Fontana Damn that's a big dam!

Well, it's been a while since my last post, but I've covered many miles in the interim. I am now 162.5 miles in, to be exact, and the trip continues to be great! Just got into Fontana Dam in North Carolina: the highest dam in the eastern US. Built by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which was enacted by FDR in 19---yeah, it's a big dam!

The weather has been very kind to us as of late. However the next 3-4 days after my last post, all we had was rain. But there's been a lot of sun to make up for it.

Everyone in our group of four has trail-names now. Emma is No-amputoey. She had a bad blister a week back and had to see a doctor, but since they didn't have to amputate her toe, she got that name.
Jess is Free-fall for the way she literally runs down the mountains (baffling the rest of us).
Deb is Spidey, from her spiderman-esque hat.
We've met a whole slew of others too: Rabid and Pick, Solo, Rainbow, Brahma-bull, Sweet Potato, Bucky, Cookie-monster, Pilgrim, Muffin-man... and more. Lot of great trail names.

We've also experienced a bit of trail magic along the way. For those who don't know, trail magic happens when thoughtful, generous people decide to bring/cook food for thru-hikers along the trail. The people who do this are called trail-angels, and are usually previous thru-hikers themselves. It's been great treat during those long days. I had hot dogs, apples, and soda yesterday. And all kinds of different drinks and snacks from others. Hatteras, if you're reading this, I can still taste those croissants!

Well, we're just stopping here at Fontana village for the day. Resupplying, doing some laundry, gorging on ice cream... the usual. But after this, and for the next six days, we'll be Hiking the Smoky Mountains. There, we'll reach the highest point of the trail, Clingmans Dome at 6,643 feet. Should be a good hike if the weather is decent (they're reporting some rain/snow, but we'll see.)

Alrighty, that's enough for now. Till next time!