I’m on vacation, staying in Fontana Village Resort, which is next to Fontana Dam, and coincidentally a big Appalachian trail hiker stop. I knew I would have to hike, even though this vacation was more about cars.

I drove the ten minutes over to the dam, which the AT actually crosses. The dam is currently undergoing some construction so is closed to car traffic. I parked in the visitor lot. Since the AT actually goes over the dam, I figured it was fine to walk across, but I popped into the visitors center to ask.

I was greeted at the door by two older gentlemen volunteering at the visitors center. I asked if it was okay to cross on foot and they said yes. Then this exchange happened:

So that’s a first. I’ve never before (and probably never will again) started a hike by helping people with their wifi.

I started across the dam. It was scarier than I expected. The railing isn’t that high and it got a little windy and I envisioned being blown over the side. I was on the high side, then crossed over to see the low side. That was scarier, so I crossed back to the high side.

Top row: walking across the dam and view of the lake. Bottom row: the low side, a blaze, the lake, lost rafts.

After the dam, there is a road walk (still officially the AT), until the actual trail. If the dam road hadn’t been closed, I could have cut off 1.2 miles each way of road walk.

Just where the trail began, I ran into a ridge runner. We had a nice chat as she asked if I was thru hiking and I explained, just a day hike. I mentioned being here on vacation from New Hampshire. She had thru hiked a few years ago and said I’d have no problem hiking here. Spoiler alert: she was wrong.

The trail started off a little steep, which I knew it would. I was hiking pretty quickly. Partly because the trail was delightedly rock-free, but also because I knew the ridge runner was behind me and I didn’t want her to pass me after telling me I’d do well and letting me go ahead of her.

LOOK AT THAT TRAIL. Where are the rocks?! Where are the roots? No boulders?!

The trail did level out, which was amazing. The foliage was pretty dense, so there weren’t really any views. I had briefly read about this part of the trail, and thought I might try to make it to Shuckstack fire tower. The post I read said it was a 7-mile hike. I haven’t really been hiking much lately, but thought/hoped I could do it, especially given the trail conditions. It would also be the only real view on the hike.

It was in the 80s and 90% humidity. My last hike was in New Hampshire where it was in the 40s and dry. I wasn’t exactly prepared, mentally or physically, to hike in the heat and humidity.

I’m also part of a gym competition where we get points for rucking, aka walking with 20 pounds packs. So I loaded up my pack to make sure it weighed 20 pounds.

I was very excited to be hiking the Appalachian Trail. Even though I’m on it a lot in New Hampshire, I was still excited to be on it. I pictured seeing lots of thru-hikers. I brought a giant bag of candy, hoping to hand it to some thru-hikers. What I didn’t think through is that I just left Fontana. Any thru-hiker that had stayed there, would have left early in the morning. They wouldn’t be on the trail this close at this time of day. Any hikers farther south would probably be stopping and staying in Fontana, so they wouldn’t be on trail either.

Back on the steeper part of the trail, I did come up on a backpacker. Not sure if he was a thru-hiker, or just someone doing some overnights. But I DID PASS HIM. I’m slow. I never pass people. So that actually felt pretty good. I said hi, he said hi…and that was the interaction. He didn’t seem particularly chatty. Fine, no problem, I’ll save my candy for someone else.

I continued hiking. I was very hot. I was very sweaty. I realized I didn’t pack a dry top and sports bra like I usually do on hot days at home. I also didn’t pack great snacks or lunch since we’d been traveling and I hadn’t prepared. As a result, I didn’t really feel like eating. While it was great that the start of the hike was so close to where we were staying, I didn’t have my usual Starbucks stop on the way to the hike. So that meant I didn’t have breakfast. Dumb? Yes. Very. So now I’d had no breakfast, and I didn’t really have any food that I wanted to eat, which meant I wasn’t fueling myself. I started to get cranky.

I also started to wonder if I’d find water if I needed it. I had plenty, but it’s a thing I worry about.

I came around a curve and saw … something. It was an animal. My brain somehow told me it was a small pony. I know that’s crazy. I KNEW it wasn’t, but that’s what my brain said. I got closer, and stupidly realized it was a dog. I got closer and saw the owner bent over a stream getting water. As I approached I joked that I thought I had hallucinated the dog and he replied “yeah that climb was a doozie”. Not what I meant, but ok. He gave me a bit of a weird vibe and was blocking the water, getting what looked like a gallon jug of water. Always listening to my gut, I decided to move on.

I got crankier and crankier. Hotter and hotter. Sweatier and sweatier. And madder and madder that I was carrying a heavy pack. At one point I realized the article said a 7-mile hike, but that probably didn’t include the dam being closed to traffic and the additional 2.4 miles I’d be doing. I definitely wasn’t ready for a 9-mile hike in the heat. I made the decision to turn around at noon or the tower, whichever came first.

I got a view of Shuckstack fire tower. It looked farther away than I wanted it to be. I continued to be unhappy and at 11:46 decided to call it and turn around.

I went by the stream, hoping to get some water, but weird dog guy was still there. We had a brief interaction, and he was disappointed to hear that Shuckstack was still a ways off.

I crossed paths with the guy I had passed earlier. He barely acknowledged me and kept going. A woman passed me and she was listening to a podcast ON A SPEAKER. I had to actually wait a bit while she kept on, so I didn’t have to hear it. I actually caught up with her and she had been stopped by the ridge runner. I didn’t catch their conversation, but the podcast was no longer on speaker.

The ridge runner and I chatted a bit again. She said it was taking her a long time since she had to take apart three different fire rings. I explained that I’m a trail steward in New Hampshire, so I knew what she meant.

I stopped for a brief snack, knowing I needed to eat, even if I didn’t want to.

I did get a nice little peep through the trees of the lake.

I continued on back to the trailhead.

All was not lost, I did see some pretty little flowers, some mushrooms, and some butterflies.

One last photo of a white blaze on the dam…

Hot, sweaty, and cranky, I returned to my car. Drove back to the cabin, and had a bit of a little breakdown. And then some food. I was better after a cry, a shower, a hug from my boyfriend, and food. Not necessarily in that order.

• Distance: 7.3 miles (and that was cutting it short, I was right to turn around)
• Elevation gain: 1,918 feet
• Total time: 4 hours, 30 minutes (which is REALLY fast compared to NH times)
• Moving time: 4 hours, 4 minutes (just showing that I didn’t really stop and snack)