it got down to the high 50s last night. I was walking in the woods by 8:20, shortly after Tunnel Rat hiked out. The 5 NOBOs were building another campfire as I left. I think they enjoy camping more than hiking, but that's fine ... they are having a great time!After about a mile, I came across a plastic something laying on the trail and tried to flick it off the trail with my hiking pole, thinking it was a wide-mouthed bottle cap or something. It turned out to be a fully functional altimeter! I put it in my pocket and moved on. About 20 minutes later, I encountered Tunnel Rat running towards me without his pack. He asked if I had seen an altimeter on the trail. I handed it to him, saving him a long walk down the mountain and back up. Tunnel Rat had been rather quiet until then, but getting his altimeter back so easily warmed him up a bit and we spent some time chatting.The hike today was 1,100 feet up followed by 2,000 feet down, with ever lusher vegetation as I got lower, arriving utimately at Fontana, the site of a resort community and a large TVA dam. My goal was the Fontana Lodge where I have planned to take tomorrow off. ... See: http://www.fontanavillage.com/ ... I got to the road into town about 12:20 and tried to hitchhike into town for about half an hour without success before another hiker pointed to a phone and information board in a nearby parking lot. Turns out all I had to do was pick up the dedicated phone and a shuttle was sent on its way to pick us up a few minutes later!Within minutes, I was at the village's general store with attached laundromat and Post Office. I picked up my food drop, had a quick reunion with Danger who is headed out in the morning, caught another shuttle to the quite elegant lodge which has a reasonable hiker rate, checked in and got started with my many chores ... a shower, and laundry being first on the agenda.This place has everything you might need, a sauna, swimming pool, large rooms, cabins if you want, all the TV channels you can imagine, and on and on ... There is only one odd thing ... You cannot call out from the lodge unless you call collect, have a phone card, or use the pay phone in the lobby. There is also no cell phone service anywhere in town! However, people call can you in your room from anywhere. Go figure! It makes me think of the words to the Eagles' great song "Hotel California."It is also worth mentioning that there are some 300 Mini-Cooper cars here today and tomorrow for some kind of five day rally. This explains in part why I did not get a ride into town this afternoon ... half the cars that pased me by were Mini-Coopers! I should note that both my son and my daughter are proud owners of these Minis.After cleaning up, I went to the restaurant in the lodge for dinner and encountered Hog on Ice. We ate together gazing out the window at the formidable Smokys looming above us.I plan to stay here tomorrow to resupply and further clean up as well as give my aching legs a rest before entering Grea Smoky Mountain National Park just on the other side of the dam.PhotosCable Gap ShelterGetting ready to wash my gear in a bath tub