Date: 2015-04-03
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: Russell Field Shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: broken clouds

We got on the trail at around 7:00 this morning again. It is around 7ish miles down to Fontana Dam, and that is where we decided to have breakfast. The trail meandered around a bit and then we could see the lake behind the dam way down below us. The trail drops back down and loses all the elevation we gained yesterday. The uphill trashes the calves and the downhill smashes the toes. It is a bit depressing to just lose all the elevation we worked so hard to gain.As we made our way down toward the Fontana Dam we decided that we would stop at either the bait shop or the visitor center for breakfast. We talked about what we were going to have for breakfast; I was going to get two cinnamon rolls or honey buns and have two Cokes to go with it. When we finally got to the dam we realized that we missed the bait shop at the marina parking lot. No big deal, we would just get something at the visitor center. Well, as we walked toward the center we noticed that there was some construction going on in the parking lot. As we got closer we saw that the visitor center looked rather dark on the inside. What a let down, it was closed and all the water fountains were turned off. Well, at least there were some vending machines outside the building. I dug out my wallet and was ready to get a Coke but it wouldn't take my money. It turned out that all the electric and water was turned off. Even the restrooms were locked. We were devastated, we were depending on their water to resupply before making the climb into the Smokies. We sat down on the picnic table on one of the most beautiful days we had on the trail yet, overlooking a gorgeous lake with the majestic Smokies in the background, eating peanut butter sandwiches while being pissed about a coke machine being out of order.It seems odd, we met very few hikers on the trail today. That is very different from any other days so far.We walked to the edge of the woods on the trail and filled out the date on our backpacking permit and dropped it in the box, then forged ahead into the Smoky Mountains.The park service requires all backpackers to pay $20.00 for a permit to be in the park overnight. It is the only place on the AT that you have to pay to use it. The other thing about the park is that you are not allowed to tent unless the shelters are full. They also require non-thru hiking hikers to reserve spots in the shelters they intend to stay, so if someone comes into a full shelter in the middle of the night with a reservation, they have the right to make you set up a tent outside. Most of the shelters do not have privys, they have a small plot of ground where you are expected to dig a hole, take a crap into it, then cover it up. Are you kidding me? Why would I go digging around in the dirt where other hikers have buried their shit? The Smoky Mountains are beautiful, but I question the way they run things in the park.My toes are doing a lot better than they were. I am still taping one toe every day, but the others have stopped complaining. The elevation gains and losses are hard on the feet though, hopefully I won't have more blisters forming in the next several days.