Date: 2003-07-08
From: Brown Mountaun Creek Shelter

To: Punch Bowl Shelter
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: broken clouds

start Punch Bowl Shelterdestination Brown Mountain Creek ShelterI looked outside this morning and was dismayed to see dark ominous clouds hanging from the sky. I was very tempted to tell Mudbut we could take a zero day, but I didn't. All we would have done would be sit around in the cabin. By the time I got the water hot for my tea, the bugs were hot for me. I moved back into the cabin to finish drinking it. I went through my food bag one more time, trying to decide what to throw away. I have too many meals. And with eating hamburgers the past two nights, and cereal the past two mornings, I have more food than I need to carry. But I like all of it and cannot cull any meals. I end up putting one instant oatmeal pack in the hiker box. We get packed up and sweep and mop the cabin. Mudbut is not happy. She says for$40.00 they ought to sweep and mop the cabin, not have us do it. I have to agree, but we do it anyway. Up at the snack bar, I get the cereal and the milk out of the cooler. Mudbut agrees to eat yet another bowl of cereal to help finish off the box. I eat two bowls and drink the last of the milk. I love cold cereal, and miss it out here on the trail. I come back from making a phone call and Mudbut has my pack over on the scales used to weigh propane. I do not want to know how much my pack weighs, but my curiousity gets the best of me. 43 pounds. I cannot beleive it. 43 pounds. I think again about culling some fod, but that is all I do, think. We catch a ride back up to Punch Bowl Crossing. The dark clouds have returned and it starts to rain as we climb out of the truck. Out comes the rain gear and we head up the trail. Within minutes the sun comes out and shines bright the rest of the day. I think about all the weight I am carrying as I hike up and down the trail. Why was I not willing to leave some of my food behind?? I insist on carrying far more food than I could eat in a week. We will be in town in 4 days at the most. I ponder this fact as I walk. Then slowly I hear my heavenly Father speak to me. What am I carrying on my shoulders that I have taken to him in prayer. I may have left things with him, but then before I realize it, I have taken back the burdens, troubles, and requests that I had left with him. I can tell when I have picked them back up and hoisted them upon my shoulders, because I start to worry and fret again. "What if, or, how come, why can't, why??" All these thoughts invade my mind and rob me of the peace that God wants to give me. He says his yoke is easy and his burden is light. Yet I become weighed down by the very things that I cry to him about,to do something with,to intervene. He is helpless to do anything if I refuse to let go of them. Are there things in my life that I enjoy, that might be good, yet weigh me down? Too many commitments, or seemingly good cause projects? Did I ask for his guidance before I took them on? Probably not. Are they cutting into my time alone with him, or my family time? They don't have to be bad things that weigh me down. Anything I am carrying that he has not asked me to carry will weigh me down. I beleive we all have crosses in our life to bear, but I also beleive that too often we take on far too many of them that he had no intention of us bearing. Then there is the question of the payback we get from carrying overwhelming burdens on our shoulders. Is the price I am paying by carrying too much food worth the enjoyment I will have when I eat it? Definatley not!! Am I getting accolades by carrying a heavy load?? Does that some how make me more spiritual? I think not. In fact it is quite the opposite. What influence could I possibly have for Christ, if my back is bent low under the cares of the world? Do I have burdens? You bet! Am I concerned about people and their problems?? Of course. But once I take them to the Lord in prayer, I am to leave them with him, to work with as he sees fit. Does he ever do it my way? No, never. But he always works things out according to his will. I usually can't begin to understand that. I continue to ponder this lesson for the rest of he day. There is so much in it that I need to get ahold of. There are those things that I have carried since childhood. Hurts, disappointments, abuse. Then there are those people that have wronged me. Have I realy forgiven them? If thinking of the situations still anger me, or if I still feel emotional about things, that I haven't forgiven. That is not to say, I will ever be able to forget some things. I can't, but I do beleive that I can be free of the pain associated with it. I eat lunch without any water to drink. We are between water sources. It is hot and muggy. I go on ahead and find water flowing off of a ledge and down the trail. I climb up to the top and filter water straight into my mouth. Before long Mudbut comes up the trail and I volunteer to get water for her in her filter bottle. I end up getting more water on her in the process. I dunk my head under the flow and shiver as the ice water runs down my back. It feels deliciously cool. Later, I stop at a stream crossing and wait for Mudbut. We decide it is a great place to take our shoes off and soak our hot tired feet. We timidly splash water at each other until I take off my camp shoe and eyed her mischieveiouly. She says "Will the price you pay be worth it?" I stop and think for just a moment before yelling "Yes". In minutes we are soaked to the skin and laughing hilariously. We sit and enjoy the cold water running over us. Surrounded by trees and the sounds of water running over rocks, we drink in the refreshing of it all. Evening finds us pitching our tents along another flowing stream. For some wonderful reason the bugs have not yet come out. We sit together and talk about today's adventure and eat supper. Our still wet clothes re drapped over tree limbs in hopes that they will dry overnight. We talk about the hikers that are doing 20 mile days. We wonder if they ever take time to stop and play in the streams. To sit at an overlook and drink in the scenes below. One thing we agree on, we may be slow, our miles may be few, but at the end of each day, we can laugh and cut up. And say "Today was a good day. Let's do it again tomorrow!" total miles 8.4 total smiles innumerable