Date: 2017-04-10
From: Fontana Dam Shelter

To: Russell Field Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Left Fontana Dam about 7:30 am. Weather was clear and later warmed into the 70's. Walked across the Dam and entered the Smokies!! There was a box for thru hikers to drop in their Smokey Mountain National Park permit. You drop a portion of the permit in the box and carry the other portion with you during your time in the park. It cost $20 to thru hike in the Smokies. There are lot of restrictions to preserve the natural setting. The one regulation that effects thru hikers the most is the requirement that hikers sleep in shelters only. I haven't mentioned shelters much because so far I have always tented. Shelters are 3 sided wooden structures, infamous for aggressive mice who will try to chew through your backpack to eat anything you accidentally leave in pockets. In the Smokies, no tenting is allowed unless the shelter is full. And then you can only tent in the immediate area of the shelter. Most people avoid shelters, including me. So it's funny to see people trying to show up late to a shelter hoping it will be full, and thus be able to tent. Park rangers patrol the trail and can issue a substantial fine if you don't follow the rules. In fact, I was less than 4 miles into the Smokies before I met a ridge runner on the trail and he asked to see my permit. Ridge runners live on the trail for 5 days at a time and are responsible to keep everyone safe and make sure hikers are following rules including Leave No Trace principles. They cover about 16 miles of trail and hike their section during the day and sleep in a different shelter each night. Most are young and are in training to be Park Rangers. They can be a great resource to answer questions. There is a nuisance bear in this area and the ridge runner was stressing the importance of proper food storage each night. It was a beautiful day to hike. The trail up from Fontana Dam was a difficult 4 mile uphill climb. Over 2,000 foot elevation gain before finally leveling off. It did provide great views back down on Fontana Lake. After saying yesterday that I hike mainly by myself during the day, I met some great people today. It seemed lots of hikers had staged at Fontana and a big group left to enter the Smokies this morning. Met 2 young ladies who write for The Trek. It's a website that features articles about thru hiking. Their trail names were Shutterbug and Pig Pen. I will be following their blogs. Also met CurDog. All four of us started the trail about the same time, but we hadn't met in over 170 miles. Then we all end up meeting while eating snacks on the same rock outcropping in the Smokies. Funny how that works out. They were several other hikers in their 50's and 60's, so the day went quickly with lively conversation. I also met a family of 7 that are hiking together along with a service dog. I didn't get a chance to learn their story, but the kids seem to range in age from 14 to 17 years old with possibly some adoptions blended in. That's pretty neat. I assume the parents are home schooling during the hike. Way more energy than I would have at the end of a long hiking day! I am staying at the Russell Field shelter at mile marker 180.1. Total miles today was 14.5. The shelter sleeps 12 and I'm sitting here hoping it fills up so I can pitch my tent. LOL! I'm up late. It's 8 pm and I should be asleep!