Date: 2006-09-12
From: campsite at beech gap

To: near rock gap shelter
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: light rain

======2003====== Lord¢s Day, march 2, day 9wow! you wouldn¢t believe what i¢m lookin¢ at!....i don¢t know what this place is called¢¦it¢s just a little off-trail nook ¢¦.but step through the ¢wardrobe door¢ and whoa!...there are huge mtns as far as you can see¢¦..the sun is breakin¢ through, ¢spotlighting¢ the town of franklin (i think) below¢¦.the light is pale , yet bright ¢¦.minimizing the colors of the landscape, while intensifying in itself almost as if were moving!...is it coming to me or am I drawn to it?!!...it¢s mixed with memories, this light¢¦.stained glass windows¢¦.happy clapping in the sanctuary¢¦¢¦pikeville again¢¦my mind is always going back to pikeville! ¢¦.maybe my grandparents¢smile is in this light, here on this mini ¢bald¢, among the boulders and sparkling mica, the laurel and the chinquapin¢¦..i could stay here and rest forever!......but for now there¢s only time for ¢second breakfast¢*¢¦¢¦.was so nervous today about getting over albert mtn¢¦..but it was actually fun!.....hard,but incredibly beautiful!....straight up through boulders ( we had to toss our sticks up and over sometimes)*¢¦¢¦but on top ¢¦wow! 360 mtns all around!....there was a tower there, but we didn¢t think we had time or energy to climb it¢¦.we should¢ve stayed longer there¢¦.it¢s a perfect place to worship!!got into camp early (4 pm), butdidn¢t stay there¢¦ (those 12 guys pretty much filled it up) ¢¦¢¦so we¢re just a little past there on kind of a slope tonite¢¦..hope we don¢t slide out the bottom of our tarp!.....it is very windy and cold¢¦.can we stay warm?we had communion together (crouton and water) at 11:30 at the spring before going up ¢big al¢¢¦..of course, rcf was in our hearts and prayers¢¦¢¦..looking forward to meeting mom and dad in the morning¢¦..i have a bit of a pulled tendon!======2006====== monday, february 20, day 9,   plumorchard to standing indian, 12.2 milesit¢s very COLD and windy and damp here in the standing indian shelter!....prayin¢ for God¢s mercy on us as we try to sleep¢¦¢¦this is a different shelter than we had in mind*¢¦..this one we would not recommend (except in the best of weather) ¢¦.it¢s high up on a knoll¢¦.rather exsposed¢¦..but it does have a privy!we came through a hoarfrost ¢storm¢ today¢¦.(crossed over into nc ¢¦.took pictures of the ¢ent¢ at bly gap) and then walked into the most beautiful hoarfrost*!......but when the wind picked up, it all came crashing down in a magical ¢storm¢¢¦..after a big chunk slid down my back I decided to carry my umbrella¢¦.(paw is still having a little trouble with his*) ¢¦. it got really cold by the time we reached the muskrat shelter, and i think we got too much cooled off ¢¦.i had unloaded my pack there so i could leave the empty , new register i was carrying (12 oz.!) and then we tried to get water and eat and by that time we were really shivering¢¦¢¦so we really had t¢ get bookin¢ through the snow!......it¢s drizzlin¢ now¢¦..i don¢t know what we¢ll find in the morning¢¦.we¢ve had lots and lots of snow today (makes me dream of spring wildflowers)¢¦..i enjoyed this mornin¢, though, as i walked¢¦¢¦enjoyed the prayer (just pourin¢ my heart out to my Creator)¢¦.but I¢m also really hungry to be taught of the Lord as well¢¦.to hear HIM speak¢¦¢¦¢¦.sometimes...really oftentimes, i begin to pray and am so overwhelmed by the sense of his presence with me that all i can do is cry!....if someone walks up at this point, i¢m sure they¢ll think i¢m having a very hard hike! ha ha! ....truly though, i¢m grateful for the space and the time out here (away from phones, away from responsibilities and pressures) to just be able to experience Jesus more fully¢¦.i¢m prayin¢ for him to do wonderful things in the hearts of all of us as we slowly pick our way through the gallery of his greatness¢¦¢¦¢¦*NOTES/OBSERVATIONS/COMPARISONS------*¢second breakfast¢¢¦.our hiker appetites were starting to pick up and we often enjoyed a break with food after a couple hours hiking¢¦.we teased that ,like hobbits, we couldn¢t survive without ¢second breakfast¢*hiking sticks¢¦. we both carried bamboo poles in ¢03 (which i still prefer)¢¦.as I¢ve already mentioned, paw switched to trekking poles in erwin,tn (thanks to miss janet)*confused about which shelter¢¦¢¦.we were thinking of rock gap shelter which comes just before standing indian campground* hoarfrost¢¦¢¦a beautiful ice/snow formation on trees ,grass, etc. which has the look of toothbrushes everywhere¢¦.i assumes it forms as a stiff wind freezes the moisture, but i¢m not really sure