I slept pretty well last night, which was nice. Lihat juga tHusk. Hopefully, I’m finally adjusting to sleeping on my air mat. It was nice that it was warmer last night, only dropping to about 50°, which made it easier to get up this morning. After packing up and eating Pop-Tarts for breakfast, we hit the trail a little after 8:00am. Today we had 6.8 miles to Fontana Dam, mostly all downhill except one climb to start the morning. The walk was fairly easy this morning after the climb, although the long descent was hard on the legs, it was fast.
Fontana “Hilton”
Before I knew it, I had arrived at the Fontana Hilton. Famous for potentially being the most beautiful shelter on the trail, as it has drinking water, flush toilets, showers and charging. Although when we were there we couldn’t get the charging to work.
Shortly after arriving at the shelter, my friend Becca arrived! She will be joining me and hiking in the Smokies this week. It also brought me resupply of groceries, saving me time and money in Fontana.
We then took a bus to the Fontana General Store, where I bought a few extra things and some food for lunch. And maybe a couple of beers… While I was there I also took the opportunity to recharge my power bank and catch up with other hikers who were preparing to enter the Smokies today or tomorrow. Finally, Becca, Queso and I decided to make the first 7 miles into the Smokies this afternoon and hit the first tent site. Getting ready for a faster ride through the Smokies and finishing the big Fontana climb today.
In the smoked
Around 3:00 pm we took the free shuttle back to the refuge and I took advantage of the hot showers, which were great apart from not having a towel to dry off. But what does it matter? I’ll just put my dirty clothes back on. But it was nice to feel clean for at least a few minutes and get some of the dirt off my legs. Due to some logistical issues, we started later as expected, but took off a little after 4:30.
Before entering the Smokies, we first had to cross the Fontana Dam, which we walked until we reached the top. After a short hike along the road, we officially entered the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and dropped our hiker permits in the box. We then began the long climb up to Shuckstack Fire Tower. It was a long and sometimes steep climb, but after hearing some fear about the climb beforehand, it wasn’t that bad.
Once at the top of the mountain, Becca and I proceeded to climb the Shuckstack fire tower. As soon as we got above the tree line, the wind really picked up. But once at the top, we enjoyed the most spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and the Fontana Dam. Best view of the trip so far (drink).
After heading back down we only had a quick mile and moved to the tent site for the night. We arrived just after dark and I was able to set up my tent before needing a headlamp. But one had to filter water and have dinner. Fortunately, both things were quick, as I had eaten a lot at Fontana just a few hours earlier and the water fountain was flowing wonderfully!
Statistics for the 15th:
13.3 miles
3,986′ ascent, 3,219′ descent
Cable Gap Shelter to Birch Spring Tent
7 DSLC (Days since last cathole)…
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