The Ty Curtis Band

Chalk up one more point in the “bands I’ve discovered through satellite radio” list. While out passing the many miles under the tires over my recent Christmas travels, I had the dial set to Sirius 74 “B.B. King’s Bluesville.” This channel easily earns its spot in one of six presets on my radio; the latest reason being the subject of this post. While passing mile number something-something hundred (somewhere between here and We’ve Been Driving Too Damn Long, FL), a rockin’ tune started snapping me out of the monotonous counting of roadway dash markings. Standard procedure for when something like this happens is to document the artist name and song title to look up later on. Being the model of driver safety that I am, I had the wife reluctantly wake up and shoot me an email (gotta love the digitally tethered age we live in, sometimes) with the simple blurb: Ty Curtis Band – Do I Love You Too Much.

As soon as we had feet back in good ‘ole Nor-Ker-Line-Ah, I pulled up that email and start searching for the band. It didn’t take much effort to find these guys as they’ve been making quite an impact over the past couple of years: three studio albums released since 2007, 2nd place finish at the 2009 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, and a sound strong enough to attract a Grammy award winning producer (David Z: Prince, Etta James, Jonny Lang). On paper, they certainly look like much more than just a garage band. Your ears will confirm this when you hear some of their tunes–after all, that’s what it’s all about, right? Who cares about awards and producers?!?! This band smokes (in a non-surgeon general warning kind of way)!

The song I heard on Sirius, Do I Love You Too Much, is off of their latest release titled “Cross That Line.” It starts off with a riffing guitar followed by a raspy count-in, immediately hooking you and sending you straight into a rocking blues riff song. The lyrics are loud, the chorus is catchy, and the guitar work is nothing short of dang good. It’s one of those songs that just sits in your brain’s PA system and echoes all day long until you find yourself air guitaring and singing to the sounds that no one else can hear as you walk around the office!

The band’s relatively short history is impressive, going from a post-high school project to opening act for the Doobie Brothers in just a few years–no small accomplishment for a 23 year old (comparatively, at 23 the best musical accomplishment I had done was convince a couple hundred boozed-up Metallica fans that I could sort of sound and look like James Hetfield for an evening…guess I need to do a post about that some day…). But to really set the hook in my mouth, I’ve discovered that all of their music is available to stream over the web. They haven’t let copyright BS or label influence get in the way of getting music to the people in a fair way (meaning, I don’t have to drop cash to find out if I like them or not!). Through a combination of their own website and ReverbNation.com, you can stream every song from their three albums to decide for yourself whether or not the Ty Curtis Band has a place in your playlist. Thank you, Ty and gang, for offering this! It will absolutely return three album purchases and a fan from yours truly–and as soon as you get within striking distance of Charlotte, NC, I’ll be there!

I’m no well-versed music critic or historian. I can’t tell you the intricate technical name of playing styles nor can I give a list of ten other popular or obscure artists to compare a band to. I’m just not that hip, I guess. What I can tell you is when something sounds good; good enough for me to take the time to put them on my namesake website (you wish you were that cool). This band rocks, jams, rips, grooves–all of the above and then some! They sound fantastic. Check ‘em out! How’s that for a review?

Some links…
Official Ty Curtis Band website: http://www.tycurtisband.com
ReverbNation Ty Curtis Band page: http://www.reverbnation.com/thetycurtisband

It’s true: an iPad now resides at our house. No, I haven’t grown a scraggly beard, started wearing ugly clothes that are two sizes too small, opened a tab at Starbest’s Coffee, nor have I gone any longer than I normally do between showers; I’ve remained the same Steve as I was pre-iPad. So that’s good news (that I haven’t gone trendy). The bad news is that I actually kinda like the iPad. Let me be more specific: I like the idea of the iPad and what it’s intended for.

If you’re like the rest of the air-breathing world, you’ve likely seen ads for an iPad and wondered what the big deal is…what’s the difference between it and an iPod/iPhone other than it being four times larger. If you’re in the top 90th percentile, you might have actually seen an iPad in person and its user acting very sophisticated and hip while pretending to do something incredibly creative and/or important on it. And if you’re in the elite upper 99th percentile who actually own one of these marvels of fashion accessories, well, you should stop reading now before my attempt at humor makes you hunt me down and call me new buzz word names that I don’t understand.

I too shared these questions of what and why prior to smudging one with my own fingers, to which I think I have an answer for. But first things first: before you write me completely off as a hypocrite who spent a boatload of money on the latest electronic gadget, let me give the cool story of how I came into ownership of the latest incarnation of iThings. I won it (for free)! Through a simple contest at work that required nothing more out of me than an email, I was randomly selected out of a hat. Cool, huh?! I know!

Being the nice guy that I am, I brought it home to the wife and gave it to her to add to her collection of Apple stuff (she’s a grown woman, she can do as she pleases–including owning and using Apple things). It wasn’t long until I got my first spin behind the screen of the enlarged iPod touch. A few strolls around my normal websites, forums, and GMail and I caught the unholy thought of “hey, this is alright” snaking its way through my head.

Fast forward a few weeks now with several hours of use under my belt and I think I see the light that Steve Jobs was staring at when he pointed to an iPod touch and demanded his staff “make it bigger!” Think of what you do most often when you sit in front of a computer (keep it clean, please). If you own a cell phone or other pocket-sized device that’s capable of browsing the internet, think of it too. You’re not sitting down to design the next spaceship (thank God because you’d be out of a job if you live in America). You’re not sitting down to render a digital animation. It’s likely you’re not even going to do any significant photo or video editing. What do all of these things have in common? They require a lot of computing power. So what are we doing on our computers today? We’re reading blogs like this one, we’re checking email 10 times an hour, we’re letting our friends know something they could have lived without knowing on Facebook, and occasionally we’re killing time with a little game. Enter: exactly what an iPad does–and ONLY what an iPad does. In other words, it trims the fat off of a computer and its boot-up times and virus threats and power consumption and tethered-ness (if it’s a desktop)…you know, all the not-so-fun stuff of a computer.

As much crap as I can (and do) give Apple products, I have to give an ounce of credit to their designer’s apparent mindset with their products: make them easy to use. That the iPad does.

Now that my attempt at being a witty blog writer is nearly finished (never say never), let me get to the meat and potatoes of a quick review of the iPad:

Likes:

• Ultra-compact (almost to a fault because you’re worried about breaking it!). It’s thin, lightweight, and good sized. Not too big and not too small.
• Relatively bug free…and I stress relatively. Only rarely have I seen any sort of computing lag or force closes of applications. 99% of the time, it’s smooth sailing.
• I’d be lying if I said the big touch screen isn’t cool; it is. It’s got just the right amount of sensitivity and a lot of features to it. It seems like I stumble upon a new touch feature all the time: copy-paste, magnifying glass to help place the cursor exactly where you want it in a text field, etc.
• Pretty good battery life. This is important since you’ll likely spend 100% of your time unplugged with it. I’ve put a lot of strain on the battery with web browsing and 3D gaming, but I’ve yet to kill it. I’m sure it’s possible, but for normal and even above-normal usage, the battery performs.
• Good WiFi antenna. It finds even my home crappy WiFi network signal that barely squeaks out from the second floor of my house.

Dislikes (other than it being Apple):

• The price! Yes, I know mine was free…but I always catch myself saying “this thing is pretty cool, but I’d never pay for one!” My version is the 16GB WiFi edition–the lowest on the totem iPole–and it retails for $500! For that price, you can get a full-featured laptop. If they put this thing at $300-ish, I’d call it a home run…but then again, it probably wouldn’t stay on shelves in stores. Hey, I’ve never claimed to be an economatician.
• No Flash support!!! I don’t care if it’s bandwagon or trendy to complain about this. I run across a “broken plugin” icon (indicating that Flash is not installed) at least once every time I browse the web with it. “Frustrating” is probably too harsh a word to use since I’m not really doing anything utterly important. “Annoying” is the better word to use.
• The keyboard is a little bit cumbersome to use and could use some tweaking. My Evo’s touchscreen keyboard is more advanced than the iPad’s in that I can touch and hold a key that has another character in the “shift” or “function” position (in other words, behind that key) and it’ll register that you want to use that character. This is very helpful with a quick and occasional use of a number or irregular text (for instance: ; ” < > /) character. On the iPad, you have to switch to a different screen to use those characters. There may be an app or setting or trick that I just don’t know about…but until then, it’s annoying and severely hampers my typing.

I’m hopeful to get my hands on a Google Chrome notebook/thing as a tester. I’m not getting my hopes up as it’s a shot in the dark to be selected as a tester (and consequently getting their device for free–free is a good theme to follow!), but I’d like to see how Google takes this market approach…the one that cuts to the chase and gives the user only what they really wanted to mess with on the computer. I’m already expecting greater results with Google since everything will be linked through Google’s monstrous server system (GMail, Google Doc’s, photo editing, etc.) and the device is supposed to come standard with free 3G access (albeit it through Verizon, the devil).

Until then, I’ll spend a quick few minutes here and there checking in on my forum ramblings and refreshing my GMail inbox from the fancy screen of our iPad.

I just gave $10 to them for a few reasons:

• They’re my primary resource to link to in a post to help people learn/understand what I’m talking about.
• I use them probably at least once per day in either a fact-finding mission for something useful or for a quick answer for some spur-of-the-moment office trivia (more for the latter, for which I am very grateful!).
• I hate advertisements with a passion, especially the flat out stupid ones on most websites today. To see Wikipedia graffiti’ed with it would be a shame.

If you want to do the same, click the image below:

…and for anyone wondering, NO, Wikileaks (aka: WikiWankers) is not affiliated with Wikipedia.

I think my review of War, the book version of Restrepo, is as complete as I can make it. The book is intense and has some vivid imagery, most notably the account of the ambush staged by the Taliban on the platoon that Junger was embedded with during Operation Rock Avalanche–which sparked events that caused Sal Giunta to earn the Congressional Medal of Honor. I read the book many months before seeing the film, so my anticipation was high to compare my mental imagery to the live-action version. In contrast to the film, the book offers a much deeper look at the events that the soldiers went through–easy for a book to do since it’s relatively unconstrained for time. If I had to sum up a comparison of the book to the film in one sentence, that would be it. Book = great detail; film = abridged narrative.

The greatest thing about the book is that it is 100% unbiased. So unbiased that it actually attracts criticism from those who demand that every form of media present some sort of thesis or persuasion of thought. The film, on the other hand, comes across ever so slightly leaned a little toward the anti-war side; maybe moreso toward a “let’s think about what we really did over there” attitude. That in itself isn’t a bad thing at all (to think about what you did and learn from it). But when applied to military topics, I get a little annoyed because, to me, it implies second-guessing of our military’s actions and the way they went about protecting us and their own. Leave that to the history books, not to current events.

But enough about all of that…
Restrepo is one of the most real/raw/in-depth looks into what frontline soldiers endure that I have ever seen. I thought I had an idea of what Afghanistan is (the conflict, the country, the people)…boy was I wrong! If it weren’t such a war-torn and crazy place, I would probably want to tour their country some day given the scenic mountainscapes and cool treefort-like houses the Afghan people live in! I’d have never known that if I didn’t see Restrepo.

The intense combat action that these soldiers saw on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis is mind-boggling.  The constant state of readiness that they had to maintain cannot be comprehended, but you get a taste of it through the film. While the book gets deep into specific topics, the film gives a slightly better picture of the “big picture.” You see the mountainous terrain that they sleep/live/walk/eat/patrol/fight/exist on in addition to seeing how random the firefights are. As a bonus, you get to see some military hardware in action too (Apaches, various small arms, mortars, A-10′s, and payloads delivered by B-1B’s, to note a few). While the book can describe something into oblivion, seeing it as it really exists definitely has value; whether it’s to verify your mind’s eye calibration or for just pure shock and awe entertainment.

The film is interlaced with intimate interviews of the soldiers in front of a black backdrop; standard interview setting. I feel that it gives too quiet of a “talk time” and introduces a tiny bit of “what the hell were we doing there” feel. Some of the soldiers blatantly express discontent with the US’s involvement in the region while others stand by the mission. It all adds to the tone of the film which, like I said, feels just slightly in the “just what were we really doing there” column.

Overall, the film does the soldiers’ legacy justice. It gives us common Joe’s back here in the comfy stateside a better idea of what they went through–theoretically for us. Check it out, but be sure to also read the book. I hate that old cliche’ of “you have to read the book in addition to watching the movie,” but it applies 100% here.

Joseph Harlan Frey

On the morning of October 28, 2010 (8:03am to be exact), Joseph Harlan Frey saw the light of day for the first time in the arms of Steve and Maria Frey; well, the doctor’s arms to be truthful, but I don’t think his eyes were really open until he landed in mom and dad’s arms! All 21 inches, 8 pounds and 9 ounces of him.

We can now buy a “family size” meal and not have leftovers; we can go to an amusement park that offers a family four-pack of tickets and not have to waste a ticket; we fit nicely into the US census statistics of how numerous a family should be; mathematically, we divide nicely now–but I wouldn’t try to divide us physically if I were you (over-protective dad speaking there…sorry)!

We’ve got the house, the cars (and the payments that go with both), the dog, and now the kids. What’s next? Who cares! We’re taking this thing one day at a time as best as we can figure how to and that seems to be working well (just as long as I don’t need to operate heavy machinery–no sleep in the foreseeable future).

Photo courtesy of the Restrepo Facebook page: facebook.com/restrepothemovie

Restrepo, the award-winning documentary co-made by the author of War, is making its premiere on the National Geographic Channel next month. Mark your calendars, set your smartphone’s reminder app, set your DVR now for Monday November 29th at 9pm EST on the National Geographic Channel. Of course, if you’re reading this after that date, you’ll need to dig through the TV listings to find it.

The “movie version” of the book War has been making its way across the country in smaller Indie film theaters for the past many months. Not only has it generated a cult-like following of fans in less than a year, it leaves many unsuspecting folks wide-eyed and full of a perspective they’ve likely never thought of: the soldier’s daily life on the front line in the thick of it. All walks of life–pro-war, anti-war, service men and woman, military family members, Americans, non-Americans–have been checking this unbiased documentary out and pretty much all agree that it’s incredible in many ways. From raw footage recorded while on patrol with the subject platoon to deep thoughts with the soldiers (yes, they’re more than capable of that!), you’ll probably see and learn things previously unknown to you.

Enough build-up! Make time to watch this. If you have cable or satellite TV that gets the NatGeo channel, do yourself (and these guys who’ve sacrificed much to protect your butt–American or not) a huge favor and watch it at least once. It couldn’t get any easier. You don’t have to go to an old crummy theater that only hippies frequent. Fair warning though, I’m not sure if NatGeo is going to bleep out the bad words (which the film is chaulk-full of). If they don’t, it may not be a good idea to let little kids watch it. If they do, by all means let ‘em watch as there is little to no blood and guts. It’ll be one of the best history lessons they’ll ever get!

I’ll get my review (that i know you’re so dying to read, right) posted after the TV premiere. I saw the film only once int eh theater and I’d like to soak it in another time before putting thoughts together.

UPDATE: I just found out that the documentary premiere will air unedited and with limited commercial interruption. Keep this in mind for the little ones; it might be a bit rough for their ears.

I’ll start with my first impressions of the jacket right out of the packaging. “Lightweight and dare I say skimpy” was the thought that ran through my mind after I anxiously ripped open the shipping bag and pulled the jacket out. “This is a Carhartt product?” I thought. Looks were most certainly deceiving! More specifically, I had the wrong idea of what this jacket was going to be. My collection of Carhartt jackets up to that point was made for the apocalypse: rough and relatively stiff exterior that you could grate Parmesan cheese on while it kept you warm and comfortable! This new jacket was smooth and very thin…something I’d consider wrapping a baby in! After closer examination, I saw the Carhartt ruggedness hidden under a fancy presentation: rip-stop material exterior shell, reinforced elbows, triple-stitched seams, rugged velcro and elastic adjustable wrists, draw cord seal-able bottom, a hood that can be rolled up and secured as a collar when not in use, zippered front pockets, large net material interior storage pockets bins, and of course the famous Carhartt logo on the chest.

I ordered an XL-tall as I do with any jacket or shirt that offers the tall option. The fit is perfect as is the comfort. The inner material is a slightly rubbery feeling membrane that’s supposed to be breathable so the jacket doesn’t turn into a sauna. The conditions I experienced while first trying out the jacket were perfect: about 50-60 degrees and either raining or misty/drizzling with a slight breeze. Waterproof it stayed and breathable it certainly seemed as I never felt stuffy or sweaty on the inside. The front pockets provide plenty of room and are perfectly located to let your hands rest naturally while the interior pockets offer tons of room. I was able to carry a medium-sized notebook in one of the interior pockets and never knew it was there.

Overall, I like this jacket. I admittedly underestimated it out of the package and I stand corrected! It does its job well and seems like it’ll last a lifetime. As an outer shell layer, the Acadia can be very versatile as an additional layer in cold and wet temps or as its own layer over a shirt to keep you dry. Carhartt has it priced at $100 on their website. I’d imagine you can find it a little cheaper later on after it’s been on the market for a little bit (it just came out this fall of 2010).

Is it worth $100? I think the quality is there, for sure. I’ve always balked at buying rain-only gear because to get good gear that keeps you dry, you usually have to fork out some cash, and then you’re stuck with gear that can only comfortably be worn when it’s raining (and usually only when it’s raining pretty hard). This jacket would serve you well not only as a rain jacket, but also as a lightweight windbreaker without rain–so it could easily pull double duty and make the price easier to swallow. Long story short: definitely consider this jacket if you have a need to stay dry and want the Carhartt quality and ruggedness, or if you simply want quality gear that will last as long (or longer) than you on the occasional short day hikes or trips to the grocery store!

Big deal, right? James is just in another movie and Steve is getting excited because it’s something about Metallica–right?

Wrong. I’m excited–no, speechless–to come across this. I’ve got to tell this story…follow along for a minute, I promise it’s not too boring…

I recently revived an old desire to read the book Wild at Heart with the purchase of the hardcopy version of it. I’ve had an audio copy of the book for years now and I’ve never made it all the way through; I get tired of hearing someone else’s voice talk on and on and on! I figured now is a really good time to knock out this reading if I think it might have any value to me (with all this fatherhood stuff happening and me trying to learn God’s word a little better…you know, minor details!). Long story short, I just finished reading the book and felt that the message it delivers is so important that I volunteered to host a “small group” for guys at my house this fall through our church (yes, saying “wowzers” would be appropriate here). If you’re a guy (or even a girl–this book will help you better understand the other side of the equation!) and are either a Christian yourself or are at least open-minded enough to hear the Christian side of the story, reading this book should be in your near future–more on this later when I eventually post a review of the book itself.

The book’s author, John Eldredge, has made a name for himself in the category of Christian masculinity; you know, defining what a man should be and how he should be as set forth by God. As dry as that sounds, let me stop you from writing him (and me) off as another religious nut that needs to be buried with the squirrel’s winter stockpile. This guy explains how God’s word is supposed to define a man’s life in simple, easy to understand, non-”churchy” (trust me on that one), guidance mostly through contrasting what God says (via the Bible) with what the modern world has tried (and mostly succeeded) to shape men into in an effort to be more palatable to society. But above all the world’s devious efforts to screw men up, a key central component of a guy’s life and whether or not he starts out on the right foot is his father.

Absent, a documentary…

Now enter “Absent“: a documentary that’s supposed to make the case of how important a father is to not only men, but to the world. More specifically, the documentary seems like it will focus on the absence of a father in a child’s life (boys and girls) and how that can really screw things up. The info that is available about the documentary doesn’t hint at it being a “Christian movie.” In fact, I highly doubt it is. The fella in the opening seconds of the trailer (with the little tiny patch of goatee hair) is John Eldredge. It looks like the film’s creator, Justin Hunt, got wind of John being a veritable expert on the role of a father in our lives and wanted to get his input for the film–good move, in my opinion.

Didn’t I say something about Metallica?

Now enter James Hetfield, the lead singer for Metallica: the band I more or less worshiped as a teen (ok, ok…also into my 20′s…so what?!?!). Over the past few years, my rabid desire for anything and everything “Metallica” has ebbed to simply listening to and liking their music. What were hourly (maybe even half-hourly) visits to the Metallica Fan Club online discussion forums and news outlets have pretty much disappeared from my life–like I said, I’ve dialed it back to a “sane” fan level of the band! So when I got the urge to dial up Metallica’s website the other day just to see what’s going on in their world (I’ll be honest, I was secretly hoping that they’re done gallivanting around the globe and had returned to the US to start on their next album–wishful thinking, I know), the last I expected to see was that James had been recruited to some documentary…especially one that could have any significant meaning to me!

Last, but darn certainly not least: God

Now let’s have God enter this story: I mentioned the small group that I’m slated to host this fall, and I hinted at me trying to becoming a better person through Christianity (suggesting that I’m still new to that whole thing). I have to admit that while I fully endorse John Eldredge’s message in his book and I want all guy’s to hear it and embrace it, I feel like I’m one of the last people who needs to be leading a group of guys to learn about God’s word!!! Nervous doesn’t quite sum it up; maybe afraid would be a better word! My crossroads was simple: let my fear overcome me and not get the word out to other guys, or be motivated by the messages God was pretty much hitting me upside the head with! (I chose the later)

Here’s a documentary that crosses too paths of two 180 degrees different guys from two entirely different interests in my life. Some of you might call it coincidence. I call it a sign.

So long story short, I’m looking forward to catching this film if/when it comes my way (these Indie films are so hard to like given the monumental effort needed to get them to show anywhere near your city–compared to some airheaded “summer blockbuster” that plays in every single theater across the country). I’m even more looking forward to hosting this small group and seeing what comes of it. My nervousness is gone and I’m not so much afraid as I am anxious to see what unfolds…

Stay tuned.

Since my old original post of a kayaking camping trip on Fontana Lake draws so many visitors to this site (about 10-20 per day), I figured I’d make a detailed post of recommendations and resources for planning a similar trip to this deceivingly remote piece of the majestic Great Smoky Mountains. I presume most of the visitors who stumble upon my post are trying to piece together info on the Fontana Lake region–a region that doesn’t have too many detailed information sources (at least not on the web). I spent weeks searching and piecing together info from the web. One website would have some great info, but leaves holes where I needed more info; another website would be relatively thin on the details, but provide the missing puzzle piece I was looking for! My hope is that I can give you, the trip planner, as many pieces of your puzzle as I can so you can have a great trip.

Defining “Remote”

Fontana Lake is in a very remote part of western North Carolina. When I say “it’s in the middle of nowhere,” I mean it! You’ll lose cell phone reception 45 minutes or more before getting into the Fontana Village area; basically just outside of Bryson City, NC, where 74 hits 28. Don’t expect to have coverage at all–if you do, it’s a fluke and your bars will likely disappear just as you try to take advantage of making that quick call and hit “send!” The only means of contact that I found was a pay phone at a small gas station/pit stop located here. I’m sure there’s another one somewhere in the Fontana Village area, but this is the only one I used and can guarantee is there! Be sure to let whoever is staying behind at home know that you’ll be pretty much unreachable for the entire time you’re out here. Any emergencies will have to wait until you’re headed home and back into cell coverage. Someone would have minimal luck even contacting the GSMNP Ranger’s office to have them locate you in an extreme emergency, so be sure that those staying behind won’t need you at all (think: pregnant wives, dependant kids, dog sitters, etc.)!

Note: according to the Fontana Village website, they apparently now have Verizon service at some spots in the Village. I still wouldn’t rely on it–if not for anything other than a cell phone tends to ruin the getaway experience!

Now, don’t go thinking I’m implying that remoteness is bad and that it only applies to cell phone coverage! Absolutely not!!! The remoteness (and lack of cell coverage) is part of what makes this region so enjoyable. If you’re like the majority of the rest of us and are tied to the grind of suburban life, and you’re able to arrange to get away and completely cut those ties for a few days, the feeling will be nothing short of absolutely refreshing! Do not be discouraged by the lack of cell coverage–embrace it!

Getting There

Of course we all come from different parts of the country, so there’s no easy generic way for me to explain how to get to the region. But, when you get within striking distance of the lake, there’s really only one way to get around: NC 28. Be alert for bikers as there are usually an over-abundance of them due to the proximity of the “Tail of the Dragon” road (US 129 just over the TN border). NC 28 is, for the most part, a two-lane (one lane in each direction) road. Leave plenty of time in your schedule to account for many potential delays: accidents (a biker decided to become part of a rock face when I was there–45 minute traffic delay), weather, scenery (fall time, expect tons of sight seeing bikers and motorists), etc. I suggest leaving insanely early the day of (“butt crack of dawn” time!) to leave plenty of time to get there and to take in the sights.

Here are some useful links for destinations in the Fontana Village region. As always, be wary of not-too-accurate directions that any map/direction source can give you in mountainous regions. Roads close due to weather and rock slides and have limited access (RV’s and longer vehicles are generally prohibited from overly curvy roads). In all maps, I’m pointing to where the green arrow is, not necessarily where the red marker is (the roads are so remote that Google hasn’t really refined the address routine out here on the maps):

• Fontana Marina: click here
• Fontana Village: click here
• Fontana Lodge: click here
• The “Pit Stop”: click here

Any of these locations would make good meeting points if you have two or more seperate groups meeting up. They are larger destinations and well-known, so they should be easy to find (let alone, they’re pretty much the only things out there!).

Fontana Village

You may notice a pattern of “Fontana Village” being repeated or referenced here. That’s simply because it’s the only thing out there! I’m not sure if it’s actually a “real” city or town; it feels like a gigantic camping ground that’s so big that it takes the form of a functioning town. Any police or medical service is provided by a volunteer force that typically doubles as Village staff at the Lodge, Pit Stop, Grill, etc. The Village itself is made up of several key features:

• The Fontana Lodge: this is a very nice rustic lodge/resort that looks, feels, and smells like you’d think a lodge would in the Smokies (that’s a good thing). They have a nice restaurant and a small bar among other amenities. I only stopped by for a quick drink before learning of another cheaper place to grab some food.
• The Fontana Marina: this is where everything “Fontana Lake” starts and ends at. It’s a very long boat ramp complete with many parking spaces and a long floating dock with a small boat supplies store at the end of it. I have no idea about ramp fees for motorized boat launching, but there is (was) no fee for launching kayaks and canoes–nor was there a fee for parking over night. You can’t beat that! I suggest calling the Marina ahead of time for confirmation of this info (see their website for contact info). Also, the Marina rents just about every kind of water craft: bass boats, pontoon boats, canoes, and kayaks. Of course, “rent” means for a fee, and the prices seem fair but are undoubtedly steep…especially when you figure you’ll likely be out on the water for two or more nights. The Marina also offers shuttle services for hikers wishing to just get across the lake to start their hike and head back around to the Marina (crossing over the dam on the way back). See the website for more info on this, including prices.
• The Fontana Campground: located literally at the base of the Fontana Dam, the Village owns and maintains a small tent and RV campground, complete with water/sewer hook-ups for RV’s and a small bath house for tent campers. I’d say there are maybe 40 or so tent sites and a handful of RV sites. Of course, I was there in off-peak season, so maybe they can squeeze in more than I estimate! The campground is great for staging a next-day kayak trip on the lake. It’s cheap (somewhere around $20 per tent site–which you can easily cram 2 or 3 tents onto) and the scenery is certainly unique! The jokes of the evening usually centered around hearing a cracking noise and being the first to run up the adjacent hillside to escape the rushing dam break (no, there’s no real threat of the 480′ tall dam bursting)! At least you get a sense of how deep the lake is that you’re about to set out on the next day; and there’s a constant sound of rushing water in the distance coming from the outlets in the dam that makes for a good night’s sleep.

Supplies

Be sure to stock up on everything you think you’ll need well before getting into the remote region of Fontana Lake. If for some extreme reason you can’t get to your local Wally World (or other favorite cheap-o bulk supply depot) before leaving town on your trip, you’ll be left to the mercy of whatever the few small and scattered stores can provide; usually a very limited and relatively higher priced polarized array of either hard core basics or cheap touristy junk that has no business on a backcountry trip. The two places that I know of in the Fontana Village area that have some minimal stores for purchase are:

• Hazel Creek Outfitters: located here, within the Fontana Village, this small shop offers a modest selection of some of the basics…and then some of that stuff I mentioned (in my opinion) that has no business on a backcountry trip–but remember, this shop is really there to serve those “camping” within the village and maybe as a mediocre resupply point for AT through hikers. In any case, you can find a few things that you might have forgotten here, but don’t rely on it!
• The Marina boat shop: located at the end of the Fontana Marina boat dock, this very small shop is geared primarily toward boaters and fisherman. They focus on boat supplies and bait and don’t have much that would be a necessity for backcountry camping. That said, however, they do have ice cold drinks and some snacks that you might want to grab last minute before heading out–or better yet, for your reward after paddling back across the lake on your return trip! Again, don’t rely on this shop for your essentials.
• Worst case, if you really screwed up and forgot something critical that neither of these shops supply, your best bet is to take the 50+ minute drive back out to Franklin, NC or Sylva, NC to find a WalMart (yes, it pains me to recommend that!). There may be some better outfitter-type stores in Bryson City, but I don’t have personal knowledge of them. Long story short: as with any camping trip, prepare a list weeks in advance, continue to refine the list, and make one all-inclusive and thorough shop for it all before heading out here!

A quick note/suggestion to those who may not have much experience with canoeing/kayaking and camping (such as myself): you may be tempted to pack a little more gear and supplies than you would on a backpacking trip given the appearance of the kayak or canoe doing the lugging of the weight. While paddling across the lake to the site may not be as difficult as it would be if the gear was being carried by your back while hiking, remember that you still have to handle all of that gear! This becomes painfully clear when you end up in a situation like I did on my trip where the water is a little lower than “perfect” and you have to lug all the gear up a muddy steep hill to get to your campsite! Moral of the story: you don’t go kayak or canoe camping so that you can haul more gear. You go for the different experience of getting to the camping spot. Keep it minimal!

The Lake

Fontana Lake is a man-made lake formed by the damming of the Little Tennessee River. At its deepest, the water is about 400′ deep (don’t believe me? check out the Fontana Dam). Remember, this lake was once a mountain stream flowing though the Great Smoky Mountains. Picture a mountain stream valley flooded to a depth of 400′+…that’s the lakebed of Fontana! The water gets deep very quickly from the shoreline since the lakebed is typically at about a 30-45 degree angle (again, think of a former mountainside),; remember this when you’re pushing off as it’ snot like a normal lake that you may be used to having a good while to walk out into the water. How does this water depth info relate to your trip out on the water? Simple: if you drop something, you’re not getting it back! For this reason, I had all of my gear tethered to my kayak (military surplus parachute cord works well for this…as do the buckles and straps on your backpack that’s likely shoved up under the nose or rear of the kayak/canoe).

The lakebed is made up of rocky, bouldery, clayey former mountainside land. Along the shores, you may see some old tree stumps still clinging to the submerged ground (these are usually visible in low water level times hiding down where the water never dips below (therefore, not allowing air to touch the stumps and rot them out). The water is a greenish-blueish tranquil looking color. I believe this comes from a combination of the hardness (amount of calcium) and the contact with the clay. as a drinking source, the lake makes a great source for filtering drinking water from, especially if you get your draw tube down a few feet below the surface…you’ll get nice cold perfect tasting water! As with any water source, I do not recommend drinking the water without filtering it by some method (or boiling it).

As I mentioned in my original Fontana post, the name of the game on this water body is lake levels. Since the lake is made and maintained by a dam (which uses the water to make electricity and also regulates the flow to the downstream receiving river), the water level of the lake hardly ever sits still. In addition to the dam drawing the water down through its various intakes, you’ve got many tributaries feeding the lake with fresh new water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Tennessee Valley Authority, the folks who own and operate the dam) publish a “dam operating guide” which gives people an idea of what elevation the water surface is expected to be (as well as where it has been for the past two years). Click here to see the guide. Before you glaze over and get intimidated about reading the graphical results, let me es’plain it all:

• The treeline on the lake is somewhere around elevation 1700. This would essentially be the highest level the water could normally get. Anything below this elevation means there’s exposed lakebed between you and the treeline; more specifically, lakebed between you and an improved designated campground. The lake is typically at this elevation from May through mid-August.
• The red color line, labeled as “20XX Observed Midnight Elevations” (“XX” being the year that you’re reading the graph, like 2010), is the latest current elevation data. This is the line that you want to focus on as it represents as real-time as you can get with the lake water surface elevation. If this line is going upward over the past few days/weeks, expect the water level to keep rising. If it’s flat, expect the lake to stay relatively level. If it’s headed downward, expect the lake level to drop. Of course, the level can change in a matter of hours, depending on how much water the TVA is letting out of the lake. On my last trip in September of 2008, the lake dropped about 6″ each night!
• The gray shaded area is where the TVA anticipates keeping the water level during the specified time frame. For instance, for the month of October, the TVA expects the water level to start somewhere between 1670 and 1685, and end the month somewhere between 1660 and 1675–which, by the way, are not favorable elevations for camping on the lake.
• The black line represents where the water level was last year. You can try to use this to gauge where the water surface will be during your planned trip time, but be mindful that sudden brief rainy periods can significantly alter the current water level (by a factor of 5-10 feet over a day or two). So use it only to plan, but always be mindful of regional weather patterns  too that could cause current levels to fluctuate from last year’s numbers.
• For the average person (one who’s not looking for an extremely difficult camping trip), I recommend planning a kayak/canoe camping trip only when the lake level is above 1680. More on that in the next section…

I’m told that the lake is very busy with motorized traffic in the summer months–especially holidays. This could make traversing the lake tricky for a canoe or kayak, especially if it’s choppy. Of course, the other side of the equation to balance, if you’re trying to avoid crowds, is the lake levels. Boat traffic conveniently dies down when the water levels die down (this is actually on purpose as the TVA keeps the lake levels highest during the months with greater recreational opportunity–when it’s warm). It’s a sort of ‘pick your poison” situation: crowds or lower water levels. Personally, I’ll try to find the delicate balance between no crowds and water levels that are manageable (that would be late August through early September).

Camping

Camping on the shore of Fontana Lake is great! It’s very remote and secluded and provides incredible scenery. Better yet, the use of canoes and/or kayaks makes bringing folks that normally couldn’t do a backcountry hike possible (young kids, people with physical ailments, etc.). As long as they can paddle and are willing to “rough it” while camping, they’ll have just as much fun and see as incredible of sights as someone who hikes into the Smokies for miles and miles by foot. Another thing is the environment…it’s just simply different than hiking into somewhere to camp–you’re on a lake (and a darn big one at that!).

Fontana Lake forms the southern boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. That means that the entire north shoreline of Fontana Lake is National park land and is governed by the rules and regulations of the park. As it relates to camping, you must camp in designated camp sites (see the latest GSMNP trail map for which sites are open and where they’re located). Also, you must adhere to the Park’s backcountry rules–which includes obtaining a free backcountry permit. You can obtain one of these permits at the Fontana Marina (it’s nothing more than letting the Park know who you are and where you plan to be). Take note that GSMNP campsites #90 (Eagle Creek) and #86 (Hazel Creek) are reservation-only sites to limit the number of people at the sites. To reserve a campsite, simply call the backcountry office and tell them your dates and how many people you’ll have. I recommend you do this as soon as you know your dates to avoid being locked out! See the GSMNP backcountry website for more info. As I wrote in my September 2008 trip, we were not able to reach the actual campsites due to low water levels. The “fingers” of Eagle Creek and Hazel Creek eventually turn into mountain streams at the far upstream end of them. As the lake water recedes, more mountain stream is uncovered. In case you didn’t know, mountain streams are not exactly navigable by kayak or canoe! If you find yourself in this situation:

• Pick a spot as close to the campsite as possible (this may be a half mile or so from the site). In other words, make the attempt at getting to the designated campsite. If you happen to be visited by a park ranger, this will likely help your argument!
• Make sure the site will leave as little footprint as possible. Do not ever cut down trees (large or small) and try not to trample and plants or bushes. The perfect improvised spot would be a large flat silt bar at a bend in the creek.
• Remember to scout out a tree to hang your bear-sensitive supplies in. At a designated campsite, the park provides steel cables to make this easy. Since you’re not at a designated site, you’re gonna have to do this on your own!

Wildlife

On my September 2008 trip, there was no shortage of wildlife: trout in the lake/streams (remember, you need a NC fishing license WITH a “trout stamp” to be legally able to fish for them!), turkeys on the banks, and bears in the woods! We were warned by the Marina boat shop regulars that there were reports of an aggressive bear at campsite #90. Thankfully, we had no such encounter. You should always be mindful of bears when camping in a high-volume park like the Smokies. The chance that the bears have become reliant or curios of humans and their trash is high. Simply taking the time to properly store your bear-sensitive gear (basically anything that has a scent that could be interesting to a bear: soap, food, lotions, etc.) will go a long way in preventing an unpleasant encounter. At our second campsite, we had no trees anywhere near us so we improvised and simply put all of the bear gear in a kayak and anchored it out in the deep pool adjacent to our campsite!

Hopefully this information can help you plan a better trip to Fontana Lake. I’ve dumped as much info here as I can think of…I’m sure it’s a far cry from everything! If you can think of anything I missed (or messed up!), feel free to drop me a line using the contact form on this website.