Today was a day of very definite goal -- Fontana Dam.
We packed up quickly and ate hurriedly,
hiking together. It would be an Ibuprofen Day, as we would be losing 4000
feet of elevation in a
little over 3 miles. Unfortunately, I was all out. As Blaze Blind puts it,
"I was bummin'". The first
few miles were quite difficult, but not as bad as the last 3 miles. Those
last 3 miles were
ridiculously long. The trail had a surprising amount of uphill for an
all-downhill trail. It was poorly-
maintained, with trees crisscrossing the trail and branches frequently
overhead. Most of our
conversation consisted of orders.
WALDO: I'm thinking [puff, puff] cheeseburger.
DAVE: Onions?
WALDO: Is the Pope Catholic?
BOTANY BOY: I'm thinking [huff] chicken.
WALDO: Broiled?
BOTANY BOY: Live, [wheeze] I don't care.
We finally got to the road and collapsed. We waited for about half an hour for a ride, going through all of the stages. First the "Stand With Your Pack to Look Like a Hiker" stage. Then the "Sit On Your Pack to Look Like a Tired Hiker" stage. Then the "Lie on Pack and Wave Thumb Pitifully for Pity" stage. This cycled a few times, and then we had an idea. Hide Tom! We put him behind Dave, and the next car to came by pulled over. We hopped in the back of the pickup and he gave us a ride right to the cafeteria in Fontana. We went in and were informed that they were closed until 5 for dinner. This presented no problem. There was an ice cream store next door.
I bought a big
ol' chocolate milkshake with nuts, whipped cream, fudge and a cherry. I washed it
down with 64 ounces of Tropicana orange juice. We sat out on the front
porch in rocking chairs
and talked to other hikers. There we found M.C. Brandy (Jim Brandeburg,
from Long Island. I've
heard a lot about him. He's a guy in his 30s with a goatee, curly hair, and
a seemingly permanent
grin, quick to laugh and always ready with a line of his own.), Squirrel,
Drew, and some day hikers
kicking back. Dave and Botany Boy and I left at 5:00 for dinner, which took
us something like an
hour and a half. I can't say much for the food, but at least it was
filling. We left, Botany Boy and
Dave splitting off to camp in a tent, and I for the shelter. I got a ride
from a cop to the shelter,
known locally as the Fontana Hilton.
The shelter was open on two ends, filled with two levels on either side of it. It's designed to hold
24, and seemed just about to capacity. Fontana Dam is a popular
multiple-day break spot for thru-
hikers. It was the birthday of one hiker, Sunshine, and she had cake and
ice cream for all. I
managed to eat blueberry ice cream with my chopsticks, as well as some ramen
noodles and mac
and cheese for dinner. I spent a while talking to Squirrel, Twinkie the Kid
(Neven, a tall, skinny 19-
year-old kid with a long ponytail), M.C. Brandy and Crag (Chris Youmatzo, an
18-year-old with red
hair and a red beard, known for his pet lizard.) We went to bed a little
after dark, filling the shelter
like sardines.
Song Stuck in my Head: Nothing, just thoughts of food!
Miles Traveled: 8.7