Date: 2008-04-27
From: Uncle Johnnys Hostel

To: Mountain Harbor Hiker Hostel
Miles today: 45.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It is Sunday nght and I am at Mountain Harbor Hiker Hostel. We are in the upstairs of a barn. Beneath me is the abode of 3 horses and a goat. Terry and Mary Hill really do a good job for hikers. The barn has a nice common area and room to sleep 7 hikers. It also has a shower which is awesome after a long day of hiking. Mary had us up to the house for supper tonight for BBQ ribs and chicken. This is the fullest I have been since starting the hike. She is also cooking breakfast in the morning. We are at hwy 19E at Roan Mt. Tenn. This afternoon while crossing a stream we found a 6 pack of coke in the stream with a bag of hostess twinkies in a bag on the bridge. I am amazed at the kindness of strangers to hikers in this area of the country. But how we got to this point is another story. Lets start with this little illustration. You are crawling on your hands and knees in the desert dying of thirst. You meet a man and you ask if he has any water. No he says but here's a cold beer for you. I'm sorry but I don't drink you say. Off he goes and you keel over and die. Now keep this silly story in mind while I relate the last two days of hiking. Coming out of Irwin, Tenn. we had hours of extreme uphill climbs. By the end of Friday I was exhausted. Sat. brought Roan Mt. the highest in Tenn. We climbed for endless hours, 3 times we thought we had climbed the Mt. The first time it turned out to only be an approach Mt. The second time we thought we had conquered Roan Mt. it turned out to be Bear Mt. another Mt. on the way to Roan. Finally we got to the Mt. and slowly climbed the thing. It was telling one leg to step up on that gnarled mass of roots, then it was, ok other leg go up on that rovk. Ok rest of body you mat want to follow too. Slowly we wobbled and struggled over it. I really had no idea how hard these climbs could be. Especially with 35 lbs. on your back. When we finally arrived at Carvers Gap at the Tenn. N.C. state line it was close to 6 o'clock. We had been hiking 11 hours. A man was at the side of the road in his car. When he saw us he asked if were real thru hikers or just out for the day. we assured him we were the real deal. He said that once a year he comes to this site to give snacks to hikers. He had wanted to drive up to the top of Roan Mt. but the road was closed. He was just ready to leave when we arrived. He asked if we wanted any food and beverage. Did we ever. Now my beverage of choice is coke but what he was offering was 16 oz. of the best hydrating beverage St. Louis Missouri has to offer, minus the spotted dog and large horses. He also had tortilla, bananas, and blueberry pastries. Now my mother brought me up to be a non drinker but my mother also didn,t raise a fool. I took that hydrating beverage and leaned up against the fence by the side of the road and sucked it down like a baby on a bottle. I admit I had visions of Pastor Ross driving by and waving at me, but by that time it was gone with no ill effects. Thank you Red Dog for the trail magic. Now some of you may be critical of me for drinking a beer. Who ever is showing these journals to my parents may want to withhold this one. Some may not have any idea what I Speak about. The area I am from is very conservative and many people believe drinking is always verbotten. We sometime joke about Mennonite men only being allowed to drink a beer when he is not with another Mennonite person that might recognize him. I realize I will probably lose my strict Christian followers but as I hike I have thought a lot about the perception non Christians have of us. We walk around with long faces like we just drank vinager and when asked how we are we say oh ' rejoicing in the Lord'. I think Christians should be the most joyfull bubbly people in the world. I would say most hikers out here are not Christian and the concept of sitting around a throne singing for all eternity does not appeal to them. Some how we Christians need to come up with a better plan to reach people. If we could comprehend what is in store for us and what it means to spend an eternity apart from our Creater if we miss Heaven we could be better witnesses to the world. Now you may ask if I got this message from drinking one lousy beer, the answer is yes, but you must understand all I do is think all day. Did I get smarter by drinking that beer? Not smarter, but weiser.