march 23- fontana lodge day two

Today was my second day staying at the fontana lodge. And it was a really fun day too. Woke up around 10am. packed my stuff, ate breakfast, and checked out of my room around 11. Me and dj planned to stay one more night, but wanted to find more people to share a room with so itd be cheaper. Also, wet dog and sugargnome were leaving, and they had helped split the room last night. Dj knew that sarah was splitting a room with 3 more people, so he asked her and we joined into that room. Making it that 7 people would be splitting a hotel room that only had 4 bed spaces. So 3 of us will sleep on the floor. Once we had that settled, we just chilled in the lobby for a while, reading. I quickly got bored and went to the event room. Where there was a local member of the cherokee tribe giving a history of the cherokee along with a question and answer session. After that i played cornhole with some other hikers.it was me and guard against hey everybody and lucas. Cornhole is a game where you throw beanbags across a room and try to get them into a hole in a platform. Me and guard won. After that the hotel showed a movie "the life of pi" so i got a bag of popcorn and watched that. On a side note, guard told me that freight train has dropped out because of problems with his legs, but he might join back up sometime down the trail. The movie ended around 5pm. I went to the lobby and spoke to some people for an hour or so. A bluegrass band was supposed to come play around 7pm, but the event coordinator, jp, said they had cancelled. So he set up his ps3 and we played guitar hero for about an hour and a half. When that ended, a group of us went to the game room, where me and guard played a round of foosball and pool agaisnt clever girl and apollo. Everyone has heard of clever girl because they made a birthday party for her at the shelter, the fontana hilton. I didnt go to that because i was staying at the lodge, and i didnt want to walk the 3 miles back in the dark. Shes hiking with her husband, dump truck. After that we all went back to the room and had a beer and just chilled. Eventually we decided to check out the bar and get some food. We stayed there until they closed and threw us out at around 1030pm. Now were in the room. My sleeping bag and pad is set up on the floor. Tomorrow me and dj will try to hitchhike to knoxville. If we cant get a place to stay we can camp out in the woods there, or find some hidden spot to sleep. Itll be like being homeless for a day. Ive always wanted to try that. Besides, We dont have a place to stay until monday night.

march 22- fontana lodge day one

Sleeping at the fontana hilton wasnt bad. It got cold at night so i spent most of the niight curled up deep in my sleeping bag. When i got up in the morning i bbegan preparing myself for a trek through the smokies. My feet were in bad shape, and i was Worried about what the weather will bring, but still i was preparing to press forward no matter what. I had told dj that i didnt think it was a good idea to continue just yet, and that we should wait out the storm. At the same time, progress needed to be made and i didnt want to hold us up. When i was almost ready to go, dj came back into the shelter after talking to flipper. An older hiker, he had told dj what a night of freezing rain would look like. He said there would be a sheet of slippery ice covering everythinng. It would make the ground impossible to walk on until it starts thawing, and the temps in the smokies are forecasted for the low 30s. If we hiked up into the smokies, and we encountered freezing rain, we would be trapped in a shelter, or unable to hike forward. A situation like that in the best case scenario would only leave us trapped in a shelter for a day or two. And worse case scenario we could die of hypothermia from being wet in below freezing weather. Djs response to that information was that he decided he wants to wait until after the storm. At least i wasnt the reason for holding us up, though i was relieved. We werent sure if wed stay at the fontana lodge, or at the shelter. We caught a shuttle into fontana village anyways, might as well stay someplace warm until the evening. When we got to the lodge we found 3 other hikers who wanted to split a room. So five of us splitting a room would come out to only about $13 each. We got a room then hung around until 1pm, when there was a presentation about edible plants that grow in the mountains. After that i tried to do a quick workout, then i went on a beer run to pick up some beer for the evening. We bumped into owl while walking so she joined us for our mini adventure. It was only a walk to the gas station anyways. We got back to the hotel, expecting beer, pizza and karaoke. But the event coordinator, JP, told us that the karaoke guy wasnt going to be able to make it, but that we can get beer and pizza in the bar. I hung out there for a little bit. Then went back to the room

march 21- fontana village

Another cold night, a very cold night. The condensation on the inside of my tent was frozen, the water bottles inside my tent were frozen, and there was a thin layer of snow on the ground. I got dressed quickly, my fingers quickly numbed once outside my sleeping bag, even with gloves. I took down my food bag which i had hung from a tree last night, then took down my tent. Dj was taking it a little slower, we didnt do many miles today so he wasnt in any hurry. Once i had all my stuff packed up i told dj i was heading out. Standing around wasnt warming me up. The only way to do that in the mornings is to begin hiking. Even after a half hour of walking my fingers were still numb, though my feet felt much better. The daytime was cold too, and i hiked by myself until i got to the road to fontana village. i prefer to hike alone because i can keep my own pace, though it ges boring and time passes much faster when im with another person. I had stopped periodically during the day. 5 to 10 minutes at a time to let dj catch up. Towards the end i was scared he had gotten lost again. I was relieved when some hikers who got to the road a few minutes after me told me he wasnt far behind. We began walking towards fontana village. Me, dj, dude, and fidget. We walked almost a mile while trying to hitchhike until a woman in a pickup truck pulled over and drove us the rest of the way to fontana village. Fontana village isnt really a village. Its a resort town, with only a few stores, all of which are just an extesion number away from each other by telephone. What i mean is, the town is more like one sprawling hotel, but made of different buildings to look like a resort town. So all the employees in all the stores know each other. We spent some time in fontana village. i picked up some food at the general store for lunch, and dj went to the post office. It started getting late so we asked an employee in a golf cart for a ride back to the trail. Turns out he also does the resort shuttle. So for $3 each he drove us back to the trailhead. From there it was only a mile walk to the shelter. This shelter has a 20 person capacity, and down the path there is a bathroom building with real toilets, sinks, and a shower. I took a shower after ig got here and washed my clothes at the same time. Then spent a half hour drying them under the hand dryer. Theyre still a little wet but will be mostly dry in the morning. Me and dj cant agree on what to do tomorrow. He wants to do 3 high mileage days and get to gatlinburg on sunday night or early monday, then try to hitch to knoxville. The problem is that there is supposed to be a storm in the smokies on saturday. And i dont feel prepared for the cold weather mixed with wet and snowy conditions. But at the same time, waiting here for 3 days until we can head to knoxville feels like a waste of time. Ont the other hand, fontana village is having a hiker festival over the weekend. with pizza and beer tomorrow afternoon, and other things to do saturday and sunday. Id rather stay and have fun, and try to get some upper body workouts done in the spare time. But i dont want to feel like im holding dj back. Also, the bottoms of my feet are very raw. I took off my socks today for the first time since leaving franklin on sunday. The skin is thin and painful. The damage that my feet have taken as a result of me not taking care of them is very easy to see. If we do go into the smokies tomorrow, ill have to make sure to change my socks halfway through each day so my feet stay mostly dry. Im scared of the smokies. Everyone is. Most of the people in the shelter tonight are takin off until the storm passes. I think there are almost 15 people in here tonight. I told dj ill let him know how im feeling in the morning... i dont know... the cold and rain mixed together is a very scary thought. It rained a few days ago, but the temps were in the high 30's that night. So the cold was bearable. But a night in the low 20's even when dry is hard to handle. The smokies go into the teens on a regular basis.

march 20 - almost at fontana

Again we did a longer day. Today was 15 miles, and it wouldnt have been so difficult except that both the uphills and downhills today were very steep. One part is called jacobs ladder. Where you ascend about 600 feet in .6 miles. The trail was almost walking at a 45 degree angle. We were abloe to see 3 large lakes in the distance, one of them is probably fontana dam. Likely because were walking towards the lakes, and tomorrow we will get to the fontana dam shelter in less than 7 miles. The fontana dam shelter has been nicknamed "the fontana hilton". Because it is a 24 person shelter, and it has bathrooms and a shower. Not just a privy. I dont remember if ive described a privy yet, but its pretty much a toilet in a 3 and a half walled stall. With a toilet seat that has just a pile underneath it. Its not a hole in the ground. the pile is above the ground to "facilitate decomposition". This might actually be more pleasant than just an outhouse with a hole in the ground, because the pile is well vented. Im going to try to get a ride to fontana dam tomorrow to stock up on food for the next few days. Were taking the next week off. 3 days of fri, sat, sun at fontana dam. Then to knoxville to spend the first two days of passover with the jewish community there. We are planning return to the trail next week thursday. Then begin the smokies. Taking off a week before the smokies is a good thing. Theres alot of talk of the smokies, and how cold it will be. Nobody is excited for the smokies, only for the hopefully good weather that will be after it. The smokies are about 75 miles of hard uphill and long steep descents at high elevation. It will be cold and difficult, and the nearer we get to spring before entering them the better. The trees here havent even started budding yet, but weve had a few warm days. The night have been cold though, with last night going below freezing. Sleep was a bit difficult last night, we were in a cold, crowded shelter, and one of the annoying girls who were staying there was snoring most of the night. Dj has named the group " the AT divas". They seem very out of place on the trail, with one of them bragging yesterday about how she doesnt care about littering. After which she threw garbage in the privy. They were talking this morning about how their friend is picking them up from the next road because its too cold here for them. Its a windy, chilly night. On to fontana dam tomorrow, then a weeks break. I cant wait for the break, the shower, the food, and the passover seders. Gonna be a good week. As long as we can push off the smokies.

march 19 - NOC

The rain stopped overnight, and my clothes were somewhat dry in the morning. I wore them anyways, knowing theyll dry while i hike. Me and dj packed up our gear then hiked the 1 mile to the NOC. We hung out in the outfitter shop then went to the restaurant there for breakfast. After breakfast we opened up the package that DJs uncle had sent, in contained some food for dj and passover food for both of us. We divided up the food then dj called a synagogue in nearby knoxville to find out about passover accomodations. Im actually typing this up as he speaks to them. We dont have alot of hiking to do today, but its all uphill. Only about 7 miles to the next shelter, with 3000 feet of elevation gain. Its already 1pm, so we'll take it slow but not too slow. Were dreading the smokies, everyone is, the cold, the elvation the terrain. Nobody has anything good to say about em. We printed out our permits for the smokiies at the outfitter. It comes with a list of rules we must obey for the smokies. One of them is that thru hikers must give up shelter spot to those with reservations, but can only stay in shelters, no tenting allowed... hopefully well be able to take 2 days off for the passover seders. 2 days closer to spring is better than nothing... We started hiking the 7 miles to the shelter around 1:30pm. It was completely uphill the entire day. The same way we hiked down 3000 feet yesterday we had to hike back up. Wasnt so bad though. Me and dj hiked together the whole day. Hiking with another person always makes the day go by quicker. Plus, i had a can of beer right before we started, and drank the other four while hiking. Was hiking pretty fast so was burning it off faster than i can catch a buzz. We stopped for a half hour for lunch, and i ate a big lunch of food i found in the NOC hiker box. After that it was really hard to hike. Hiking with a full stomach is never easy to do. So i huffed and puffed until we finally reached the shelter. Its pretty crowded here now. Theres a group of really loud girls here. One of them i called powderball, she goes by powder puff but shes kind rounder than that. Allready ate a big dinner, i have alot more food than i need to get me to fontana dam only 20 miles from here. Then well probably go to knoxville for the first days of passover. Theres supposed to be a hiker gathering at fontana dam on sunday, so finding a ride shouldnt be too hard.

march 17-18 fresh grounds and rain

Yesterday and today were good days. Yesterday i took the 9am shuttle out of franklin, and started hiking from winding stairs gap. Dj, hermes, carlie, and frances got off at a different stop about 3 or 4 miles back. So they had a bit more hiking to do. I came to fresh grounds a few miles in with his table set up. This time he had alot more food. He said he got so many contributions for his help that he added more food and decided to do it for longer. He said hell be on the other side of the smokies at davenport waiting for us to come through again. I stayed there about an hour. Owl and zag eventually came to that spot, and after about 15 minutes we all continued on. Me and owl hiked ahead of zag, cause shes a much slower hiker. Wed stop every now and then and wait, but never long enough for zag to catch up. Owl and zag were supposed to meet at a certain campsite, but by the time we stopped to check where we were we had missed the campsite so we just kept going. We reached a stone fire tower and spent some time there. We were able to see all the way to the smokies from there. I tried to climb up the side of the tower, it was only about 20 feet, but i got scared halfway up and climbed back down. If i didnt have 2000 more miles of hiking to do i might not have been as scared of falling. One really interesting partg of the forests ive been seeing the last two days is that almost all of the trees are dead. There are fallien trees and branches everywhere, and all the trees are covered in green mold and moss. Only the rhododenrons and other smaller plants arent dead, and most of the pine trees are healthy too. There just arent many of them here to begin with. Owl got in contact with zag via cell phone, and we continued on to the next shelter. Dj eventually showed up, and frances a little while after. Hermes and carly stayed near fresh grounds because he promised bacon and eggs for breakfast. While we made dinner for ourselves, john made a fire. We spent a while sitting around the fire talking and went to sleep around 9pm. It was a warm night, in the low 40s, and i was able to sleep in my sleeping bag in just a tshirt. We were all worried about the forecast of rain in the morning. So we werent sure if wed even hike, but when we woke up it was cloudy and overcast, not raining. So we all continued on, planning to stop at a shelter about 11 miles away. It was raining on and off during the day. So by the time i got to that shelter and caught up to dj i was already soakin g wet. Rain gear does a good job of keeping rain out, but it also keeps sweat in. The tradeoff is that you can maintain a warmer temp in rain gear than in the pouring rain. From that shelter, me, dj, and 3 other guys decided to continue to the next shelter, 5 miles away, and only one mile from the NOC, tomorrows destination and resupply point. We hiked at a breakneck pace, and 2 hours later reached the shelter. The shelter was packed to capacity with all of us in there. So we slept shoulder to shoulder, which def helped keep us warm in our slightly damp sleeping bags. Someone had put some vicks vaporub on top of our food bags because we had heard that mice dont like the stuff and will stay away from food bags that have some on top.

march 16 zero day

Today was a good day. Took a zero day in franklin, and took the time to resupply for the next few days of hiking. The weather was in the 70s so walking around town was great. It felt like the summer. Got some food and resupplied. But stayed in my room most of the day just eating and watching tv.