4/4

Today is a lazy day. My initial plan for the day was to hike the longest section I have attempted. A 27 mile section sat between me and Fontana dam and I would be meeting my dad and brother the following morning. This is a really ambitious thought by itself. Then the storm rolled in. The storm blew into Nantahala early and looked as though it would last all day and even pick up to a harsher degree in the evening. I still had it in my head that I was gonna hike the full distance but after talking with other hikers and employees at the outfitters, I was told that the conditions and thunderstorm would make for very unsafe hiking in that section. Because of the altitude there was a possibility that hail could have buffeted me. This is the only section of the trail that it have been deterred from, and as far as I am concerned it was for good reason. 

I managed to jump on a shuttle ride taking another hiker to Fontana dam. The rest of the day was spent exchanging numbers with my fellow hiker that I might now see again. The trail is long but depending on how each of us hikes the chances of running into each other again is a very difficult thing to plan. 

2pm 

A white pickup truck pulls up and this is to be mine and another hiker ride. An elderly gentleman takes a few dollars from us and then off to Fontana we go. The ride is short and conversation few. The gentleman giving us a ride is far more interested in my thru hiking than the other hiker. He is seems is just riding to Fontana and then hiking back to Nantahala. We full into the parking lot near the Fontana shelter and offload. Hands are shaken, grateful thanks are exchanges, and our ride disappears down the road. 

The shelter is big and the scenery that lay behind it is incredible. This shelter is named the Fontana Hilton and for good reason. It sits on a ledge above Fontana lake with a beautiful view of surrounding scenery. It has a large fire pit area which could be described as a hiker's patio. The shelter itself sleeps 20 and is one of the largest on the trail. To my knowledge it is also one of the only shelters where you can get a shower. A public restroom 100 yards away offers this great bonus to those passing through or staying. I settle into a top bunk and read while the ret of my bunk mates seem to party hard. This shelter seems more like the party pot than a trail stopping point. Luckily the rowdy crowd soon dissipates to another location and before I know it I am asleep.