Day 8 - Trail Magic & Fellowship
Today was a short one - only 3.5 miles - but it was busy busy busy. I woke up damp, everything was damp. Evidently a cloud had decided to cohabitate with my camping spot overnight. However, as I descended Powell Mountain to Dick's Creek Gap, the sun came out!
This was the first in a series of fortunate events:
My trail friend Doc Tater gave me "Trail magic" and paid for my shuttle into town. Hopefully I'll be able to return the favor somewhere down the trail...
I was able to hitch a ride from Mike out of town. Mike is a former Marine who is about to start a new job with the government in Washington. He also told me that when he left the military, he used hiking as a way to cope with the change, something I found interesting. Good luck with the new job Mike!
More traditional Trail magic was being served up at Dick's Creek Gap upon my return. With the sun beating down on what had become a gorgeous day, I ate some super tasty rotisserie chicken and talked about the Continental Divide Trail (one day, maybe) with Anne and Pops, the suppliers of the magic. Pops will be thru-hiking next year. Thank you guys!
In between all the good luck of the day, I was able to stock up on food, fuel, and Subway grinders (dinner tonight!). I also dried off my stuff and recharged for what should be a big week as I enter Carolina tomorrow...
You may have noticed that the title of the blog has been changed to "Fellowship with the Wilderness". I decided to make this change after pondering the plaque at the top of Springer Mountain, which reads "A trail from Georgia to Maine for those who seek fellowship with the wilderness". I found it interesting that the word "fellowship," which is usually associated with human to human relationships, was used to describe a human to nature relationship. The sentence, in fact, treats "the wilderness" as a person. Now, the foundation of my hike is an exploration of natural and cultural space, with the idea that the Appalachian Trail occupies both. "Fellowship with the Wilderness," in my judgment, is an apt description of my ultimate goal: to understand the dualistic form of this space.
Hi Scribbles, hope you had a great day hiking today even though it must have been very damp. Enjoyed getting to know you yesterday at Dick's Creek Gap. I liked very much your blog and plan to follow you amm the way to Katahdin. Happy Trails Pops
ReplyDelete