I woke up on a sailboat this morning. What? Last night I got to talking to a guy who works at the Marina at Fontana Dam; soon he offered me his boat as a hotel room for $20 for the night…at the Marina the bathrooms were open for 24 hours, and he hooked up power on the boat for me to recharge my stuff, AND he slipped me the password for the Marina WIFI— that deal was worth it all day long. I don’t dare to tell fellow Thru-Hikers- they had considerably less palatial digs last night…
I walked across Fontana Dam—it was really something to see, especially where they are controlling the water discharge.
I entered the Great Smoky Mountains at last.
Spent all day climbing to elevation- 13 miles. It was very taxing, but, fortunately just that! No muscle issues, no stomach issues, my appetite is gradually coming back…I am so glad I am on the other side of that sickness. (Memory sent me this morning an article of a hiker who was arrested for being violent on the Appalachian Trail (AT) very near me, and it reminded me of how I had considered bringing a small pistol with me on the journey. I’m so glad I didn’t— back in the sickness I might have reached for it, instead of the phone😮!)
Saw some neat stuff today;
GAME OF STONES! And note the intimidating grandma-in-a-nursing-home compression socks that all the Warlords are wearing nowadays.
There was a neat looking high meadow I went through that was breathtaking—I hope you can see in the movie how the grass is interspersed with yellow and white wildflowers, but maybe not!
How the mighty are fallen.
AT 101. We have to hang our bags of food, food wrappers, and other ‘smellables’ in the trees every night so bears can’t get at them. We’re in a bear intensive area now so the AT folks have provided this cable system for us to use… that’s my stuff in the yellow bag at the front right.
Penultimate 
Great stuff Kevin, keep it coming. We’re right there with you…
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Ummm… if you’re right here with me, can you hand me my sneakers just outside the tent? (I forgot to bring them in last night…)
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Where is your hat??Sun stroke man!! Your not far from were Doug grew up.🌼🌸
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See… I’m not thinkin’ straight! It’s another beautiful day in these hills and mountains- it must have been nice to grow up here… birds are singing and woodpeckers are hammering as I write this…. Have a great day Aunt Joyce!
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Love the boat! Nice to have luxuries once in awhile! Did I see a jacket finally? Just heard on weather that it rained here 16 of 23 days in April so far, and more now. Looks like you are being spared of this. Thinking of you, and Yuri is also enjoying your blog! It’s Much more than a walk in the woods! 🥾❤️
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Thanks Jo! … I’m on a little streak of three nice days in a row so I’m pretty lucky at the moment on the rain situation..
Tell Tux I said hello!
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Stumbling upon a boat to sleep on must have been an awesome treat ! Love following your adventure ! I look forward to your post every day ! Maybe you will get real lucky and stumble upon the Keebler Elves “Fac-tree” and get some real treats !!
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I think I’ve seen that Tree already and I can hear elves late at night outside my tent… no one else seems to hear them?!
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