Date: 2014-07-15
From: Cold Spring Gap

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: moderate rain

I packed my gear at Cold Spring Gap and went back to the shelter to join Harry and Claire for breakfast. I filled my water bottles, made use of the convenience of a privy , and hiked north. My goal was to get to the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC). But first I had a couple mountains to climb. By lunch time I made it to the top of Wesser Bald. There was another fire tower that would give me 360 degree views from the top. I decided to make myself face my fear if heights and climb to he top of the tower. It had a wide, wooden plank top with a railing but no roof. It would be the perfect place to enjoy lunch with a view if I could get up there. I began to climb the stairs, my stomach got queazy, my knees got weak. I focused on the stair in front of me instead of looking through the stair to the ground. I counted the steps to concentrate on something other than the height. Six steps from the top the railing stopped and there was just a wire fence. "That's okay," I thought, "there is still a wire fence. I didn't look at the fence, I liked at the stairs and kept counting. Soon I was at the top! I celebrated by taking put my phone and doing a 360 degree video of the view. I had an apple and almond butter and a protein bar while sitting at the top of a fire tower! I hated to leave ... partly because if my success, partly because of the view, and partly because I wasn't excited about getting back on the stairs at the point where there is no railing. But knowing my hike could not end with me sitting at the top of a fire tower on Wesser Bald, I climbed down the stairs and continued on to the NOC.My first task when I got to the NOC involved responsibilities back in Columbus. We hired a new 7th grade math teacher in May. She was moving back to Indiana to be near her family. One of the questions I asked on the interview was if she accepted a job here and then later was offered one closer to her family in the Indianapolis area, would she jump ship and take the new offer. Her answer was that she and her husband had looked at the Columbus area and really liked it. That turned out to be a crock. She took an offer closer to home two months after accepting out offer and after going through our math curriculum training. It reminded me of the year I got my teaching job in Columbus. We had wanted to move to the Indy area, but they were laying off over 400 teachers. I interviewed at Columbus East and accepted the position. Late in the summer I got calls from Warren Central and North Central on the Indy area. I told them both I had already given my word that I was going to teach at Columbus East. Twenty-nine years later I am still in Columbus and I have loved every year of it! At any rate, I was on the trail and we had to hire a new math teacher. The principal and a team of teachers interviewed some candidates and gave me the number if their top choice. I called her from the NOC because it was a reliable cell connection. It was a great interview, I immediately called the principal, and agreed with her assessment that this was the teacher we were looking for. So at mike 137 on the AT we hired a new math teacher. My second task at the NOC was laundry, and then it was dinner. I rarely eat hamburgers, but tonight u sat on the deck overlooking the Nantahala River and consumed a cup of black bean soup, a serving of French fries, and a half-pound hamburger. That is not a typo - I had a 1/2 pound hamburger, and I are it all. That might be my quota if beef for the next several weeks, but it was great!My bunk mate was a recently graduated high school student named Matthew who was at the NOC for a week long kayaking course. He said he had also gotten on line to check AP scores a few days ago and he got 5's in Music Theory and Calculus AB. He said his Calc teacher's BC class gets 100%. I was feeling pretty good about 72% 5's until I heard that. Then in. Our conversation I learned they have 90 minutes every day for Calculus. That is twice as much time as we have. So I decided that if we had twice as much time, our 72% 5's would turn into 144% 5's. Then I felt much better!