Day 22 is for Zero/Nero

Day 22

We hiked into Fontana yesterday, covering 8.5 miles from Cody Gap, arriving about 1pm. We figured out where the marina shop was, and got sodas and snacks. We chatted with Allesandra from Quebec in the shop, then saw Nick and Holly (Shadow) in the deck having beer, so joined them for a bit.

Soon it was time to hike up the hill, retrieve our backpacks hidden behind road blocks, and call for a shuttle up to the Fontana Village Lodge.

The shuttle driver took the curves up the mountain like we were in a road race. Eke!

We got checked into our room, and then headed to the Wildwood Grill for a late lunch. We saw some of our hiking friends, Little Monkey, Pantry, Hiking Viking ( he says it Wiking bc he's German and doesn't know his W's from his V's), and Nightwing ( who does know the difference).

They told us that the grits we had recommended a couple morning before were awful, and that they'd never trust our dining advice, or any advice, in future.

This morning, we saw them again at a different dining hall, and exclaimed over and over that the grits we were enjoying were spectacular, which they were.

We are taking a zero today. We might rake a double-zero if we can work it out. The lodge is full, and they are telling us there is no room for us for a third night. We might have to take ourselves down to the Fontana Hilton (that's a camping shelter) to zero a second day.

And we might not actually zero today after all. As I type, Charles is handling our laundry chores while I use my bear canister as a foam roller and tend to a blister that keeps filling on my left big toe, a present from my feet softening in the rain the other day. We may slack-pack our selves in the following clever way.

We can leave our big packs in the hotel, take the shuttle to where we were picked up yesterday, walk with just water about 3.5 miles to the dam, get a shuttle back to the lodge, and voila! Slack-pack done, and a few miles covered! When ready to get back on trail, we get a shuttle to the dam!

We are thrilled to have more than 160 miles done--just over 2000 more to go! Our next milestone will be at Clingman's Dome in the Smokies, which will mark 200 miles.

Update: Yes we did, we did a slackpack and covered two whole miles! We’ll be back on trail tomorrow for a short’ish day of hiking and get into the Smokies at last!