Got up and out of Locust Grove Gap fairly early and made a break for Fontana! I was a little behind Greenlite and Brian. I caught up to them for a minute because they had stopped to chat with this guy who was kind of incoherent. Pretty much had a ridiculously stereotypical hillbilly look going on. I'm sure he was a fine fellow. Stopped at Cable Gap shelter for lunch where we met Wis-pee for the first time. I remember introducing myself and we were all talking and then a few minutes later he subconsciously started whistling the song Blue Sky. This is the desired effect. Hustler caught up to us somewhere around here.
Not far after that shelter you come up on a ridge where you can see Fontana Lake. Then you look beyond Fontana Lake and there they are...the Smokies. It was pretty awe-inspiring actually. You've heard SO much about them in the beginning of your trip. You just can't wait to see this mystical mountain land of bears, park rangers, shelters with cages, and sometimes snow in April. It was definitely one of those times though where you see where you think you're heading, think you're practically almost there, but then turns out you have 3mi left of following the lake to the dam of an absurd amount of up and down. That was a hellish few miles if I can recall. I would make headway on the downhills and then wheeze through the climbs. BUT it was all worth. We came out of the woods to the lake right where there's a sizeable marina. It was kind of a hot day so Greenlite & I just made a break for the docks and a cannonball later discovered the water was 52 degrees. Jeeesus cristo it was cold. So the swimming thing was short lived but we discovered shortly thereafter that the tackle shop at the end of the marina sold beer. It was very nice to be motionless, very nice to be in the sun, very nice to be next to a lake, and very nice to have a case of high life.
Then Greenlite's dad showed up! He's quite the funny one. I believe his trailname became Georgia Pine. The guys hopped in the back of his truck and I got in the cab. He was listening to the radio and a good tune came on and he out of nowhere asked me what it was and lo and behold (thanks Dad!) I knew it was Tighten Up by Archie Bell and the Drells. Think I surprised him a bit. He took us all to Fontana Village where there's a old lodge. I think the CCC built it...oh the history. We showered up and had dinner in the main dining room...some sort of chicken & pasta dish. God it was good. We all did laundry. Spent some time on some rocking chairs out on the porch. Met Tweak for the first time outside near the pool on a rocker. Then came the big shakedown of my pack that I knew Greenlite, Brian & Hustler were all waiting in eager anticipation for. Being lightweight freaks and all. Greenlite had his Dad bring me up his old pack which was much lighter and fit me way better than the one I had been using. He also gave me his down sleeping bag which packed down much smaller than mine because he was switching out to his summer bag. Hustler gave me his stove. They talked me into throwing out my Nalgene's and replacing them with Gatorade bottles. Made me mail home some extra lithium batteries. Greenlite even told me to throw out the case to my dental floss...which turned out to be a horrible decision. Do you know how hard it is to find the end of the dental floss on a role when you want to use it? And then have to get out your knife to cut it? Stupid. Keep the plastic container.
They all tried to get me to send home my pepper spray but I had PROMISED Mama Kath I would carry it so carry it I would. Even if it sat useless buried in my pack. And then it was time for bed. The last night with Brian and Hustler :( They would take off with Greenlite's Dad in the morning back for Atlanta. Brian's knee had been hurting him (plus he was only planning on being out for a couple weeks anyway) and Hustler got a call from his boss that his plant was reopening. So it was a bummer to say goodbye to them. But slept mighty well in a bed for once.
Actually we fell asleep to the sound of sports cars riding the tail of the dragon.
"Crossing Deals Gap at the Tennessee/North Carolina state line, the Dragon is considered by many as one of the world's best motorcycling and sports car roads. Anyone looking for an exciting highway will enjoy this stretch of US129.
The road is desolate and can be a real adventure in the winter months. We've had to deal with bears, turkeys, deer, and wild boars in the road, trees down, ice/snow, and tractor-trailers taking-up both lanes in the curves. It is not a road for the squeamish, but if you're looking for a little excitement don't miss this one."
Apparently they "lose a couple every year" when drivers take turns too hard and go off the side of the mountain. There was a big gathering at Fontana at the time to ride the Tail of the Dragon. Had forgotten about that.
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