Date: 2006-05-10
From: Lost Mountain Shelter

To: Old Orchard Shelter
Miles today: 23.2
Weather: overcast clouds

The theme today was one of surprises¢¦ All sorts of surprises.   Since the weather was suppose to be rain all night, it was a surprise that nothing happened until 4: a.m., and then it only rained for four minutes!By wrist alarm time, the sky was¢¦ blue. Yea, go figure?! This was not the nasty start we all had thought would be our fate. Out I went first; counting my blessings, any mile done now in this fair weather would be a gift, especially since it was to be a long one.By eleven I had gotten beyond Mt. Rogers and was taking a break at the shelter in sunshine. Really, sunshine! Got more water and snacked while Mr. Sun dried out my shirt and wind-jacket.We were currently inside the Grayson Highlands recreational area ¢ famous for their wild ponies (not as big as a horse, not as small as a Shetland pony). The wild ponies were everywhere today; I spotted the cutest new fold ¢ white with black.The next surprise came after I successfully maneuvered my way through miles of rock trail, where I came up on Maple Leaf from Toronto, who¢s hiking to Maine. We chatted at a stile that went up and over a tall fence. We said our goodbyes and up the stile I went. As I reached the top, Maple Leaf called out to turn around for a photo, unfortunately I lost my focus on the steps at the top of this seven foot ladder and the next thing I knew was, I was falling head first down these stairs toward the rocks.After what seemed like an endless clunking fall, I came to rest, twisted like a pretzel in and on my hiking poles and rocks and boulders. A second of silence went by, Maple Leaf was stunned and came running over, but amazingly, no broken wrist or leg or more importantly neck.   I was fine, but the straps of my poles had my arms hog-tied. Maple Leaf got my arm free so I could right myself. I stood up and both of us looked shocked at how I could fall so far and not be hurt. Wow! A bad surprise with a good outcome!So, on I went to make miles. I came up on a youth group and then some of the counselors. When I mentioned to the counselors that some of their flock was wondering where the Sheppard¢s were. They pulled over to wait and let me pass. ¢I¢m Postcard,¢ I said going by. The man froze at those words and thought a moment. As I moved out about 30 feet, he said, ¢Do you know Luna?¢ ¢Luna¢ I shouted, stopping me in my tracks. ¢Well, yes, I know the loveliest smile on the AT. We hiked together in Vermont in ¢04¢ I said. ¢I¢m her dad¢ he replied.And sure enough, he had the same great smile (not as attractive as Luna naturally, but I could see the family). We chatted for a while and finally I moved on thinking about Luna, how the AT always surprises us hikers and about how small the world really is!The day continued to improve with more sunshine, which led to a 20-minute nap in a grassy field, which was an unexpected surprise since the thunderstorm and 80% rainfall never happened. (I guess the weather modeling computers can¢t always be right.)It was a good day. I¢m dry. I met the father of someone I know and I¢m not paralyzed! That¢s a good day by any measurement!