So this is supposed to be a two person blog, but I've also been keeping my journal. You all should expect updates around weekly from me, I think. That said, its been almost a week and a half since we started. (Wow...) The reason I haven't posted yet (and fell a few days behind in my journal) is that I was close to finished The Lord of Chaos (Book 6 of the Wheel of Time). I devoted all of my free time to it, and was quite pleased with the result.
Today was our first (full) day in North Carolina, and it welcomed us by raining all day. Yay! We got started late (woke up at 8:30), and toon our time getting out (left at 9:45). Once we were moving we tried not to be too disappointed by the return of the grey wall. We saw some areas that we assumed would have had good views, but we didn't bother to stop, since visibility was under 200 ft at times. The rain did give us an excuse to stop at the two shelters we passed for extended visits, though.
At the first, I had to use the privy, and we talked to the people who were still cooking breakfast there. There is apparently a festival in Franklin today and tomorrow (our next resupply point). We decided against going, since it would seem to be a cop out to avoid the rain.
We ate a late lunch at the second shelter (we wanted to have a roof over our heads). We talked with some people who were just finished lunch, and were booking. They were at Springer 5 days ago. Dang. When they left, they forgot a water bottle and a filter. I considered bringing it with, but figured there was no way we could catch them. Sure enough, when we stopped at Beech Gap, the group was there finishing up with their break. Whoops.
There was a break in the rain for us to set up camp, cook, hang some bears, and get into the tent. It seems to have started up again now.
Everything I own is slightly damp, but that's much better than the situation outside the tent.
On to A Crown of Swords (Book 7),
Matt
I appreciate your honesty about screwing over the other hikers and the fact that you are hanging bears. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see you contributing to the blog. JJ has a few grammatical corrections she would like me to mention...bummer about missing the views but I am guessing that there will be one or two more good views :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Matt - nice to hear from you!
ReplyDeleteAri: We try to hang bears every night. It keeps the trail safer. (Its what we say for hanging our food bags.)
ReplyDeleteDad: There already have been some great views. And I'm on a smaetphone, what did you expect? (Hint: comma splices)
We usually just try to scare the bears away when hiking, hanging them is taking it to the extreme! You guys are doing great so far... Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteHi there, special nephew, Matt! It's your Aunt Teresa, signing in, just to tell you how proud I am to be able to follow your trip and how amazing it is to actually be able to hear from you, as you venture through this incredible journey! Mom hooked me up last Saturday on our drive to Downingtown for Billy's Confirmation day! It was awesome to see my godchild be confirmed and to celebrate his wonderful transformation into a young man of God. As you share your experience with all of us, I'm taken back to the time I chose to get back to nature and camp by myself when I was twenty years old. My favorite activities were hiking the Bloomsberg mountains, swimming under the bridge, observing the awesome rhythyms of nature, being inspired by the marvelous sights and sounds of God's beautiful creation, listening to music, keeping a daily journal, and, most of all, getting closer to God through prayer and reading the Bible. The two things which I hated the most were the rainy days and the bugs! I hope you are able to enjoy great weather for much of your trek and I wish that the insects are not too annoying during your trip. Not everyone is smart enough to set aside time for this type of adventure while they are still young and without much responsibility, like we have. So great we can chat along the way! Good hiking and continued excitement as you venture on the trail of a lifetime. I love you and support you in this endeavor. You will never be the same afterwards. Good luck and have fun. I'm praying that you find all that you are looking for to get out of this awesome experience. Hugs and kisses,
ReplyDeleteAunt Teresa
Yeah, I definitely agree about the insects and prayer. I have been counting the number of insects I kill. I'm currently at 71. Good to hear from you!
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