Re: [at-l] Re:maildrop schedule

[Tim Hewitt <thewitt@fairchildsemi.com>]

Rick Bombaci wrote:
[clip]
> I was only speaking in jest, actually.  Fontana Dam is one of those places
> I thought I would skip entirely.
> 
> Anyway, it's not going to rain on me.  Ever.

One of my nicest zero-days of the trip was spent at Fontana - staying at the
hotel - not the Hilton :). More than 15 hikers stayed at the Hilton, at least 30
more were in town. This was the last time before Damascus I saw this many
hikers, and nearly the last time of the trip.

There were lots of hikers there I never or rarely saw again. Some took their
time through the Smokies and never caught up. Some dropped off in the Smokies
and I never saw they again. Some skipped out at Gatlinburg and got drunk for
three days and I never saw them again. Fontana turned out to be sort of a
turning point for me in my hike.

I got up early that morning to "run" into town so not to miss the PO - only open
10:00 till 12:00 on Saturday, or something like that. I was not going to be here
on a Saturday by my original schedule - I was a day behind due to the snowstorm
just before Franklin. As it turned out, a combination of getting into hiking
shape and easy terrain got me to town by 9:00. Enough hikers were staying in
town that I said "What the hey" and took a zero day myself.  Played miniature
golf, ate ice cream, did laundry, ate ice cream, played basketball, ate ice
cream, oh and did I say I ate ice cream?

The climb out of Fontana was pretty tough, but I did not consider it brutal. It
seems that many others did, and bailed out right there. Spring had not yet come
to the Smokies when I went through - it sleeted, snowed and hailed and was some
cold - but it was beautiful enough country that I'll be going back. After the
first day, you could hear me coming a mile away. I was singing some modified
words to "Cheeseburger in Paradise," that alluded to "Cheese Burgers at Mountain
Mamas" at the top of my lungs.

  "I like mine with lettuce and tomato
   Heins 57 and french fried potatos
   Big kosher pickel and cold Root Beer [no drinking at Mt Mamas]
   So good Gawd Almightly which way do I steer for those
   Cheese Burgers at Mountain Mamas..."

People who saw me months later still remembered that was the way I came into
camp, generally at dusk, last or nearly last to arrive, still out on the trail,
still goin' north.

-Paddler
GA>ME Class of 99
http://wcga.org/hike
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