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May 25, Wednesday (1986 miles to go)
Beautiful
this morning, and thankfully no rain last night. We stopped almost
immediately after beginning our hike today to take pictures of the
accumulation of clouds that had all sunk into the valleys around
the Snowbird Mountains during the night and had yet to burn off.
Today would be another fairly short day of about 14 miles to our
next resupply point at Fontana Village before entering the Smoky
Mountains. The trail seemed to be a little long right before Yellow
Creek Road, and then again before Highway 28 before heading into
Fontana Village.
The Village is not directly on the trail. It is located two miles
down the road. We began hiking along the road and had gone at least
half way before we secured a ride from a guy and his two beagles
in a green pickup. He dropped us off at the entrance to the village,
but wouldn't you know there were two entrances, and we got off at
the wrong one. It took a little bit to find the Post Office and
store as a result. I received a lot of goodies from my mother and
a letter from my friend Dave Szabo. Good to know that someone is
thinking about you. Sent off the two rolls of film that I had shot,
and then went next door to the small store to resupply for the next
leg of our journey. Of course before buying essentials for the next
section, I had to have a pint of Cherry Vanilla ice cream and two
cokes. To help prepare for the next section I consulted the data
book to determine how many days worth of food I would need to reach
the next resupply point in Hot Springs, North Carolina. The data
book has all the major points along the trail listed with the distance
traveled accumulating from one point to the next. It is helpful
for getting a general idea of where you are, how much farther you
have to travel, where the shelters and campsites are, where the
groceries are and how far off the trail you must travel to get them.
I figure how many breakfasts, lunches and dinners are needed for
the next stretch, and then subtract from that the amount of food
that I have left over from the previous section, or from either
packages sent to me. Usually there is no left over food since hikers
tend to eat any extra the last day or so before getting to town.
I then buy only as many breakfasts, lunch, or dinner items as needed.
After buying your supplies, the ritual of paring down the extra
unnecessary weight of packaging begins. Peanut butter is taken out
of the glass jar and put into a plastic container; all the oatmeal
packets are taken out of the box and put into the food bag. All
items packaged in cardboard are taken out and the cardboard is discarded.
Sometimes the cardboard is used to make a hitching sign to get you
back to the trail. I made a sign that read "DAM" and stood
out by the entrance to the village beside the road leading back
to the trail near the Fontana Dam Shelter. We were almost immediately
picked up by a gift store employee and driven the two miles back
to the shelter.
The Fontana Dam Shelter, also known as the "Fontana Hilton,"
is located about a quarter of a mile from the Dam that serves as
the Tennessee Valley Authoritie's pride and joy and produces electricity
for a large area. At the dam there is a visitors center, public
restrooms, and phone. The best part is that the restrooms have free
heated showers! Jim and I walked down the road to the complex and
alternated using the phone and taking a good lonnnnng shower. I
called home and had a Mountain Dew from the vending machine nearby.
On our trip back to the shelter, we noticed that "Ford",
the automobile company, was filming some footage for a commercial
for the '84 LTD on the road between the shelter and the visitor
complex. They kept driving back and forth in an attempt to get it
"just right." Ate Sweet Sue chicken and dumplin's from
a can for supper, and brownies for dessert. The meals immediately
after resupply are always the best as they can be just about anything
rather than dehydrated or "just add water" type meals.
Even though this meal came from a can it was delicious. Almost as
gfood as grandma's dumplin's! With numerous trash cans nearby, the
refuse can also be discarded rather than being carried around for
days.
Gonzo!
Appalachian Trail Journals ©1983
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