While I am not including any mileage here, I have visited and walked (the AT)
across Fontana Dam - 1740 ft. This dam marks the southern end of the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park. Fontana Dam is 480 feet high. It is the highest dam in
the east and the sixth highest in the United States. The lake created by the dam
and the mountains around it are beautiful. There are visitors buildings,
restrooms and (according to the trail guide) public showers at the site of the
dam.
I made a brief stop there as part of a longer weekend trip on which I was
accompanied by my wife and an aunt and uncle. It was bright, warm and sunny at
the time of our afternoon visit. Earlier in the day, we had walked through the
Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest in steady rain. This is an area of virgin timber
with many large trees. It is 21.7 miles from the intersection of US 129 and NC
28 - in western North Carolina - and is well worth a visit.