Date: 2017-11-23
To: Fontana Lodge
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: clear sky

11/23Fontana Village14.5 milesI turned out the light at 7:30 last night. I slept like a log. Maybe I'm finally getting over my fear of empty shelters? Although of course it wasn't just me. It was me plus some number of mice. They didn't bother me or eat any of my gear, but I woke up surrounded by mouse poops. When I got up to pee at 5:30, they apparently raced over during the minutes I was gone and pooped again. I don't understand mice. 7:30-5:30 means 10 hours of sleep. Thruhikers sleep a lot. We're tired, there's nothing to do at night, it's too cold to be out of the sleeping bag this time of year at night, and we need to preserve our headlamp batteries. There is no other time in my life when I get so much sleep as when I'm on a long hike. It's nice. I got up an hour early so I could be walking as soon as I could pretty much see. I started walking about half an hour before sunrise. I wore my headlamp but only turned it on inside rhododendron tunnels. The headlamp wasn't super helpful. It needed new batteries. I kept it on my head for a while just because it was warm. My fingers and toes went numb almost immediately after I left the shelter. My fingers warmed up after I put my pole covers on, but my toes just had to suffer. After the fierce cold of recent days, it was shocking to feel the warm sun on me. I slowly and suspiciously removed layers, sure that I would turn a corner into a refrigerator again. This scenario has happened a lot recently. Areas of mountain that never see direct sunlight stay frozen when it's reasonably warm elsewhere. But today I found no hidden ice pockets once the day was well underway. It was pleasant, when I took a break, to sit for a while without shivering. I walked as fast as I could, but some areas were treacherous due to deep leaf piles. I sort of skated down those parts. I'm pretty sure my not falling down was more luck than skill. My shoe treads are getting a little slick, too. I'll be glad to pick up my last pair of new shoes at the NOC. This pair only needs to make it another 30 miles or so. Their failure mode is odd. The treads still look deep but don't grip as well. The lining is shredding and taking my socks with it. The mesh is developing holes. Deep grooves have appeared in the sides of the sole, indicating that the interior of the sole is breaking down. I think it's odd that the tread appears to be the toughest part of the shoe. I tried to call for a shuttle at the dam but had no cell signal so I hitched. A really nice family picked me up and bravely let me sit next to them in the back seat. They drove me right up to Fontana Lodge. I told them they were one of the things I was thankful for today. I'm also thankful for a generous friend who paid for a night at the lodge for me. The lodge seems to have had some work done since the last time I was here. The room I have seems a lot nicer, the shower has better looking and more functional hardware, the water in the shower is high pressure and hot. The place is also kind of packed. I didn't realize it was a big holiday destination. They've already decorated for Christmas so it's looking pretty. I'm a sucker for twinkly lights. I bought my resupply food and sat in the laundromat while my clothes washed. With a belly full of Thanksgiving buffet, all my needs are met. I even saw friendly faces. Izzy and Detour were in the restaurant when I got there. I haven't seen them in hundreds of miles, since Detour hurt his knee and they were planning to take several days off in Damascus. The weather is predicted to be pleasant, as in not life threatening, for several days. I'm super excited. I love being able to walk without constantly assessing myself for frostbite and hypothermia.