3/24 Rest Day

1.1 miles hiked today, 162.6 miles N
Fontana Hilton/Shelter

Today was a rest day. The 1.1 miles was over the ridge line that separated the highway from the shore. I did this after doing something I had dreamed of for the last week, showered. It was glorious! :) My smell no longer precedes me. The shower is 1/2 miles from the shelter and I managed to hitch a ride back except they had no idea how to get to the shelter. As a result they ended up dropping me off on the other side of the ridge and thus I got my hike in quite unsuspectingly.
After that I headed into town for laundry and mail. When I went to the post office I found that my shoes had arrived but not my regular resupply box. I am kinda p##### as they were both sent from the chicagoland area on the same day and the other had arrived Wednesday. As a result I didn't have most of my food and toiletries. I thought briefly of waiting until Monday but knowing the USPS there was no point, the package may never arrive. I left a forward in case it does arrive to have it sent to Hot Springs NC.
Then it was time to resupply at resort town prices. In the end I suppose it was not that bad but I spent about $50 on food. For the toiletries I am going to have to mostly wait till hot springs since they didn't have very many. Fortunately the trail magic meant I had some extra staple foods and I hadn't gotten around to throwing the excess out. In the end I bought roughly one days too much food and had to give a little away but I think what I bought should hold me for 7 days.
One thing I ditched my pack towel for two bandannas. I only used it once and the bandannas can be used to dry of and much more.
When dinner time came around I asked on of the employees, Jerry, what our dining options were. They were pretty much what we had last night, pricey and good, or even more pricey shuttle into the nearest town. He did offer some humus and spinach dip that he had leftover from lunch. What a treat that turned out. They were both made by his wife and boy can she cook! This was the best dinner I have had on the trip yet! Yum! I put on tortillas and added wild chives we found growing around the area. The raw chives didn't add much but when roasted or boiled the imparted a very nice flavor.
The sunset was stunning not so much for it on the horizon but more the light it cast on the lake. The lake level is about 15-20' low and that light made the exposed dirt shore seem to glow. Very nice but with trees in the way none of my photo attempts came out. :(
Tomorrow off to the Smokies!