Day 31: Fontana Road Crossing to Fontana Dam Shelter

Wait a minute… wasn’t this supposed to be a zero day in Fontana Village? Why is there a from/to designation in the post title??? For the answer, read on…

This morning started with breakfast at the Mountainview Restaurant here at the Fontana Lodge. M’mot, Zeeba and I had arranged this the previous night at dinner. So we met up at 830am and had a breakfast the couldn’t be beat. We’re talking bacon, eggs, sausage, biscuits, fruit, grits, cereals. About the only thing they didn’t have was pancakes. But nobody noticed. Oh, and it was all you can eat buffet style. All for only ten bucks! 🙂 a thru hiker’s dream.

So while we were eating, I came up with this brilliant plan. Instead of having the shuttle return us to the Fontana Road Crossing, wouldn’t it be great if the shuttle took us directly to the Fontana Dam Shelter which was 1.2 miles further along the trail? Of course, being that we don’t skip sections of the trail, that would mean a short day hike today to cover that 1.2 miles. Further, there was really no reason to hike with our packs on.

M’mot and Zeeba were totally down with this idea. So following breakfast, we met up at the General Store and called for the shuttle. After being picked up, we told the driver of our plans. He said it was a great idea and that thru hikers do it all the time. He did make a suggestion though: do the 1.2 miles in reverse, starting at the Fontana Dam Shelter and hiking south to the Fontana Road Crossing. Two benefits: 1. Overall downhill and 2. A phone that had a “zero” button to call for the shuttle.

So we took his advice and slackpacked that 1.2 miles in reverse. If you want to get super technical, and yes my friends and family will point this out until the cows come home, none of us 3 are northbound thru hikers anymore. We would be known as flip-flopping thru hikers. But, for 1.2 miles out of 2189.3, I don’t think the ATC cares. Nor do I, and that’s what really matters. And besides that, the ATC doesn’t distinguish between straight and flipped thru hikes. In the end we all get our 2000 mile completion certificates.

Forgetting those technicalities, the short hike was beautiful! We had great views overlooking Fontana Lake. It was also easy to see why the shelter is known as “the hilton” – it affords one of the best views of any shelter site on the A.T. I do have to say though, I don’t think hiking this southbound had any real benefit – other than the phone. We seemed to be climbing as often as descending.

We finally returned to the road crossing and called for the shuttle. Back at the General Store, we ran into Wayward who was still there doing her laundry. The Hilton was totally full when she arrived last night, so she ended up tenting near the trail close to the shelter. We saw her tent while hiking and told her it looked secure.

I also had to do laundry, but that meant a return walk to my room. That was until I saw golf carts in the parking lot. A quick conversation with the clerk revealed a $6 per hour rental rate which seemed reasonable to me! With keys in hand, I said, “anyone want a ride???”

M’mot, Zeeba and Wayward climbed on board and off I drove up to the Lodge! It was so much fun! But as we got close to the Lodge, there was an uphill section that was more than a match for the golf cart. M’mot and Zeeba hopped off which left enough oomph to make it the rest of the way.

M’mot and Zeeba went to their room not sure of their next step. I quickly grabbed my clothes and then drove me and Wayward back to the general store. There were others at the store when I rented the golf cart and they were still there when I returned. One of them came out with thumb extended. I decided to play into the part. “Need a ride? Where ya headed?” I said, as if I’d been shuttling for years. “Going to the lodge!” was the reply.

So I drove this guy up to the lodge and dropped him off. Who did I see but M’mot and Zeeba. They were hungry and wanted lunch. They asked if I was still shuttling and I said “sure! Hop on in!” So I drove them down to The Pitstop where they ordered a pizza. They were told it would be a 20 to 30 minute cook time. I told them not to worry because “Mojo’s Shuttling Service” doesn’t leave anyone stranded!

While they waited for their pizza, I came back to the general store to start my laundry. I’d been having so much fun driving golf carts, I forgot my main purpose – laundry! By the time I got detergent and started washing, I drove back to The Pitstop to retrieve my clients. When we returned and they started eating pizza on the porch, Wayward saw the pizza and wanted one. She said she was going to walk down. I intervened and said, “nonsense!!! Mojo’s Shuttling Service will drive you!”

I’m sure you can tell, I had a lot of fun driving people around in the golf cart. The store clerk noticed too… she was so nice and said to just keep the cart (no additional charge) until I was done since she didn’t have anyone else waiting on it.

Eventually my clothes were done. I made one last trip to drop off my clothes and also to drop off Wayward at the Lodge’s restaurant. I then returned the golf cart and had to WALK myself back to the lodge.

Once back, I went for dinner. I met up with M’mot and Zeeba once again, as well as two other hikers I’d just met in the lodge. We had a nice time and chatted about The Great Smokey Mountains, which is the next area the trail goes through.

I start tomorrow morning, with no set time other than “before noon.” I have approximately 40 miles to cover in 5 days. Each day’s mileage will be constrained by the locations of the shelters. Hikers are not allowed to tent in the Smokey unless a shelter is full. So I will be looking to arrive late at the shelter sites, since I prefer to tent. And if the shelter isn’t full, I may just have to risk a fine. If that happens, I will simply see it as being a tax I had to pay so I could sleep where I wanted.

The other thing about the Smokies… there are no privies!!! They only have a “toileting area” around the shelter sites. Ewwwww… I think I’ll head past those sites, hike into the woods and point my behind where I please.

The Great Smokey Mountain National Park will have some amazing views for sure. But other than these views, I look forward to leaving that section of trail behind. The park is not very friendly to the thru hiking crowd, and these regulations and lack of facilities show that.

I guess I can’t really blame them. That’s the difference between national parks and national forests… parks are more catered to the “drive in” crowd, while the forests are more for the camping, hiking and hunting crowds.

Oh, and one last item! My cousin and his girlfriend are meeting me in Gatlingburg next weekend, yay! So I absolutely have to arrive at Newfound Gap on the A.T. on Friday afternoon. Newfound Gap is halfway through the smokeys, so the Gatlinburg visit will split that nicely.

For now, it’s night night time…

Wandering on…

Mojo