Sawdust Pile - 6/2/2007
Hazel Creek, Great Smoky Mountains Natl. Park

After spending Friday night in at the Hampton Inn (we cashed in some of our Hilton Honors points, so our stay was FREE!) in Franklin, NC, we headed up to Fontana Lake and made it to Fontana Marina by 10am. With Josiah at the helm, the ferry took us to the north shore where we met Hazel Creek Trail. Being that we had already been to the Sawdust Pile (#85) campsite before, we had originally planned to push ourselves a bit further and make the 4.5 mile trek to the Sugar Fork campsite (#84). The 4.5 miles, however, was proving to be too much for Josiah so we called it quits at Sawdust Pile, which was at about 3.5 miles. It turned out to be a good decision because we would later learn that the Sugar Fork site was at full capacity with campers. We had the luxury of having the Sawdust Pile site all to ourselves for the entire trip. We made the 3.5 mile journey in just under 3 hours, stopping for 2 breaks along the way. After choosing an area to settle down in, we sprung into action. There was a possibility of rain in the forecast, so we worked quickly to get the camp set up. Dani set out to get some fresh water while I pitched the tent and unpacked the sleeping gear. Our main goal was to get everything prepared for any rain. Though our Black Diamond single wall tent is waterproof, I pitched an extra tarp over it just for good measure.

With the camp set up, our thoughts turned toward answering the calls of our grumbling stomachs. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to pack all of our food we only had 4 meal pouches and a handful of fruit snacks. With 2 pouches needed per meal and with 3 meals planned, we realized that we would barely have enough to last. We split 1 pouch of beef stew for lunch, used the 2 spaghetti pouches for dinner and saved the last beef stew pouch for breakfast. We got by ok, but needless to say we were famished when we got back to the marina the next day. We entertained the idea of catching and eating some trout from the creek, but nothing ever came of our efforts. Unlike previous trips, we didn't build a fire. We weren't depending on a fire for warmth or food, so we just relaxed and took it easy. We took a couple nature walks, played some cards and piddled around until dark and then hit the hay at around 10pm. At around 5am or so, it finally started raining but it wasn't anything we couldn't handle and the fact that we were sleeping at the time made it very convenient. We actually find the sound of rain on the tent very relaxing and easy to sleep to. We were out of bed by 8:30 the next morning. We had quick breakfast and then packed up camp for the journey home. We made it back down to the lake to catch the 1pm ferry with plenty of time to spare and had some pleasant conversation with several of hikers who were also catching the ferry.

Once back to the marina, we scarfed down some snacks to hold us over and headed out toward Franklin, NC to grab some lunch. Up until now, we've had a tradition of always eating our after-trip lunch at B & D Restaurant in Franklin. We were shocked, however, when we sat down at our table and saw that they had completely changed their menu, removing everything that we loved. What was a great place for southern comfort food was now bare bones place with 3 things on the menu: seafood (mostly fried), chicken fingers, and country ham. No more meatloaf! No more roast beef! No more country fried steak! Horrified, we left and set out in search of a new eatery. We settled on the Mountain Man BBQ and Grill in Dillard, GA. It was great food and we agreed that Mountain Man will be our new after-trip lunch spot. I plan to write a letter to B & D telling them how disappointed we were.

Enjoy the pictures!

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