Finding peace on the island

Cable Gap to Smokey mountain national park.

Morris and I left Cable gap late in the morning and hiked to Fontana Dam. It was only 5 miles or so but the terrain is getting harder to climb as we go on. At Fontana dam we paid a shuttle $3 a piece to take us to a local gas station that served beer and food as well. I ordered nachos with chili and cheese, 2 sausage dogs with chili,cheese,slaw and onions, plus a draft beer and a pack of smokes. We sat and ate ravenously as the server ignored us and tried her best to make us feel unwelcome. ( mission accomplished!) Then we went outside to figure out how to get back to the dam when who should drive up but Onisimous and Spence in their travel trailer.

I looked at morris, "I think I found our ride."

I walked around to the drivers side and greeted Onisimous with a smile and a hand shake. "Hey man, you wouldn't be headed for the dam would you?"

"Why sure!" He replied with his wide grin. "Hop on in!"

"Thanks man!" I said and motioned to Morris.

We rode in the back with 2 other hikers as Onisimous piloted the house on wheels through hairpin turns on the route back to the dam. He dropped us off assuring me that we'd meet again furthur up the trail.

Morris had spent some time at Fontana dam with Jade. He said he wanted to camp on one of the islands in lake Fontana rather than staying at the hiker shelter. I agreed but said I would rather stay in the more secluded one of the two.

The water level of Fontana lake is low. This has revealed a land bridge from a shore to the Island I have claimed as my own. (So far no one has disputed me)

We hiked out to the island taking a treacherous route over steep rock scrambles that threatened to pitch us into the chilly water below. I remarked to Morris that there was a high chance of broken bones, getting wet, and possibly drowning. We smiled and went on. 

The island is small, covered with bushes and pine trees, oh and lots of briars too. We climbed up past the old waterline to find a deer trail winding through the center of it. There was one level spot perfect for my tent, and plenty of trees for Morris to hang his hammock. We set up camp and decided to head out to the shelter for two reasons: to raid the hiker box for provisions and try to get cell signal to call our lovely ladies.

Negotiating the rocks and hills to get off the island and back to the road was so much easier without 45 pounds weighing me down, but it still took a good bit of effort. After 30 minutes we made our way back to the road, crossed the dam, and climbed the hill to the shelter. There we found nothing of value in the hiker box but we had signal so after speaking with Lumber John and Two Sticks, we called our girls and talked until after dark.

The walk back was nice. Downhill on a cool night, what could be better? Fontana dam was lit up by spotlights that were arranged across the top. We walked across and then switched our headlamps on to navigate the darkness on the other side. We cut into the woods to get to the land bridge to our island.  Our headlamps revealed tiny green sparkles in the leaves on the ground. Further investigation showed that it was our lights reflecting in the eyes of spiders. There were thousands of twinkling little spider eyes watching us progress through the woods.

At the land bridge we stopped to sit in the sand and gaze at the stars. The beauty and serenity of our surroundings was ethereal. The frogs were chirping in the cove and the stars provided enough light to see the reflection of the mountains on the lake. A cool breeze refreshed us as we contemplated life, thankful for our situation once more.