Date: 2016-05-03
From: Stecoah Gap

To: Fontana Dam
Miles today: 0.0

This is a post I wrote in Franklin that never made the journal. I think it shows the variety of people I met along the way. Bastian is the one on the far right in the picture.Warning! This post contains bad language.I was sitting in the car in Franklin with Bastian, a young man from Berlin, Germany. We were waiting at the PO for a couple people sending packages home. I don't know what I was talking about, but I said, "What in the world!" Bastian said, "Huh?" I repeated myself, "What in the world!"Bastian gave me a puzzled look. "What is that?" "Oh," I told him, "that is an expression some people use." I said it means something like 'isn't that odd?'He said, "Oh, kind of like, 'what the hell.'"I said, "Yeah, I guess so."He then said he is surprised that Americans don't cuss like Europeans do. He said in Germany cussing is just a part of everyday language. Much more common than he was hearing on the trail. He said he was trying to watch his language and not offend people with his words. He said all this in his heavy German accent.I didnt hear a lot of bad language on the trail, but if I did, it was mostly women. You might remember Helen and Eddie, the couple I hiked with a couple of days. Helen had a loud voice and she was funny about it. She would struggle up a big ascent, and then would yell off the mountain, "I did it!" If there was a big step up, there'd be a loud,"Humpf!" And some choice words thrown in. The last night we tented together at a shelter, their tent was a little ways from mine, blocked by a grove of trees. All of a sudden, I'd hear a loud "Humpf!" and I'd think, she's sitting down on a log. "Aaargh!" She's getting up. Then I heard a loud, "Oh, sh__! I thought, "That's my Helen! She's crawling into her tent." I had to chuckle to myself a little. I hope you are laughing, Helen, if you are reading this.Ok...I am getting a ride this morning to Fontana Dam, another famous stopping place on the AT. It is the stepping point into the Smoky Mountains. I'm glad I get to see it, and I'm glad I won't be making that long climb into the Smokies on a foggy, rainy day. So far, no regrets.I've got 2 or 3 more posts to share, and a couple of quotes, like this:*Quote: "Here is what it is like to hike: I walk with my head down, looking at my feet and the ground just ahead of them. You have to; the path is seldom (never) smooth. It is full of rocks, and roots, and mud puddles. So my head stays down except for the brief look at the trail just ahead of me every few minutes to see what new surprises are waiting. It takes constant focus on my footing. There could be a family of bears sitting right beside the trail having a picnic, and I wouldn't see them. When I want to take a look around at the beauty surrounding me, I have to find a place with fairly level, stable ground, stop walking completely, plant both trekking poles firmly in the ground, and then raise my head. I do this very often, though. I look around and catch my breath and thank God for all this¢¦for the beauty, and the freedom, and for the opportunity to appreciate them. Then I put my head back down and continue walking."