TRAIL DAY 30
Mon, Mar 21, 2016 There were several inches of snow on the ground in the morning – another kind of wonderland. Theo and I off in the woods, away from civilization. The shelter looked cozy and secure as we left it behind for winter in the wild.
It was an overcast day surrounding – a sphere of white enveloping us. We had to guess where the trail went with only a single set of footprints ahead of us. I thought more than once, “I hope he knows where he’s going.”
By 5:00 p.m., we were at our home for the night – Double Spring Gap Shelter, capacity 12, the same as the night before. The same cold with another fire place and wind-breaking tarp.
We needed more wood and I just happened to have a wire saw that weighed less than an ounce. It had a woven-loop-strap for a handle at either end so you could pull it through the wood one direction and then the next. It did the trick on a fairly thick piece of wood but it tended to get stuck and it was difficult getting it going again.
We had our fire and our supper and our night before a big climb in the morning. There was anticipation like a child before Christmas. Also, a little apprehensive at the foot of the tallest peak on the AT.
‘Twas the night before
Clingmans Dome
And some in the shelter
Felt all alone
The Dome at the top
Of the entire AT
Struck fear in the heart
But not so in me
What could be better
Than snow in the wood
A fire in the shelter
And sleep – if you could
She rose in the night
Out high and above
She’d wink in the morning
And fill you with love
How fortunate to be
Where she rose from the ground
So bright, white and early
When noone’s around
Would that words could bind our souls to the infinite beauty of the world we’ve been given. We are all of a piece. Nothing is separated from anything else.
I will meet a Jew in Pennsylvania some time hence after reflecting on what I came to think of as the most incredible pronouncement emanating from the soul of man, the Shama:
Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one
O, the thrill of rising up from the pure white low lands to the windy crown of the most high Dome.
Day #30 Derrick Knob Shelter > Double Spring Gap Shelter 7.4 miles