A Zero Day at Fontana Dam

My key trail support person!

I was excited yesterday morning as I walked the 5-1/2 miles to where the AT crosses highway 28 near Fontana Dam.  Anne and our good friends the Reicherts were coming to meet me and I was going to stay off the trail the rest of the day and today and spend some R&R time with them.  As I neared the gap, I heard people calling "Hey Mexbuk-i!".  Chuck was leading the hike up the hill to greet me, with the ladies not far behind.  I lead a charmed life.


The Fontana Dam Village greeting committe

A few hours after the encounter, I ate a huge lunch, consisting of chicken wings and fries as the appetizer, a "Dam" burger with fries and a side salad... along with the leftover part of Anne's chicken bacon barbeque sandwich.  It is great to have a full stomach!  My body's needs at this point consisted of trying to figure out why my face was swelling each morning and of resting hamstring behind my left knee.  We've decided I might have an allergy to the down in the sleeping bag as well as some normal tree pollen allergy.  I might have to take a half dose of Benadryl at night... and we also purchased a pillowcase from Fontana Dam Village in order to add a layer between me and the down.  For the knee, this day of rest is already doing wonders.  I am taking some ibuprofen and elevating and icing it.  Meanwhile, Chuck and Angelle are out hiking the section that I will start on tomorrow so they can give me a trail report.

Clean clothes are a luxury!

Here is a recap of the last two days before reaching Fontana Dam.  After leaving Nantahala on Wednesday, I stayed the night at the Sassafras Gap shelter.  It was just under seven miles away, but a climb of about 2,600 feet... so a good way to get going again.  I met an entirely new group of people that night.  The "young guns" have gone out ahead.  There were seven of us - a quiet group - at the shelter that night.  I was the only one to set up a tent.  I should have tried sleeping in the shelter, because there wasn't any level ground to set the tent up on and I kept waking up having slid into the bottom side of the tent.

The next night I ended up ahead of the rest of the group and alone at Cable Gap shelter.  There was a small murmuring creek in front of the shelter, which made for a peaceful night.  I slept in the shelter for the first time since my shakedown hike.  I heard the mice scurrying around as soon as I shut my light out, but I had put all the edibles away carefully and they didn't bother me.