Fontana Village, N.C.

I’ve been here way too long and spent too much money. Good thing I’m finally leaving tomorrow. While I’m here, though, I do want to write down some thoughts on the hike so far.

And I want to share some nice pictures of Fontana Dam which I didn’t post before.

I’ve been mentally ready to go almost since I got here, but I wasn’t going to leave too soon and screw up my feet. Now I’m physically ready to go as well, or as ready as I’ll ever be. I actually gained a couple of pounds back and I feel out of shape again, even though I still weigh quite a bit less than I did when I left. So I’ll start slow and easy.

I’m told the first section out of the dam has a resident bear which likes to hang around near the Trail and will be hard to miss. If I see it, I’ll get pictures, and I may even try to get video. But I won’t be getting up in the bear’s face, Dave.

I’ve also gotten new hiking poles which should help to prevent any further foot injuries, and maybe even help me move faster up the Trail. That will be a big help, since I’ve been out here too long for the short distance I’ve covered and I’m going to have to bust ass to make it to Katahdin by October. And yet I still really should take it easy for the next week or two.

I’m planning to take eight days to cross the Park, including two half-days where I’ll be in Gatlinburg part of the day and hiking part of the day. I expect to get to Clingmans Dome on Sunday, and right now the weather forecast says that it may rain that morning. Hopefully it will clear out before I get there so I can make a video of all the damn tourists, err, excuse me, the magnificent view from 6,643 feet. Assuming I make it that far, I’ll be in Gatlinburg on Monday afternoon (and leave Tuesday) and I’ll post an update at that time.

Eight days, by the way, is the maximum the National Park Service bureaucrats allow for thru-hikers to spend in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. And they require you to fill out a permit form upon entering the park. There’s a self-service station at Fontana Dam where I’m expected to fill out some stupid government paperwork, give them my name and address and where I expect to be in the park on any given day. I’ll have more to say about the idiotic National Park Service later, but for now, take a moment to check out what NPS police did to someone celebrating Thomas Jefferson’s birthday and you’ll get an idea of the mentality of these bureaucrats. I hope they don’t bother me, because I am armed with a video camera.

Looking back for a bit, I have been surprised at how (relatively) crowded it is out here on the A.T. I came out here expecting a lot of solitude, and I certainly get it during the day while hiking. But the moment I pull into a shelter, everyone else is there. It could be five, six or two dozen people. Some of them are complete assholes whom I would never associate with in the real world. Others are just a little insensitive and need a good reality check. And a few people are worth knowing.

Which reminds me, the one thing I have come to hate most out here is hikers’ overuse and over-reliance on headlamps. Almost every hiker has one, and most of them turn it on from sunset until they fall asleep. Then they point the damn thing right into my face while I was enjoying the evening, screwing up my vision and pissing me off.

The worst part is, most of the time that most of these people are using their headlamps is entirely needless. They’re unpacking their bags in the dark because they were too dumb to do it while the light was still out. Or they turn it on to walk ten feet from the shelter, or up a paved road, as if they’re going to trip on something that wasn’t there when they came in.

I haven’t had the need to have a lamp to navigate around camp yet, and I don’t expect to. Most of it is just silly. Turn your damn lamp off and use your eyes. They really do work in the dark.

OK, I’m done ranting, I think. I’ll see you all in a few days.