Date: 2015-04-07
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam Shelter
Miles today: 6.7

This was the day I had hoped would not happen. If it didn¢t happen on the entire AT, it would absolutely be against all odds.I fell. Coming down to Fontana Lake, I slid and fell in the mud after almost 165 miles without a fall.So what? AT hikers fall all the time.   Right?   But when you have blown out your ACL in your knee previously, you tend to be cautious and perhaps overly so. Moreover, one fall on the AT can doom and end your continued hike to Maine.The skies threatened more rain as I left Cable Gap. Prior to leaving I filled my water bottles from the creek and also met Trooper, a hiker from Oklahoma.   At noon I was approaching Walker Gap when the skies opened up with a drenching rain. I stayed dry in my rain gear, although the gorp and protein bar each were a bit soggy in the abbreviated lunch process. Hikers from Ohio, Maine, and Kansas were each on the trail. I enjoyed meeting, albeit briefly, a mother and her two daughters from Australia who were moving at an impressive pace toward Fontana.The descent into Fontana involved rock hopping (perhaps my trail name should be ¢Resolute Rabbit¢). Along the way I saw a large Pileated Woodpecker in an almost straight-line flight (they often fly in an undulating pattern) from tree to tree.   Yesterday, I had seen two Eastern Towhees, which seemed to have almost zero fear of me as I could almost reach out and touch their black and orange plumage. Back on the trail, there was a tent pitched beside the trail. It had obviously been there some time and now appeared abandoned. One wonders what the story was all about for the hiker who left the tent there and how long it would remain there until time and sunlight degraded the forlorn tent into tatters.I could see the lake as I came down the last short descent when my left boot planted and then was suddenly off the ground and completely up in the air. My left leg at the knee folded back under me, with the right leg straight out. If this were baseball, this would have been a pretty good slide into home plate; instead, this was still hiking and the singular thought on my mind was ¢this hike is over.¢ Muddy and shaky, I gathered myself and my wits, pulled myself up on my trekking poles, and gingerly stood. So far so good as I didn¢t crumple back to the earthy, dark chocolate mud. My knee seemed OK for that time being.When I made it to the lake, a 2014 thru-hiker named ¢No Pants¢ was there. ¢No Pants¢ is now living in New Orleans and is making a documentary regarding the AT. He provided some great trail magic, and I did a video interview with him (perhaps my fall in the mud made me really look the part for an AT thru-hiker). We¢ll see if I survive the editing process and the cutting room floor!As I hiked toward the Fontana ¢Hilton¢ Shelter, I met a hiker named Bruce. Here¢s the small world again---he was a 1980 ETSU graduate from the Tri-Cities area originally and now living near Atlanta. He and his son are hiking the AT together, and they are both strong hikers. I gave him a hard time about being so much older than I (three years is a long time!). They are waiting for a resupply tomorrow prior to heading into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park (GSMNP).Cynthia picked me up to stay the night at ¢Paradise on the AT¢ and to retrieve my resupply box. The washing machine will do wonders for my wet, mud-caked hiking ¢uniform,¢ and a hot shower should do wonders for me.Tomorrow I enter the GSMNP for just over 70 miles on the AT in the park.