Days 17-19

Sorry took so long for these updates. I had no signal. Heading into the smokies so may not see you all for a few days. :). Day 17, 10.5 Miles, Locust Cove Gap at AT mile marker 147.6. The NOC was a great place to stay and worked out well for me and the boys. The rest of the wolf pack stayed at a friends cabin but it was a few miles down the road and I figured with two wet dogs I'd just get a room...easier than hitching a ride. The room was made out of plywood but there were was a bunk bed and i had it to myself so Mojo, Skye and I were perfectly comfortable.  Turns out there were 22 folks in the cabin so I chose wisely. :)  i gat an early start as we knew today started with a 6 mile uphill section that was fairly tiring. We coordinated to stay at this campsite (meaning it has enough flat space for about four tents and a water source) last night with everyone. Because I stayed at the NOC I was the first out and got here in about 6 hours. 6 of the folks showed up later and my guess is the rest stopped at the shelter 3 miles back. All in all a very good but uneventful day...which is not a bad thing. Day 18, 11.5 at Cable Gap Shelter at AT mile marker 159.2. Not trying to sound boring, but today was just a good walking day. It did rain for a couple of hours and being in a thunderstorm on top of a mountain is pretty cool...despite the hail bouncing of your head and the fact that you are carrying to walking sticks made of medal.:) it's interesting watching the mojo and Skye react. For those that do not know Mojo is approx 85 pounds and Skye is approx 65 pounds. Mojo normally takes the lead on things but I have found if there is a narrow bridge to cross or a difficult section to cross, mojo hesitates and Skye takes the lead without thinking twice. When the storms hit mojo is trying to hide under my legs while Skye just keeps trucking on. It's great having them with me. Tomorrow will be a sad day as we hit the beginning of the smokey mountain national forest and dogs are not allowed. I have a very nice kennel who will pick them up at Fontana dam and drop them off on the north side of The park. It's a great service but means being without the boys for 6 days. Anyway, the hike was good and it stopped raining by The time i set up camp so had a dry nite. All of the wolf pack made it to camp so good nite around the bonfire. I asked for my name to be modified to Papa Wolf vs Papa Bear...we are the wolf pack after all. Besides, lots of trail names have "bear" in them so I want to be a bit more original. That was approved. Our pack is up to approx 20 now so we keep growing. :).   Day 19, an easy 5.5 miles, Fontana Dam Lodge, NC at AT mile marker 164.7. Second mattress and two showers in four nights...I'm living large! Nice day to walk into this beautiful little village. The Fontana Dam is the apparently the largest dam east of the Mississippi. Most of the pack are staying at the shelter a mile out of town. I got a room with a friend at the lodge which is very nice. Lida, the very nice lady taking the boys met me at our designated spot and drove me into town. We past some of the pack so I waved going by as they were hitch hiking. :). Lida dropped me and the boys off and went back and got everyone which was great. So Mojo and Skye got off safe and sound and then we all met for lunch. Nice mellow afternoon getting ready for the big climb into the smokes tomorrow. We reach our highest point on the AT in the smokeys which will be great, but that also means much colder temperatures and possible snow. It's suppose to be a beautiful 6 days so maybe no snow but clear skies and very cold temps...which is much better than warm rain. I'm meeting everyone at the shelter at 0930 and off we go. I am expecting very little cell phone coverage, like the last few days, so do not panic if I do not update the blog for a few days. If there is a signal, I'll update.