Today we are off to hike the Appalachian Trail! We eat breakfast at a wayside and drive to Thorton Gap.
From there we have arranged for a lady to drive us back to Big Meadows Campground and drop us off. We eat lunch at the same wayside as the morning, only the mosquitos and gnats are in full force! Ugh! It is funny that there are no trail signs anywhere around. We ask for directions and then walk down a road to a blue blaze trail that will take us to the AT.
The AT is magical every time you step onto it. Literally, you can hear angels sing when you step on it. I swear! The trail is golden crushed stone (follow the yellow brick road). You see a white blaze on a tree and you know...This Is It!
The trail is buzzing, and alive, and it glows!
The entire floor is covered with waist high ferns, and tall trees are all around us. It is shady and cool. A beautiful, old, worn trail stretches out before us...We pause to absorb it and take pictures. I can feel the history of all the people who have walked this path and I feel awed stepping foot on it. Benton MacKaye, the person given credit for the idea of the Appalachian Trail, and Earl Schaffer, the first person to complete a thru-hike, are here. Each person who has passed leaves a mark on the trail that can be felt. I feel reverence.
I have always loved forests. I miss the fall season when trees perform magic...changing colors, performing ballet on their way to the ground, singing loudly about frost in the air. I don't care about sweeping views, or grand vistas, or dramatic scenes. Just surround me with trees. I am at home with trees.
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| Excited and ready to start our walk! |
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| Looking into the forest from the trail. |
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| The forest is green and deep. |
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| The floor of the forest is covered in waist-high ferns. |
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| A more open area...still covered with plants though! |
It is interesting that when you hike the AT you can walk for hours through what you think is secluded, pure forest and then all of a sudden a car drives by 30 yards from where you stand. The trail crosses the Skyline Drive many times throughout the park! And yet you feel totally isolated from the general visitor to the park. We are different. We are part of Appalachian Trail hikers. We are special because we are seeing a part of the park that 90% of the visitors will never see.
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| These concrete posts have a metal band at the top that tells distance to different places on the trail. X marks the spot! |
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| Boy am I glad we prepared for this walk! Everyone said this was the flattest portion of the trail. |
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| Up, up, up...always up! But, what a reward at the top! |
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| Steve hiking. We easily climbed 1800 ft. during the course of the day. |
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| Steven was a super trooper! He walked more slowly down hill, used his poles, and struggled over very rocky portions, but he never gave up and he was triumphant! Hiking has definitely given Steven a special opportunity to see what striving for a goal and attaining it is like. We remind him daily of what an accomplishment he has achieved. |
We hike about 6 miles and reach Rock Springs Hut. We are really tired, and we have to walk down a steep blue blaze trail to reach it. Three or four other men are already there and set up. I have Trail Magic with me and share it with them as we arrive.
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| A close up of a fern. |
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| Seriously? |
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| What a view! We are on top of the world for three days. |
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| We are tired! |
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| Peek out from between the rocks and this is what you see... |
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| America, American, God shed his grace on thee... |
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| For amber waves of grain... |
In case you don't know, Trail Magic is what every Thru-hiker hopes will happen to him! Trail Magic is an unsolicited treat that arrives seemingly, just when you need it most. Sometimes it is a six-pack left at the side of the road for you just as you walk off the trail at the end of a long day of hiking. Sometimes it is a canister of fuel left in a box at a hostel that you really need. Sometimes a driver will just stop and give a Thru-hiker a ride to town. However Trail Magic shows up, you are delighted, and very thankful the Gods have smiled upon you!
We set up our tent, and are very thankful for a pit toilet. We eat, and chat with the thru hikers.
We fall into our beds. It rained lightly all night and when we rose in the morning...
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