Sorry we could not update the blog last week (wifi issue)

6/2 Donn dropped us off at the trail head and we began hiking. Stayed at Siler Bald Shelter. Siler Bald provided an awesome view. Met two young guys who were excited about our kilts.
6/3 Hiked to Wayah Bald Stone Tower for another nice view. A man day hiking the other direction told us of his story of recovery from a heart bypass surgery...full recovery by carrying weight up hill. Stopped at a ranger station built in 1916. Craig said we were tourist backpacking. Met Frank and three Korean siblings. Intense thunderstorm during the night. Stayed at Wayah Bald shelter.
6/4 Donn called and said they would like to see us in Fontana Village when we get there. Stayed at Cold Spring Shelter.
6/5 Breathtaking view from the Wesser Bald fire tower. Met two marines and dog from Asheville NC. Met a Scottish man hiking the other direction who said he never saw a red (Craig's) kilt but he really liked it. Stayed at A. Rufus Morgan shelter.
6/6 Woke up and a tour of middle school kids came to the shelter. We were the only hikers so they asked us a lot of questions. Went to the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) and spent the day. Nancy had a backpack shakedown and got rid of some weight. Craig had a couple beers. Stayed at Sassafras Gap shelter.
6/7 Nancy met John, Ki, and dog Kong, who Craig had met earlier. Met two bicyclists at a road crossing who gave us some Amish pumpkin bread. Tented at Cody gap. Heard Owls calling each other in the early morning hours.
6/8 Made it to Fontana Village via shuttle and picked up our mail drops at the post office, which later filled our tent with the 3 boxes. We had things to ship back that we had sent ahead.  The logistics of this type of trip are challenging. Had a nice lunch and got the shuttle to the Fontana Hilton Shelter which had bathrooms and a shower. Walked down an extremely steep hill to dip into the lake. Met yogi bear at the shelter and saw triscuit and mayapple, who is still deciding on a trail name. Also met boys from Mississippi who were hiking to the NOC.
6/9 Took a shower for the first time in a week (we do stream bowl bathing on the trail). Nancy organized the mail drop and lightened her pack once again while Craig typed the blog and talked to yogi. Sandi and Donn visited and we all went to the Fontana Dam visitors center, Marina, and  village for dinner.   Donn wondered what must go through Kayenta's mind with all this hiking... "Did we lose the house?"  :)  John showed up and decided to kennel Kong with Kayenta (dogs are not allowed in the smoky mtn national park). So the dogs will have a vacation together.
6/10 Rain all night and morning. Hiked one mile between the Marina and the shelter so we wouldn't need to do it Monday. Craig's air core mattress is leaking so we dunked it in the lake to determine it had the same problem as Nancy's. Ate boiled peanuts and met Serenitina who offered Nancy the trail name Lighten Up. Nancy lightened her pack by removing some inner material, the foam padding on the straps and belt.
6/11 Curtis picked up Kayenta and Kong. We met Sharon S from PA at the Fontana Hilton Shelter as we waited for the shuttle to mail our boxes at the post office.  What a surprise that was. Walked to the visitors center on the way to the trail. Hiked 11.5 miles and stayed at Mollie's Ridge shelter. In the middle of the night Nancy began to feel precipitation but we were on the bottom bunk of the shelter. Woke up the top bunk folks and found that someone had rolled onto a water bottle valve and it leaked thru the floor onto us. We mopped up several cups of water from our sleeping bag and cuddled to dry it out. Fortunately we have a synthetic bag which can dry out fairly easily.  Yogi Bear said we handled it like champs, that he would have awakened the whole shelter.