Date: 2004-04-02
From: Allen Gap

To: Allen Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

It was drizzling as we packed up camp. That's always fun.    Arwen's father and uncle (Jim and John) were a little late to pick us up, but that worked out great for Nuffy. She decided to try and rush to the road crossing to meet up with us. Guess another zero day didn't sound so bad to her either.    Our first stop with Jim and Uncle John was to Hot Springs so Heather and Arwen could check on a package that hadn't arrived yet. Seemed weird to be back after hiking all day yesterday to get OUT of town. But upon entering the outfitter, I saw Sarah again. She got into town last night and was taking a zero today. One day behind us...maybe she'll catch up after all.    We then went to Asheville, where Arwen's Uncle John lives and owns a frame shop. His big account is with a little restaurant chain you may have heard of before. The Hard Rock Cafe? Remember that really cool item you saw hanging on the wall at the Hard Rock Cafe that was a former belonging or some really famous celebrity? Chances are, his shop framed it.    This gave us an opportunity that I can confidently say no other thru-hiker gets. He took us into the back of his shop and started showing off a few things they would soon be framing.    Barry White's shoes.    Freddy Mercury's pants.    Van Halen's shirt.    An outfit formerly owned by Prince.    Suits worn by the Yardbirds (Eric Clapton anyone?)    Def Leopard's torn jeans.    Slash's top hat and cowboy boots.    And more. It was pretty friggin' cool.    We went into town to do some errands. I had none, so it was rather unproductive for me. I did enjoy the ice cream shop though. Home made ice cream. I'll have 3 scoops please. Heavenly Cream, American Pie, and Tirimisu. Amazing.    We were treated to dinner at Arwen's relative's house. It was GREAT. They felt bad that there wasn't enough bed space and that we were actually putting out sleeping bags down in the basement. They have no idea how nice it is just to have a roof over our heads and heat and a bathroom.    I also went online and found out that Brother Nature is indeed done. He fell on some ice after Newfound Gap injured his knee. Torn ligaments I think. He mentioned that he was very upset about it, and that we was officially a statistic. Brother Nature, I hope you're reading this entry, cause I really want you to see this:    You're right. You are a statistic. Just a number.    You are one of only 80% of aspiring thru-hikers to make it past Neel's Gap. Congratulations.    You are one of only 50% of the aspiring thru-hikers who make it into the Smokies. Congratulations.    And of the millions of people who hear about the Appalachian Trail and think to themselves, 'Wow, that sounds really cool. I'm gonna do that someday,' you are one of the VERY small percentage of people who actually take that first step on the trail.    Congratulations.    I think the people out here have a lot to be proud of. Even those who stopped in the first 30 miles. Cause hey, they tried it. Too often do people not bother cause they don't want to find out that they won't succeed in something. Too often do people say, "Hey, I'll do that someday." Well "some day" is a really scary phrase to me lately. I think that's what got me on the trail finally. I didn't want, "That would be cool" to overnight become "That would have been cool."    Brother Nature, and anyone else out there who has tried for something they dreamed about....Congratulations. You inspire me. You keep me going.    And you should be damn proud of yourselves.