Day 10 (150.5-165.9)

I caught a ride out of Robbinsville early in the morning. Craig was nice enough to drive me back up to the trailhead at Stecoah Gap. The weather was looking a bit dismal but the temperatures were supposed to be tolerable. I set off at roughly 9am towards Fontana, a 16ish mile hike for the day, the elevation appeared to be flatter between the two waypoints with the exception of Jacob’s Ladder right off the rip. A thousand foot climb that spans roughly one half mile. Difficult, but doable. After my ascent up Jacob’s Ladder I came across a lovely hiker named Tink. A lady from Ontario who had already completed her trek Southbound 5 years prior who wanted to experience the trail Northbound. We shared a brief conversation about her hiking partner who had just stepped off trail and she seemed happy to be hiking at her own pace now.

The day continued on and roughly 10 miles from Fontana you could start to see Fontana lake through the trees, a milestone for sure. The next few days would be spent crawling in the Smokies. The downhill into Fontana was a nice grade and easy on the knees. 

I arrived at the Marina early enough that they were still open and selling snacks. A bag of Chex mix and a beer later I wandered back up to the trail where I ran into Hiker 109 who had been hiding out near the bathroom to charge his devices. We talked about where everyone was staying this evening. There was a shelter approximately 1.9 miles from the marina that had solar chargers and showers. We opted to get a room at the Fontana resort for a proper bed. 

The walk to the resort was roughly 2 miles away as well. We started off and made our way down the road, the traffic was light so hitching a ride seemed to be difficult. We managed to flag down a truck that was making its way in the same direction and he offered us a ride to the resort. Lo and behold it was the cashier from the Marina. We hopped in the bed of the truck and finished our day out at the hotel.