Date: 2003-04-09
From: Fontana Village 

To: Fontana Hilton Shelter
Miles today: 1.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Took almost a zero today. Sprout, Last Minute, Hopeful and I hiked about one mile today from Fontana Village to the Fontana Hilton. This is an incredible shelter ¢ so schwanky ¢ double decker with doors on either side ¢ overlooking Fontana Lake with views of the Smokies that will be our next challenge. I really haven¢t journaled in two days, so let me take you back. On Monday, we left the Brown Fork Shelter for a 12 mile hike in to Fontana Village. We left around nine, hit Cody Gap, then hiked on to Cable Gap Shelter for lunch. At Yellow Creek Gap, .9 miles before the Cable Gap Shelter, Sprout and Hopeful were busy getting trail magic. I was waiting around for them for at least 30 to 45 minutes. When they got there, I got a little trail magic, too, peanut butter and jelly on a bagel. After lunch we hiked two of our remaining 5.5 miles for the day, then took a break. My boots needed to be retied and my right knee ¢ again ¢ was bugging me. After our break we really go in the thick of a rainstorm. It just really started coming down. My knee just kept aching. What I really enjoyed as we descended into Fontana were the wildflowers. There were so many different kinds ¢ different leaves, different colored flowers, different heights. They were absolutely amazing. I was happy to reach NC 28 ¢ the road that would take us in to Fontana Dam. We used the Hiker Phone to call the shuttle and found a note from Last Minute inviting us to bunk in his room. That night we cooked dinner on our balcony then joined some other hikers in the lobby for drinks before bedtime. In the mail I got lots of goodies and mail from friends and family. Oh, it made me feel so special. Bridget sent me a daily digest of what¢s been going on with her which was a nice way to stay up to date. Chava sent me a package full of cookies, jelly beans, sour worms, face wash, etc. How sweet it was to get such a thoughtful package. Momma also did something a bit unexpected but totally awesome ¢ she baked cookies for my maildrop. How incredible to get homemade cookies with momma¢s love baked right in. I got the chance to share them with all my friends here; they could taste the love, too. Their faces just lit up when I offered them some. We woke early this morning and I headed down with everyone¢s laundry to the Laundromat while everyone else ate breakfast. We gathered all our things and tried to get our of the village. Turns out we didn¢t get out until 1 p.m. We got dropped back off at NC 28. During the 1 mile hike to the Fontana Hilton, I really started evaluating how I felt. I knew that listening to my body was important. I knew that I probably needed a zero for my knee. Also, after hearing the weather reports about snow in the higher altitudes, I knew that we¢d only make it 5 miles in to the first campsite in the Smokies. I didn¢t even want to think about breaking camp in the snow. Hiking in it is fine; sleeping in it is not so hot. When we got to the shelter, I pushed to stay. I also realized that there was a distinct possibility that they would push on without me ¢ considering that the plan was to go 12 miles in to the first shelter in the Smokies ¢ Mollies Ridge.   Fortunately, they stuck with me. It was so beautiful there and we had a fun afternoon just lounging about, fixing Mark¢s pack, making a cell phone holder so my phone wouldn¢t turn on inside my pack. We made a community dinner of couscous. Then Sprout contributed some of her football pudding (instant pudding and instant (dry) milk in plastic bag ¢ all you add is water ¢ and squeeze-throw-etc, to mix). Tonight we tossed the bags of pudding for a while, then a baseball game ensued. What a hoot! We laughed for a long time before stopping to eat dessert.   Now the temperatures have dropped and I¢m cosy in my sleeping bag. We¢re going to try to get up before dawn, have breakfast and get to the Dam by sunrise so we can see the sun come up over the water. I hope the weather is clear enough to enjoy it. Note about Fontana Village: Not the best place to stay. Folks not friendly. Resupply store stinks. About the only plus was the woman who worked at the post office - about the only friendly face in town.