Date: 2018-04-29
From: Low Gap Campsite

To: Spivey Gap
Miles today: 9.7

Well, the day started off a bit on the rough side. In the morning I asked Cole to hike with me for fifteen minutes. It was a cold morning and my request was a burden to him. Apparently walking at my speed keeps him no warmer than standing in one spot does. So, he decided that he would walk behind me for a distance, turn around and head in the opposite direction for a bit, then turn around again and walk until he was behind me again. In essence he was doing the trail three times over just so that he could walk at the pace he pleased. Each time he returned to me I could hear the heavy stomping of his feet right up to my heels before he wheeled around once again.After thirty minutes of this behaviour, he asked if he could now continue on ahead down the trail. He didn¢t like my answer. He also didn¢t take too kindly to me telling him that he was being childish. In fact, he had some pretty harsh words in response. And so, this is how our day began and this is how our day continued on. By lunch time we were still at odds, but were civil. When we stopped for lunch, a hiker named Half Slow stopped to talk to us for a bit. He told us that Miss Janet (A well known trail Angel) would be at Spivey Gap shortly if we wanted a ride into Erwin to Resupply. The town is a few miles from the trail and for a couple of days I had been trying to figure how we would get into Erwin to stock up on groceries. A hostel beside the trail runs shuttles for guests, but I was not looking to stay at a hostel. This opportunity sounded perfect. Once again we were jumping up from our lunch break and rushing to get to a Gap.When we arrived at Spivey Gap, Miss Janet was not there yet, but.....there was trail magic!! Trail Angels had loaded up on Taco Bell and had brought it to the Gap. We arrived just in time to eat it piping hot! Now, you might be thinking, didn¢t you just eat lunch? Yes, yes we did. Backpackers burn at least 5000 or more calories a day. Some days we can eat a lot!Miss Janet arrived shortly after we had devoured our mini feast. Not only did she agree to drive us in to Erwin, but she also invited us to a bbq at her place and to stay for the night. On the way to her place she asked us how our day had been. I must have paused a little too long before I replied and Miss Janet called me out on it.Cole replied to her query for me.¢She had to deal with a moody teenager.¢Wow! I was rather surprised that Cole admitted his poor behaviour. That¢s a step in the right direction!¢I asked him to hike with me for fifteen minutes¢ I added.¢I see what is happening¢ Miss Janet said. Then she proceeded to describe exactly what I have been trying to deal with for over a month. It was like she had been there following along and listening to our conversations since day one. ¢You race ahead,¢ she said to Cole ¢and so your mom is always in the position where she is trying to get to where you are. She never gets any proper breaks because once she reaches you, you are all rested up and ready to go again.¢How did she hit the nail so squarely on the head? She has been around hikers for a long time and she knows a lot! I just wanted to give her a great big hug for understanding my plight without me even having to explain it to her. She imparted some of her wisdom to us as she drove.When we arrived at her house, both the inside and the outside were full of hikers. We showered, did our laundry and were fed hamburgers, potato salad and beans.While many hikers tented in the back yard and a few slept in the living room, Cole and I were given an empty bedroom in which to spread out our bedding and lay our heads. We were truly blessed to have encountered Miss Janet today.