Date: 2011-05-23
To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I didn¢t make it to my hoped-for destination of Mountain Harbor hostel. No one should be surprised at this point. I never seem to meet the goals I set for myself, but that¢s okay. I¢ll be there in the early half of tomorrow, and then I¢ll be on my way home to Austin. I didn¢t make yesterday¢s miles because the terrain was pretty grueling, and because rain put an early end to my day.Today¢s hike was really pleasant. Initially, the sun and the rain clouds had a battle over who was going to dictate the day¢s weather. Ultimately the sun won out, and Tessa and I had a great day. We hiked some pretty steep inclines in the early part of the day, but in the latter part of the day I had the great joy to hike over several lovely balds: Round, Jane, and Grassy Ridge. It was easy and beautiful. The birds were singing, the sun had conquered the sky, and Tessa and I were having a great time. I knew there was no way to make it to Harbor Mountain, and the most logical place to stop is where I now am: Overmountain Shelter.Overmountain shelter is the most beautiful shelter I¢ve seen on the trail so far. It¢s an old barn that¢s been renovated to shelter hikers. It¢s absolutely charming: two stories (a hayloft above, of course), and the horse barn portion has been converted to sleeping platforms for hikers. I have my hammock suspended in an area all to itself. I have the best of both worlds: shelter in case it should rain (but the weather is beautiful), plus an exquisite view of the gap and the mountains beyond, as I am situated in an open area of the barn that looks directly into the amazing vista beyond. How I wish everyone could see this with his or her own eyes! But you have to work for it. It¢s taken me nearly 400 miles (can you believe it?) to get here. This is one of the rewards.Speaking of rewards, Tortoise has a unique perspective on what hiking the Appalachian Trail means to him: ¢The Appalachian Trail is mile after mile of suck followed by a moment that makes it all worth it.¢ I have to confess that I too, have had moments where I feel that it¢s mile after mile of suck, especially the cold and rainy days, but for the most part I am having the time of my life. I believe that the bad enriches the good, and I accept all of it, come what may.Today is my 24th wedding anniversary, and although I cannot be with my honey today, he is in my thoughts. My dear, we have been through some really high highs and some really low lows, and everything in between, but we¢re still truckin¢ on and having a good time, and I believe that the next 24 can be better than ever. Happy anniversary, my dear. I look forward to our celebration when I get home in a couple of days.And thus I close my final blog entry from the trail for approximately 2 weeks. Later today I head home for a week-long visit with my family. Between the week at home and the approximately 5 days¢ round-trip there and back to the trail, I expect to return to these parts on or about June 5th, at which time I intend to kick up my hike a bit. I¢m going to try to hit 15 mile days (although I¢ve been trying and something always seems to get in my way: weather, unexpectedly tough terrain, a beautiful view that compels me to stop, a chat with a fellow traveler¢¦) Still, I keep setting goals and trying to reach them, and that¢s at least a start.