Date: 2006-10-14
From: damascus!

To: damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

======2003====== wednesday, april 2, day 40(a.m.)it's 7:30 and i'm stretched out here in the bunk (writing all the previous concerning the last 3 days since about 5:30 a.m)......killeen sounds like he's got a bit of a sniffle ....hope he's not getting a cold.....the REST we'll be getting today will do us BOTH good!....we plan to do absolutely nothing but eat and sleep and make some phone calls home!(i may go down and see if i can use mtn. man's computer again....i'd sort of like to see if i can bring up eric's sermonettes to read and check to see if we have any more e-mails)....it's a beautiful day....really tempting us and all the other hikers to move on up the trail.....but dave the outfitter said it's still pretty rough up in the mountains....he actually informed us yesterday that we had just been through a major snow storm.....said 8000 people were still without power in the area.....we couldn't believe it!....NOW we were REALLY grateful to the Lord to have made it through!.....yep!...today's just gonna be a "hangin' out" day.....dave said some of the prettiest country on the trail is coming up, so we wanna be ready to enjoy it...we're hopin' for some nice weather, too.....i bought a new umbrella at the dollar store yesterday....now i feel better prepared to more comfortably face the weather.....you know what i'm really lovin'?...i'm lovin' how paw-ee will look at me every now and then and say,"we're hikin' buddies, aren't we!".....seems like at this point in our journey, we're not so much CHANGING (as i thought both of us might), as much as just becoming more of what we have already been : GOOD FRIENDS! ....we've certainly discovered out here on the trail that there's PLENTY of opportunity to SHOW each other our love (although as far as RECEIVING that love, it seems the balances are weighted more in my favor!....killeen is always quick to care for or help me in whatever way he can....i am looking for small ways i can occasionally tip those scales in HIS favor!)...it seems the simple things we love are becoming more special and cherished as we share this unique time in our lives TOGETHER*....we feel more dependent on each other, i think, for everything....and better yet, we're dicovering that that's "okay"...in a society that promotes and lauds a almost "fierce independence", it's refreshing and comforting to learn the value of a loving kind of teamwork!....LIFE IS GOOD!.....(p.m.)well...damascus has been great!...we have really enjoyed just doing "nothing" today.....we did get to make our phone calls (dave and jeff at the outfitters were great....they let us use their phone)....we called everybody on my list...seems like mom and dad are getting better (thank You, Lord!)....we made a nice salad for lunch and ate outside in the sunshine.....killeen and i then enjoyed the warm quiet of our private bunkroom! (i'll never tell!)....then after a little cat nap we were back out to dave's porch for reading and simply enjoying the weather....some folks with horses came down the street and hailed us....moms with strollers enjoyed the springtime sunshine....hiker's laughed and limped their famous hiker's limp down the sidewalks.....good ol' vagabond caught up to us and we sat with him on the porch and just passed the afternoon chatting....our stomachs soon begin to complain that it was suppertime though, so we decided to "go dutch" and grill up some burgers.....the "guys" came by, too, so we had the chance to thank them in person for our lunch at the cafe....shaman tried out his new hammock on the porch posts....after supper, i fueled up our little stove again and rehydrated some dried chocolate cake.....first time to try "cooking" our cake....it was GREAT!...it tasted like fudge pudding!...a chill was beginning to descend upon the evening, so the warm chocolate really hit the spot....all of the guys sampled it as well....the day, and our time in damascus, was coming to a close...it was time to think about packing up and hitting the trail again tomorrow early....it could be that we'll head back up into more snow, or at least rain for the weekend....but, oh!....are we ever ready to see virginia!i'm trying to finish reading the book of john....then...i dunno...i might start on isaiah....i've been noticing that Jesus kept saying over and over again :"love" .....Lord, help us to do that....help us to love....i had read from revelation a couple of days ago...."I am the Alpha and Omega!" (springer and katahdin?)...."the Beginning and the End.....the First and the Last...Who was and is and is to come....the Almighty!...the Ruler of all!"......rule our lives, Lord....Holy Spirit, guide us into all Truth.....help us to remember our witness to You is Love....fill us with Your Love....please help us, Sir, as we head on up the trail....put us exactly where You want us to be.....fill our hearts and our mouths with Your Word....accomplish Your will through us.....help us to stay connected to the Vine and to bear good fruit for Your glory....continue to speak to us through Your wonderful creation as well as the promises in Your word....======2006======thursday, march 23, day 40....(14.9 miles from thomas knob to hurricane mtn. shelter)woo hoo!...passed 500 today!....and we DID survive last night!...praise God!the condensation froze on our tarp.....we managed to get some rest, though, and got out about 8:15 this mornin'....but boy howdy!...was it ever COLD!....the highlands, however, were absolutely spectacular!...and since the snow was frozen solid, it made for easier walking actually than when we crossed these parts back in '03....(we had to slosh through what was simply "rivers" up there then!).....i took lots of pictures again....i think i got some good ones of the ponies this time*....we also saw a skunk today!...but i didn't dare try to take his picture!.....i had prayed last night for a nicer day.... that the wind would die down a little.....and it did!.....God has blessed us with some really incredible weather of which i cannot fail to thank Him!.....we're happy to be a little warmer tonight at this new hurricane mtn. shelter....it's very nice!....we've just met 'trek' who's hiked the trail the last 4 years!....very nice fellow with lots of good trail info.....from his reports it sounds like there might actually be some other humans back there behind us somewhere (and soon to catch up!).....it's been fun to talk to trek about the trail and his adventures (like the blizzard he endured at grayson highlands where he had to spend two whole days in a tent with a guy he barely knew!).....he said he knew 'shrek' from '03....says he thinks he works at the doyle in duncannon*....we'll have to look him up when we get there....well...i'm quite content to be here....looks like we may have a little rain and/or snow tonight and perhaps tomorrow...so we're tryin' to decide whether we wanna do 10 to trimpi or 20 to partnership....we'll see...ahhh...it was such a beautiful, sweet walk this afternoon coming down the mountain into this lovely, stream-fed forest......i just had to sing: "have thine own way, Lord....have thine own way.....Thou art the Potter, i am the clay....mold me and make me after thy will.....while i am waiting, yielded and still"......mmmmmmmm....i'm so sleepy.....paw is already snoring....i'm outa here..... *NOTES/OBSERVATIONS/COMPARISONS*sharing together....we were both grateful to have each other with which to share ALL the experiences of trail life....i think sometimes a spouse might think he or she prefers to stay home while his or her partner heads out to the trail....my advice is this : if circumstances will permit it at all, do the trail TOGETHER....it will deepen your knowledge of what it actually MEANS to SHARE your life with another human being and, in my opinion, will be one of those rare life experiences you will not regret!**photos of the ponies....check out our photo album.....we will be posting one of the ponies on DAY 43 of our journal entries....or you can go to DAY 39 and click "next" to view the following 40 or so pics (which take you over snowy mt. rogers and over to the ponies!)*'shrek' at the doyle in duncannon....anybody know of shrek's whereabouts?....we just LOVE that guy!