Date: 2016-04-16
From: Cody Gap

To: Fonatan shelter (The Fontana Hilton)
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: clear sky

Last night I could not get to sleep until very late. The wind was blowing like crazy and my tarp lines were rubbing against my hammock lines making an annoying noise. I got out to fix it, but I would pretty much have to take it all down. It was dark and late and all the others in the camp area were asleep so I just left it. I finally got to sleep sometime after midnight. I woke up as soon as it starts to get light out, which is around 6:30am. I watched the sunrise for the 4th morning in a row. I got up around 8:00am. I had a quick breakfast and was packed and headed out of camp by 9:00am. It was another great day with full sun and warmth. It's starting to get a lot warmer. I did not get any open unobstructed views, but the changing landscape is beautiful in and of itself. I can not get enough of the clean crisp mountain air. I ran into a lot more people today. I am so bad with names, but as usual everyone was super nice. I made great time today hiking 9.9 miles in 5 hours and I stopped several times for breaks. I got to the road crossing in Fontana around 1:30pm. I was excited because my phone was dead and I saw there were open outlets by the soda machines. 6 open ones to be exact. Wouldn't you know it none of them worked. I was irritated as I had unpacked my whole bag to get my cords out. One of the ladies standing there said they had solar powered charging stations at the Fontana Shelter which was another mile ahead. I quickly repacked and headed towards the shelter which was my destination anyways. The elevation was much lower now and it was pretty warm out. I made quick work of the last mile and arrived at the shelter around 2:00pm. I hooked up to the solar charging units but it would not work with my phone. I ran into a nice guy named T-Rex. I was setting up my hammock and he asked if he could use one of the trees I was using and hang his hammock in the other direction. I said sure. I spent much of the afternoon in his company. He seems like a really good guy. He let me use his solar charger to charge my phone, which was really nice. We then took a shuttle into Fontana to get some real food. The shuttle took 1 1/2 hours to pick us up. They were having radio problems. So we went to the general store. They did not have that much. I did get some Vitamin Milk and Raisin Bran and Frosted Flakes. I also got a bunch of junk. I have been on trail for 5 days in a row so I just wanted something different then what I had been eating. We came back to camp and ate got cleaned up. I forgot to mention this shelter is considered the best shelter on the AT. It is called the Fontana Hilton. It has bathrooms and showers. The shelter itself is right on the lakes edge with a huge patio type area. It holds around 20 hikers inside, plus there is a ton of tent and hammock areas. There must be 30 plus people here tonight. Wokman is here. I have crossed paths with him 4-5 times now. I like Him. We both have landscaping backgrounds and of course the love of the outdoors. I also ran into Gravey Train. I met him in Hiawassee. I had some extra food when we were both staying at the Holiday Inn Express and I gave it to him. Another nice guy. I took a shower for the first time in 5 days. It felt so good. So today was a good day. It was a much more social day for me. I am suppose to be taking tomorrow off and staying in town, but I kind of wish I wasn't. I was told Electra and Jenn from Norway left this shelter this morning. I would love to catch up to them and see how they are doing. It is probably a good idea to take a day to rest my body though. I seem to go pretty hard and I know I am hard on my body. I need to take care of it and give it rest, especially in this beginning part. My feet are still bothering me a bit, plus it would be hard for me to pick up my mail drop of 5 days worth of food and get repacked an head back out on the trail. The Smokies start in a mile from here. That will be very challenging for me on several fronts. You are required to stay in the shelters unless they are full. I do not have a sleeping pad so if I have to sleep in a shelter it will not be pleasant. My hammock is the best thing ever!! The other part about the Smokies that will be a challenge is that there is not a lot of water sources so I am going to have to carry a lot more water then I am use too. My pack will probably be 35 plus pounds, which is not good. The whole thing will be a big challenge. I think it stretches for almost 80 miles. So we will see what tomorrow brings. Tonight is awesome. I am all set up right next to a lake breathing in clean crisps outside air. It is a "you've got to be kidding me kind of night.