Posts

A Day In Dahlonega, GA - Day 3

Image
May 4, 2022 We spent the day in Dahlonega, GA. Woke up VERY SORE with heavy legs. I had to shuffle to the other room. At breakfast, we met up with a man that was Ken's age who had spent the last year preparing, backpacking trips, and practicing and who had also come off the trail for similar reasons. He was having issues with heat exhaustion and extreme cramping.  I didn't remember a fun fact until our shuttle driver yesterday reminded me. An old Army Ranger saying goes, "Sassafrass will kick your ass!" It refers to Sassafrass Mountian, which is the assent that we didn't make yesterday before calling for a shuttle. On the other side, the Army Ranger School is at the bottom of Sassafrass Mountain. Now, it all makes sense. 😦 We have spent the day walking around Dahlonega, trying to work the soreness out of our muscles. Ken took his pack to the Wilderness store in Dahlonega to have the woman evaluate his gear. Mostly he was in good shape. We could have both shaved a

Much to Process - Day 2

Image
May 3, 2022  Considering the evening before, we woke up late. We made another 1/2-mile trek down the hill and 1/2-mile back from to camp to get water. I can honestly say, drinking filtered water from a mountain stream beats ANYTHING coming out of your tap!  We had breakfast and broke camp. Breakfast was a carnation instant breakfast with a coffee pack. It was rather tasty, sort of like a mocha shake. Still very sore and tight from the night before. I slept with my feet elevated, which helped the swelling in my feet. Stretching helped! The pain eased up a bit and we thought we were going to be ok. Extreme ups and downs in the first 3 miles, we felt every ounce of our bodies and the packs we were carrying. We were both starting to hear our bodies saying, “what in the world do you think you’re doing.” After a 1000-foot drop in 1/2 mile down to Horse Gap parking area, and looking at the assent up Sassafras Mountain, which was UP and steeper than we previously went down, we decided that we

OMG! - Day 1

Image
May 2, 2022 What was that! The day started well. Both of us were up way too early. The excitement got the best of us. Ken and I had a good breakfast at the lodge. We were taken to the parking lot to start at Springer Mt. The shuttle driver, Michelle, was great! We felt ready and were excited to begin our journey. Springer was a mile from the lot… then we hiked the trail back to the lot and continued on. After 2 miles (back to the lot), we stopped for lunch. So far, we have met many charming people on the trail, ages ranging from teens to mid-70s. All of the various physical capabilities. It gave us hope.   After lunch, we had 6.5 miles to go back on the trail to get to Hawk Mountain campsites. Up and down and down and up… strenuous walk! We stopped when we needed to and were yelling at our bodies that were yelling at us. We kept telling ourselves that whatever goes up must come down! We are currently enjoying the beautiful scenery and meeting lots of interesting people. The thing I had

Getting Psyched! - Day 0

Image
May 1, 2022  It’s our first night. After church, Kelly took me at Amicalola Falls State Park Lodge, where we (Ken aka “Breadcrumbs,” and I) will spend the night. We hit the trail in the am after an 8 am breakfast. We decided to take a ride to the start of the Appalachian Trail at Springer Mt rather than do the approach trail. The lodge is nice. We both repacked our packs and did a double check of all our necessities.  I’m looking forward to the journey. I’m thankful that Ken and I are doing this together. We feel the prayers and support from everyone who knows about our trek.  I think about how we as humans are social creatures. We need each other. For me, part of what makes church a relevant part of life is the connection to other believers, helping care for one another. I pray that others feel the same way.  It’s getting late and the trail is going to be calling early. Happy Trails & Many Blessings! Ken+

Getting Ready for the AT

Image
We are less than a week out from Ken and I beginning our trek northbound on the Appalachian Trail. I think I have packed, repacked, shaken down, and prepped about 3 dozen times. We've been talking back and forth, getting excited about our journey, talking about food and gear and bears and trees (personal joke).  I'm not sure I have many concerns. I am thankful that Ken will be with me. He has always felt like the older brother that I never had. We plan to go slow, listen to our bodies, savor the experience, and enjoy the trip. We have both wanted to do this for a long time, but I'm not sure we ever expressed it to one another. It was just brought up in a conversation about a year ago, so we said, "let's do this!" "Going for it" is something that I have always done in life. If you read the 2017 Sabbatical entries in this blog, you will see that I love adventure. The journey then was epic, and this one, though shorter, will be just as epic. I hope you