TRAIL DAY 44
Mon, Apr 4, 2016 The trail the next morning passed right by the 4-5 Germans who had camped on a knoll north of the shelter. There wasn’t a hint of their presence as I began my day’s trek. Somewhere I found a pair
of shorts and assumed it belonged to one of them. As hikers will do, I carried it forward should my lunch come later than theirs and I find them at their ease. I never found them and passed on my mission to a faster hiker.
Another brisk and beautiful day on a trail whose ease on thru-hikers would fade in the months ahead. It was nearly 10:00 a.m. when I came upon Happy in his tent just west of the trail. He was “happy” to take his time and carry on as the spirit moved.
About 20 minutes later, I came upon some Trail Magic in a cooler with a neatly typed sheet identifying the Chuckey, TN United Methodist Church as the benefactor with address and numbers to call. That had to mean we’ll pick you up if you need a ride. The sheet also appealed to the long-distance hiker in Italics with:
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14
While I struggle with flat-out, frequently-recited, Bible-based justifications for every breath, I, nonetheless, value the treasure of counter-culture insights that can save us from ourselves. And I don’t need to leave it at just “insights” as if their worth were only psychological or philosophical. Surely there is truth beyond our grasping and the one Peter calls “the Christ, the Son of the living God” is likely its keeper and author in this life. “Mercy!” is my constant prayer for my many missteps and faltering reactions to so many occurrences in my life. “Mercy!” for the obtuse and obdurate character I have been hauling through life. “Mercy!” for my independent streak – the same that led me to the trail.
Others got to the Trail Magic before me and the cooler was filled with melted ice and empty crushed cans. We pressed on.
It was past noon when I saw another tent just east of the trail. I didn’t stop or see anyone – perhaps they were taking a siesta.
About 45 minutes later, Cold-Snap and Diesel showed up while I was taking one of my legs-up rest stops. Maintainers would frequently cut a section out of a tree fallen across the trail leaving a large log on either side. On the trail or off, if you could find a tree or log higher at one end than the other, straddling it, pack up hill, set you up for a very comfortable resting spot. Without taking the pack off, I would sit and rest its bottom on the log so the pack provided an excellent backrest. I’d then lift my well-used legs onto the log below and in front of me and, Voila!, total comfort! I all but fell asleep in this position at times. And when I found such a log covered in thick spongy moss, well, a recliner could not have improved upon the comfort.
I took out my phone to take a picture of my two visitors and Cold-Snap offered to take one of me at ease.
By early afternoon, I was at the Little Laurel Shelter where I found a hiker I recognized enjoying some afternoon tea. He said this was such a frequent occurrence for him that his trail name was “Teatime.”
Diesel and Cold-Snap were here for a brief time and Cold-Snap drew my attention to Firescald Knob coming up with a bit of caution about the difficulty she recalled from the prior year. Her comments raised a question whether I should continue over the bald in late evening or camp this side and wait till morning.
Passage on the way to the bald was rocky and challenging. Happy who had gotten the word on the bald as well decided to camp along the trail as dusk fell. I was hiking alone with Theo and came upon him making use of the smallest little patch of ground again just west of the trail. He was bedding down and was comfortable in his tent and light-tan, light-weight windbreaker gear he had on every time I saw him. I decided to say my hellos and carry on up complex rock formations to the summit.
It was getting windy and late. I paused at a memorial “In Honor of Howard McDonald Master Trail Builder 2015” and took some pictures of the forbidding landscape.
Firescald Knob was covered with rocks, brush and short trees. There was a bypass trail for those who didn’t want the difficulty of the summit.
Not me! Remember? Not gunna miss a step! Once over the knob, I found a nice clearing in leaves to the east of the trail to camp. I pitched the tent, made supper up against a tree and then it began to rain. I quickly gathered my supper fixings and crawled in the tent. After leaving the next day, I would note that I had left my knife by the tree when scurrying for the tent.
It was a good night for sleeping.
Day #44 Spring Mountain Shelter > Firescald Knob 13.3 miles