After Alex left on Sunday I wandered around the NOC for awhile and setup my tent. I spent another night camped in the "hobo" campground down the railroad tracks by the river (hey, it's free!) In the morning I had one last civilized meal then headed back into the woods. It was a tough climb all day long and the weather was warm. I spent most of the day thinking about Alex and sulking at the thought of not seeing her again for several weeks. I had a tough time keeping up my pace but I trudged along and hiked 10.4 mi.
Another nasty storm rolled thru last night and I found myself once again at the mercy of mother nature. I laid in my tent til 10:00am the next morning, hoping the rain would stop. It did not. So, I packed up all of my wet gear and started walking in the rain. Today's hike included a section called "Jacobs Ladder" which climbs straight up for what seems like eternity. It wore me out! The weather was cold and rainy all day. Nothing to do but keep walking. I hiked into Cable Gap Shelter, setup camp, and hit the sack.... still missing Alex. 12.1mi hiked today...
It was a short hike Wednesday morning into the Fontana Resort area. I caught a shuttle in the Village and had lunch at the lodge with new friends Splitter and DVD... After lunch I did some laundry, laid my tent out to dry, and retrieved my food package that I left at the general store.
Later that evening I caught a shuttle back to the trail and hiked another mile to the shelter. This shelter is referred to as the "Fontana Hilton". It's super fancy and even has showers.... In reality, it's still just a dirty/stinky shelter. I slept in my tent and watched the light fade over the waters of Fontana Lake.
The next morning I watched the sunrise while drinking my morning tea in my tent. Today I will enter The Great Smokey Mtns National Park. It will take approx 6 days to get thru the park and while there I'll have to follow extra rules and regulations. No more tent camping for awhile. I'll have to cram into those dirty-mouse-filled shelters with 14 other smelly/snoring hikers... FUN!
I've hiked 163.7mi ... 2017.3 to go!
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