Day 5

Day 5 (BMT): 28 miles

I picked up an old tradition of oversleeping for an hour but still made it to Fontana marina in good time after exiting The Smokies pretty early. They had a nice outdoor area where I charged up, microwaved some hot pockets, and cooked up a ramen bomb. The only thing that could have made it better was if they had Dr Pepper. I wasn’t surprised with the South’s loyalty to coke.

Before I left the smokies I started to see several old timey abandoned cars rotting away which was a little strange in the mountains.

My neck, back, and shoulders were really hurting on the way into Fontana but thankfully after taking a break for a few hours they were better. Although my neck is still tender because I’ve gotten fried the past few days and the skin is really tender.

Leaving Fontana was a real ass kicker with a steep climb. There were also trails going everywhere and intersecting constantly with too many signs to make since. I always just chose the steepest one heading upwards and ended up in the right place.

My feet are feeling a little better today. I also picked up some wet wipes in Fontana to clean off my feet which just felt heavenly at the end of the day. They’re not as near as messy as they get in desert terrain but the ritual of cleaning them is still enjoyable.

There was some nostalgia and memories today. I saw a few white blazes for the Appalachian Trail. And more so than that, being back at Fontana Dam was a trip down memory lane. This was my 4th time being there. The first was after my second section hike. I ended there after doing 100 miles on the AT in less than a week and felt invincible because of it. Haha. Like a lot of us, I had no idea how much more I was capable of.

Terrain looks tougher the next few days and I’ve probably been doing a little too much lately so I’m planning on cutting back the mileage a little bit. Tomorrow it’s gonna rain and I’m hitting a buffet in the morning, so it might be a real short day. We shall see.

Song of the day: debonair-dope