Lakeshore Trail Backpack

Date:  4/25/14 - 4/27/14
Distance: 35mi

On this weekend, I hiked with the GSHAG group for 35 miles on the Lakeshore Trail.  This was the 1st backpack trip that I had been on since my youth, so I was excited to see how I'd do.  On the 1st day, we drove to Fontana Dam and left a car at the Lakeshore Trailhead.  We then took a shuttle to the tunnel to nowhere.  The drive seemed to never end, but finally we were on the trail after 3 hours of driving.

The 1st day was about 10 miles to campsite 98.  The hike wasn't overly difficult, but the heavy pack took some time to get used to.  The campsite was awesome. It was situated right next to a mountain stream which provided background music to the camp.  It was just a short walk down to the lake with breath taking views and lots of driftwood for a nice campfire.

I had the Mountain house Chicken and Rice for dinner.  It was pretty good on a tortilla.  It was more than I could eat.  Sleep didn't work out so well.  I just couldn't get to sleep.

The next day was tough.  I got up with a pretty bad headache that left me feeling queasy. I had a hard time eating any breakfast, but did drink a fair amount of Gatorade.  Once on the trail, I started feeling better.  I think the hiking helped the most, but I also took a few Advil throughout the day.

We hiked from campsite 98 to 86.  This was a nearly 16 mile day.  The day was very hot and some of the hikers had problems with overheating and blisters.  This slowed the pace and we didn't pull into camp until nearly 6:30.  We also got Ollie Cove when we went by.  This little bit of trail was cruel as it was straight down to the lake and then straight back up.  The tough part of the hike was Welch Ridge which was a big climb late in the day.  By then I was feeling much better, so the climb didn't seem too bad to me.  There were a few nice flaming azalea bushes along the trail and some nice views of the lake.

At the campsite, I had the Mountain House Spaghetti for dinner and I enjoyed it.  I couldn't finish it either.  After a quick cold bath in the creek, several of us walked down to the end of the trail where the Boat Ferries pick up.  This 0.5 miles is on the map, so we picked it up.  It was pitch black and the trail seemed to be covered with frogs.  After a nice time by the campfire, I slept a bit better the 2nd night.  Still not great, but better than Friday night.

I awoke on Sunday feeling good having a breakfast of instant oatmeal.  The hike on this day was about 10 miles with a couple of climbs.  It was another hot day, but knowing the end was near, we all moved at a good pace.  We started about 9:00 and everyone was out before 1:30 with a 20 minute stop for lunch.

Very enjoyable weekend.