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A very normal day with some hiking, resting, resupply, organizing a backpack pickup in a town 40min away, and nothing tastes right.
I slept pretty well in my hammock – it was warm last night, and I was comfortable with no layers or sleep pad, just my underquilt and quilt.
Frickles and I got packed up, ate our light breakfasts, filled up water, and headed out. I forgot to stretch, but we took the hike nice and slow to accommodate for both of us having setbacks.
The hike was uneventful and rain-free. Frickles and I agreed that it was hot and humid today and we were sweating a lot, so we did our best to keep up with drinking water.
It turns out the hike had some views of the dam, lake, and surrounding hills that I had totally missed on my rainy/dark rescue hike the other day, so it was nice to see some glimpses of scenery. I pointed out to Frickles spots I remembered from the thunderstorm day, like a log I sat on and the rocks I climbed before succumbing to whatever it was that stopped me.
I was actually pretty impressed with my past self for making it so far on the trail when I remembered “here’s where I started feeling crappy” and then finally finding the “and here’s where I threw up and laid down for 6 hours”. It was crazy to see the campsite Brutus, Hamilton, and I had spent so much time at further down the hill in sunlight. It had been majorly foggy and dark when I was there, and it felt really different in the sun and cloudless sky.
I recounted the part of the downhill where we had met up with the gaggle of firefighters, then the point where I finally got in the basket.
Along the way down, we realized how green everything looked. After the rain and a few days of warm sun, the trees were budding and grass and flowers were popping out of the ground everywhere!
Finally, we reached the parking lot of Fontana Dam on our own two feet, and right on time for the shuttle to the lodge we would be staying at for the night.
I was so excited to take off my pack and rest because at some point the waist strap has completely failed, and all the weight of my pack had been on my shoulders for the 5.5 mile hike. Unfortunately, Fontana Dam is not a great place to resupply, and there is no outfitter. The closest one is actually in Bryson City!!!
Since I had finally made my way back to Fontana after going back to Bryson City after my first excursion, I was not about to go all the way back again. Fortunately, the shuttle driver, Shua, lives in Bryson City and was open to working with Wendi and the outfitters in town to get me what I needed. So I called the outfitter, bought a backpack, Wendi picked it up, and Shua took it from her once he got home!! Once again, the things people will do for Thruhikers is just amazing.
I’m excited to have a brand new backpack tomorrow! Should be interesting getting everything transferred over as we all embark into the Smokies, and I’m bummed to be saying goodbye so soon to the pack I started with (and all my DIY’s!), but it will be so nice to have a fresh pack that is hopefully more comfortable, even if it’s a little heavier.
Frickles and I had dinner at the lodge restaurant where I paid too much for some sliders and fries that I barely ate, then paid too much for a resupply of granola bars and jack links and snickers. I tried a slice of Frickles’ pizza, and at first only took two bites because it just didn’t taste right, but when she confirmed it was good and I was being crazy, I forced myself to eat the whole slice for the calories.
My poor body doesn’t seem to know what to do with food right now while it’s still traumatized from the storm-induced emptying, but sugar seems to be the answer. So nerds rope, cookies, and a root beer turned out to be my real dinner.
Napping, or at least being horizontal in a comfortable bed, also seems to help, so I spent much of my afternoon doing just that, and being very pleased about it.
Note: the next blog may be a few days out since I’ll be in the Smokies likely with no service and I need to build up my pre-scheduled blog-log again.
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