Again, I snuck out earlier than the rest of the group to beat them down the hill. Wing It happened to be leaving at the same time so we ended up hiking all morning together. He's a forensic structural engineer from Brooklyn and plans to work in Australia when he's done with the trail.
It was very foggy again today. Maybe because we are near the Smokies? Quote of the Day: "The one good thing about mud is that you can see where the people before you slid." We also decided we need to petition NC trail maintainers for switchbacks and cutting logs across the trail. Those logs are hard for short people to get over!
It was so nice to have someone to talk to all day today. It's been kind of lonely hiking by myself. Today went by fast. Fontana Village is beautiful! The lake is picturesque and it's the nicest shelter I've seen so far! They call this shelter the Hilton for a reason! We snagged some of the first spots in the shelter. I'm on the bottom level right by the door for easy pee access, although that hasn't been an issue lately.
We shuttled up to the lodge to pick up packages (I got new gaiters and my bounce box), eat lunch, and print our Smoky passes. We all had mixed drinks at lunch and I had the BEST pork sandwich with french fries and ranch I've ever had! We invited a guy named Sasquatch from Shreveport to join us at our table. He just graduated with his biology degree.
Kim started our laundry while I walked down to the post office to ship my bounce box to Damascus. We resupplied at the general store. I spent $36 on granola bars, candy bars, summer sausage and cheddar cheese. It was a neat but expensive little general store that had everything a hiker might need. Thru-hikers got a 10% discount too!
True Story, Wiki, and I walked down to the Pit Stop so I could get a "chili cheese" dog (the chili and cheese came straight from a dispenser) and a Coke. They microwaved the hotdog, then put it in the oven, then put it back in the microwave. Fancy! Of course, it was one of the best hotdogs ever!
There are some interesting people here at the shelter. There's a woman with crazy leggings named Cake. She hurt her knee so she's staying a while. She wrote down everyone's trail names and hometowns and took group pics.
Right now we're sitting around the campfire passing around someone's extra Clif bars. Tomorrow it's straight uphill into the Smokies!
Best Thing: Having a hiking buddy today.
Looking Forward To: Starting the Smokies!
I'd be your hiking buddy!
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