Date: 2006-05-24
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: broken clouds

So I DID make it through the night at the 666 shelter; but I definitely had a guardian angel watching over me. After I finished writing in my journal last night, I layed in my sleeping bag trying to think of good, positive, happy thoughts in hopes of keeping the horror of my imagination from taking over. Baro was in his hammock, I was in my tent, and Brain, Brawn, B-Train, and Trusty were in the shelter. We all kept hearing noises- something was near our campsite making noises in the wooded areas around us. At first, we assumed it was a deer. It sounded big, but not big enough to be a bear- so no worries- deer are harmless. The longer I layed there, the louder and closer the noise of the unknown seemed to be. My imagination was beginning to get the best of me, so I put one headphone in one ear and turned on some music in an attempt to get my mind off of what was out there. All of a sudden, we heard a huge snorting sound...and it seemed to be somewhere between my tent and Baro's hammock. I layed there, completely still, waiting to hear where it's next move might be so that I might know what to do. There was nothing but silence. After what seemed to be an hour or so of no noise, I dismissed this "creature" for having moved on away from us. At some point I finally fell asleep. This morning I woke up to the sound of birds chirpping and the sun shining down on my tent. I realized I had survived the night and that everything seemed to be in place. I unzipped my tent, put my crocs(sandals) on, and stood up to stretch. While rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I looked down on the ground and then noticed something that hadn't been there the night before. I looked twice to make sure I was seeing clearly. There, about 1 foot outside of my tent, were huge rut marks in the ground around my tent. There was no mistaking it....they were the tracks of a wild boar! I was shocked, and yet relieved, as I realized what had happened. I was one foot from having a boar plow right through my tent in the middle of the night. If a boar is on a path somewhere, or on a mission, it will supposedly go through anything that is in it's way. I was very lucky and immediately thanked God for protecting me through the night. I am completely convinced there was some divine intervention going on while I was sleeping. Prayer: Thank you God for your protecting hands last night. There is no doubt in my mind that your precense was there as you watched over all of us camping and at the shelter. I don't know what I would have done or the position I would have been in, if we had encountered the boar in another way. You alone are powerful and yet merciful at the same time. Thank you for extending your hands out to us during the night. Thank you for blessing us with another beautiful day of hiking today and for providing the strength and endurance to make it to another shelter and camping area tonight. May I never forget that it is YOU who makes all things possible. I can do nothing on my own. May I always be grateful for the opportunities and blessings you have placed before me and immediately give YOU the admiration and praise.