Beyond the Blog Day 3 (April 30) The First Breakdown

Reading my original blog post for this day, I see the first signs of denying the stress I was feeling.  This would be the last day I saw Cheryl for a week, and my legs were already screaming from the previous climbing of the first two days.   We set out early from a cute little coffee spot on 74 called Cardinal Coffee.   Becky and Mike left us there (I thought it was the previous night, but we actually had a good-bye drink with them on the hotel patio).  I had a nine-mile stretch of highway in front of me, all rolling hills with one thousand-foot ascent as I headed into Bryson City.   The highway here was busy, although passing over the eastern fork of Fontana Lake was beautiful.  It was still relentlessly hot with no shade, but fortunately Cheryl was able to meet me every four or five miles, which was still longer than how we would finish.  

I had to exit 74 into Bryson City on a tricky off-ramp that sharply curved around an overgrown island.   Twice I had to leap onto the grass in order to avoid getting hit, and I was pretty rattled by the time I actually made it into Bryson City.   I was also overheating and a little disoriented, and by the time I met Matt and Cheryl at the IGA, I was in a horribly distressed state.

The IGA in Bryson City is a depressed affair...rusted shopping carts, broken lights….it is a way station for through-hikers and street people.   This is where I met Cheryl to say goodbye and get handed off to the care of Mike and Sheley.   It was more than I could process and my emotions came crashing out as I hugged Cheryl goodbye.  She had to be home to help Claire and there simply was no more time to be hanging out with me.   It took a good ten minutes to get myself back under control, and I am grateful that Matt was around because he is so positive, all the time.

We found a dirt road that followed the Tuckaseegee, the river that runs through Bryson City.  It is a bold, wide river at this place, with beautiful tree-lined banks and a cooler breeze.   We walked along this road for a few miles, enjoying the changing scenery and the colors of spring.  At one point, I walked through a cloud of butterflies, all floating madly about my body.   If a cloud of butterflies can’t cheer you up, well, perhaps nothing can.  By the time we returned to the shitty IGA, Mike and Sheley were there, as was Matt’s dad, Mike B., and our new tribe was established.  

With still ten miles left ahead of me for the day, and limited options on the road, we decided on The Road to Nowhere for my next leg.   Years ago, federal planners decided on building Fontana Lake and Dam, to provide electricity to Alcoa as well as a very secretive power plant that was part of the Manhattan Project.   Yes, that Manhattan Project!  Anyway, they dammed up the river and promised residents they’d build a road to provide access to communities that were cut off as a result.   This road would go straight through Smoky Mountain National Park, originating in Bryson City and connecting the community of Fontana.   As part of the road, they built a tunnel through the mountain.  Once completed, however, the authorities abandoned the project altogether due to more serious environmental issues.  So the tunnel marks the end of the road, literally, for a project that was a statement of its times.   Government overreach or doing what was necessary at the time?  You decide.   But since then, this iconic spot has become a popular trailhead for the park, and a freestyle art project in its own right.

Mike B., Matt and I had a really great, vigorous hike into the Smoky Mountains, and it was a huge relief to be hiking instead of rucking along the highway.   It was a beautiful spring day, with only a few hikers.   Mike and Sheley had parked at the trailhead and were taking pictures of the tunnel and having a good time.   Matt also got great footage, some of which was actually used by the news channels that picked our story up.  After two hours or so, we returned to the cars and drove back down to Bryson City.  Annoyingly, I still had about four miles to go to finish my 25 for the day….it seemed like I would NEVER get there, between emotional highs and lows, and long exposure in the sun, I was exhausted.  

However, we still had a little time left and I asked to be dropped off on the river-side road along the Tuckaseegee to finish up.   The agreement was that I would meet Mike and Sheley there upon my return, while Matt and Mike B. finished up taking some pictures.   I had a lovely walk, which was all I could do at that point, but managed to get in those last miles, returning to Nantahala Brewing Company at about 5 pm.  Although it was way later than I planned, and I had been out on my feet for about nine hours with some huge elevation changes, I still felt grateful to have experienced such a day with old friends and new.   I had been challenged in so many emotional and physical aspects, but had gotten through them with a good deal of help.  It was time to enjoy a burger and beer by the river, and live in that moment of accomplishment and camaraderie, letting tomorrow take care of itself when it came.