Date: 2016-04-17
From: Kissimmee FL

To: Bryant Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 3.8
Weather: clear sky

I hiked less than 4 miles today but didn't start until just after 5:30 PM : )To avoid another fiasco like the previous night, I spent last night in a hotel near the airport in Orlando, FL. I was here for a day to watch my son play paintball at the collegiate paintball nationals. I felt strangely out of place in a quiet hotel after getting used to sleeping out on the trail in shelters or in my tent. I think the difference was I didn't hear the sounds of the night, the wind, or any wildlife. The other difference is that I've learned to trust my place in the wilderness. What I mean by this is that when I first went out to sleep in the woods I was scared to death. I didn't know what was going to happen or if anyone was going to come and bother me. Now I'm comfortable sleeping along the trail. It's almost like the solitude of being away from everyone provides me with a nice warm safe feeling that I didn't have while sleeping at the hotel.So I flew from Orlando through Charlotte, North Carolina on my way back to Lynchburg. The Charlotte airport is pretty big and required quite a bit of walking to get from the arrival gate to my connecting flight. I managed to walk through the entire airport without needing any assistance. While this might seem like something anyone who's hiking the Appalachian Trail should be able to easily do, a year and a half ago I would have to be pushed in a wheelchair because I was unable to walk long distances.Healing from a tramatic injury like I had comes very slowly over time. One of the most frustrating parts of getting better is that you get better so slowly it's hard to notice that you're improving. Realizing that I'm now able to walk through the airport without assistance let me know that hiking the Appalachian Trail really is healing me.I had lined up my shuttle to pick me up in Buena Vista,VA at the trailhead on route 60. I was going to shuttle south to the point near Buchanan, VA where I stopped hiking a few days ago. I was in a bit of a hurry as the flight had been delayed and I didn't want to keep my shuttle driver waiting. So mistakenly entered the address for Buchanan into my GPS instead of the address for Buena Vista. It wasn't until about 10 minutes before arriving that I realized my mistake. I had driven to the South end rather than the North end where my shuttle driver was waiting for me. Oh well. Mistakes happen. I drove up the hill so I could get a cell phone signal, called the shuttle driver and let him know that I would pay him for the shuttle even though I had never shown up. I ended up parking my car along the trail in Buchanan and will have to shuttle back down to get the car once I reach Buena Vista in another four days. Using a car as I do to carry my supplies and paying for shuttles up and down the trail is certainly more complicated then not having a car. However I really like to have all of my food supplies on hand, and the ability to take the car to do things like drive to the airport as I did today so I could see my son. It's also very helpful if I need to go to an outfitter, resupply at a grocery store, or simply need to nuture my spirit with a good steak dinner. I don't recommend that most hikers use a car as I do, however it seems to be the right thing for me. Hike your own hike, the saying goes. So I breezed up the hill and made the 3.8 miles rather quickly to the Bryant Ridge shelter here which is one of the largest and fanciest shelters I've seen on the trail. It sleeps about 14 people and has three levels. I expected to see it full of the surging northbound Hikers that I keep expecting, but I'm all alone here tonight.As I lay here looking out into the woods I can hear the stream running nearby along with the other sounds of the woods. All is peaceful, well and good and I'm sure I'm going to sleep well tonight.