Date: 2017-04-03
From: Cody Gap

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: clear sky

The wind began to howl at around 3 AM. It was steady, with stronger gusts. My tent held up fine, and around 6:15 I started getting my stuff packed up.   I made cold coffee and ate breakfast and was getting my pack cover on at 7:45 when it started sprinkling. I got going and hiked through rain showers until around 10:30 when it rained really hard and steady until noon. It was muddy, so I slowed down to avoid falling, but I was slipping all over the place. I got to Fontana Road crossing at around 12:15 and still had 1.8 miles to get to the dam. I crossed the road and the parking lot and went back into the woods and the storm actually got worse, lightning, really hard rain and wind.   I hiked through that for an hour to the visitors center at the dam. I was pretty cold, and I was basically soaked from head to toe. The folks at the visitors center tried to call for a shuttle to the Village where I had a reservation, but apparently something got hit by lightning and the phones didn't work.   I was outside trying to call, when Ed, an injured hiker from Louisiana who was making his rounds picking up his drop boxes on his way home, offered to drive me. He gave me a towel to sit on and we made it to the village where I got checked in to my room.   Thank you Ed. I made the decision then to book two nights to let my ankle rest. I got in the room, exploded my pack, laid stuff out and hung stuff up to dry, got a shower, went back to get my drop box and dumped that out, got some hot coffee and checked in on my mom. Things had gotten bad; she needed and was being prepped for emergency surgery for a perforated ulcer. Scary at any age, and very risky at 94.   Initially I said, I'd wait for the outcome of the surgery and 5 minutes later had decided I was done. I needed to come home, no question.   I talked to the desk about which airport to use, then called American to see what flights they had, and when, from Knoxville and Asheville, then called a shuttle driver to see if I could make it, then booked a flight out of Knoxville. I asked a hiker in the lobby if he could use a gas canister and he said sure, and then he came to my room and I gave him all of my supplies, from my drop box-snacks, meals, bars, and the gas. I got my stuff packed back up and went to check out. They didn't charge me. Unbelievable.   The shuttle driver showed up at 5:45 and off we went to Knoxville. He asked if I got car sick as we were going to drive The Tail of the Dragon. About 30 minutes into the drive up the road with no cell service, there was a large tractor-trailer moving van jackknifed across the road. No way around it. Butt head. That meant that it would be 2 1/2 Hours through the the Smokies to Knoxville, i.e. Missed flight.   About face, back to Fontana, towards the decision point and back into cell coverage. I called American and rebooked from Asheville, which was delayed and had the same connecting flight from Charlotte to Boston. We stopped at Walmart so I could buy a jumbo suitcase to stuff my gear in for the airplanes. That worked out well.   I made it to the ticket counter and the gate in plenty of time to make the flight. There was only 1 other passenger on the plane. We left at 9:55 PM and were in the terminal at CLT at 10:35. I ran to try to make the 10:45 connection, but it was in another terminal and I just missed it. Thanks moving van dude. I wonder how many other people's lives were affected by the selfish move that resulted in a completely blocked road? The rebooked flight was at 7:50 AM Tuesday. I got a hotel room and arrived there at around midnight. Mom was through surgery and in CCU.