Date: 2004-06-16
From: Rock Spring Hut

To: Pass Mountain Hut
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: light rain

Tonight, Poppins, Skippy, Friar, and myself are camped 100 feet from the shelter at a lovely campsite. As Poppins put it we are being ¢communally reclusive¢. After last night¢s din of snoring I am ecstatic at the thought of sleeping away from the shelter. My stomach is mad at me, I am dead tired, and I just tried crappy lemon pudding¢¦yuck! Despite all of this I had a productive day.I would say that I woke up early but I was never truly asleep. This is thanks to the hiker next to me. He kicked me multiple times, rolled over on me, butted me, and snored with the most non-rhythmic sound I have ever heard. Whenever he would stop snoring a different person would start. At one point there was constant snoring and farting¢¦at least it was in rhythm. To top it off I slammed my head into the top bunk at 3 a.m.¢¦ugh. When I did ¢awake¢ I was far from rested. When I started walking my frustration faded as I prayed and sang worship songs. I was in my own little world and I really cried out to God about my current struggles. Two big things hit me: 1) I have been praying for a long time that God would carry me. Even though my financial struggles frustrate me, they will truly provide me an opportunity for God to be my everything. 2) I have been praying that God will further turn me into a Godly man. I believe that my current test will be a large part of that process. As I walked and sang I felt comforted. I shared some of my thoughts with Skippy and I stopped to climb a rock scramble. (woo-hoo!)3.7 miles into the day we reached ¢Skyland¢, possibly the most overpriced stop on the Appalachian Trail. After taking a glance at the 4 dollar coffee, I quickly procured a Pepsi (no coke in the park :-(. ). Soon we were all sitting in chairs and couches in the lobby of the lodge. We all looked beat. Even thought I had no sleep last night, Skippy might have had less. She fell asleep on the floor in the lodge lobby. We took a good hour and a half of doing nothing before we trudged on. *A bug, enchanted with my night light, keeps repetitively slamming into my face*We departed Skyland with Friar and I singing the country hit ¢Beer for my Horses¢. Poppins and Friar are still sore from their ¢emergency run¢ of 2 nights ago. Despite our lack of sleep, Skippy and I were soon hiking slightly ahead. We talked as we hiked and soon we had an idea: We would play Frisbee at lunch¢¦Yahoo! Before we reached the picnic area for lunch we climbed to the edge of some cliffs where we met day hikers. They were friendly and spoke of pizza¢¦yum. As we descended the cliffs we met ¢Guy¢, that is the man¢s real name. Guy talked to us and seemed to be very impressed by our determination. At one point he went so far as to laud our ¢exceptionally strong character¢ and told us that people like us were the ¢strength of our Country¢. Soon my strong-charactered hiking friend and I pushed onward toward the Picnic Area for lunch laughing. Twice before lunch we crossed nice views only to see the road above us. We discussed that the layout of this park would seem that it was designed solely for the pleasure of those in a vehicle. Despite our sadness at ¢road views¢, we were excited to move on to lunch. As we sat down we all ate large amounts of snacks. Skippy shared a ¢Moonpie¢ with me¢¦Yuck! It tasted like chocolate marshmallow covered sawdust. Soon Friar, Skippy, and myself were tossing the Frisbee. When hikers hit town they find buffets instinctively and go nuts. I believe a similar experience occurred for the gnats, flies, and mosquitoes as we arrived at the picnic area. Today, they dined like kings. When I was not slapping at the bugs like a crazy man, Frisbee was fun. Still, the bugs and our lack of sleep the previous night were wearing on us as lunch wore down. We were tired!The afternoon would slowly brighten our day. We passed bluets, a tiny blue flower, for the first time in ages. We also passed columbine, bluebells (!), and black-eyed susans. The sun was hot, but the bugs seemed to be leaving us alone. The air just seemed nicer and sweeter as we walked. This would last for 30 minutes, then the sky opened and it rained. I had not put on a rain jacket and I was getting soaked¢¦it was a blast! I saw another big life lessen too within the massive wetness. As it had started to rain I realized I had a choice to be wet and depressed, or to enjoy the storm. I made a conscious choice toward the latter and I had a ball. I want to choose to enjoy the fun in the midst of the storm in real life too.Shortly after the rain we hit Mary Cliffs. This is of course Poppins¢ first name. The ladies relaxed while Friar and I scrambled up on the rocks¢¦men _______________. We all joked and had fun on the rocks, but it was also clear we were all wearing down. As we left toward a store 1.7 miles away Friar had an idea: Coke Floats!1.7 miles in 48 minutes¢¦we knew we could make it! We hurried down the hill, Skippy and I in the lead. We made it to the store with 5 minutes to spare to see the sign: ¢Closed Tuesday and Wednesday¢. UGH! As we left Friar and Poppins were dead, I was getting there and Skippy¢s stomach was upset. There was a highlight of our last 1.5 miles though in a huge spider. It looked like a small tarantula and was ginormous! I don¢t even know what this monstrous thing was. At 6:15 we hit the shelter, saw the crowd, and set our reclusive camp. The spot is lovely and we are all thrilled to be here after a long 15-mile day. We ate, joked, and Friar made the worst pudding ever. Though my tummy hurts, my friends rock! Poppins is out, Skippy and Friar are hanging our bearbags, and I am going to sleep now as well. I¢m beat. Goodnight, BEATBOX   ttt