Date: 2007-04-06
From: Fontana Dam

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

April 6, Dam Zero Today has been pretty lazy so far, the way a good zero day should be. Eric and I are at the laundromat right now and so far we've only had breakfast. It's cold out and I'm very worried about entering the Smokies tomorrow. When I heard the meteorologist say "record breaking lows", my heart skipped a beat. What am I going to do? I don't want to do it. Maybe I can wait until June. Or maybe I can just skip the Smokies. Brr. Even this laundromat is cold. Anyway, I got an exciting bag of goodies from my parents for Easter (thank you!), so I have that going for me. I am very tired and can't wait to just relax after I do my laundry.I am going to crank up the heat in our room and hope it warms me enough to stock up for a few days....Well, after reviewing the weather forecast for the week, we've all decided to stay here until Sunday. Tomorrow night, it's supposed to be 18 degrees. The next night should get up to the 30s again. It just seems silly (and maybe dangerous) to go out tomorrow. So, we'll stay in comfort again. Thank heavens! I hope you all have a happy Easter. Think of me when you snuggle into your warm bed that night .Well, the rest of the day was relaxing too. This little village is a great place to get everything done so it went quick. And, even better, we had Eric's car so we didn't have to walk. We even drove to the lodge here for breakfast and it's literally like 300 feet away. I gotta rest my knees, right?Eric and I had dinner with Certain, Sailor, and his wife who had just driven up from Florida. It was nice to finally meet her since we'd heard so much about her. Now I'm watching Castaway. Apparently AT towns like Tom Hanks. That's good because I do too. I don't have much else to report since it was a pretty slow day - thankfully. Tomorrow, I hope to hop on the internet and add a mail drop location to my list. It was so nice to just pick up my food at the post office and not worry about grocery shopping today.I'm also using a bounce box - a box that I picked up for the first time here in Fontana Dam and will continue to bounce ahead to myself along the trail a few weeks at a time. It has things like a tent repair kit, batteries, extra first aid supplies, duct tape, notepads, etc. in it so if I should need something, it's there. The best part of the bounce box phenomenon is that if you don't need anything out of it, you don't open it and, if you send it Priority Mail, you can send it forward for free! How cool! The last week on the trail, I think, has been the hardest yet. There was so much uphill - steep uphill - and whatever downhills existed were pretty brutal on my joints. Rumor has it that we just finished the hardest section in the south. We'll see. But, I suppose a second zero day here will do my muscles and joints well.So far, I am holding up well. I still think the slackpack a few days back is what really messed me up a little. My knees have been sore and my right pinky toe is deciding to fall apart a little but hopefully it will be a nice pretty callus by Sunday! Ah, the small stuff.I'm still craving sushi (AmyB, sorry, your note didn't sway my desire but sorry it made you feel sick). That is the one thing I keep reverting back to. I think because I KNOW I won't find it anytime soon. Maybe I could buy the shrimp flavored Ramen noodles? Has anyone ever had that? Ew. But, I have Nutella again this week! I can't wait to eat that for lunch!So sad...Tom Hanks just lost his friend, Wilson.Okay, night.- Sound of the whale in the movie, the heater blowing.Post Trail Thoughts:I like that I was always trying to convince myself that staying in town was "safer". Granted, it was probably true for me because I had NO experience backpacking in 15-degree weather but funny nonetheless.