Date: 2006-10-31
From: laurel creek shelter

To: niday shelter
Miles today: 12.4

======2003====== saturday, april18 day 57NO ENTRY======2006======Lord¢s Day, april 9 day 57 (about 17 miles from near the montvale overlook on the blueridge parkway to a campsite up the hill from the bryant ridge shelter)bryant ridge shelter was full of boy scouts so we moved on up here to this beautiful little pine-y knoll above the shelter....we actually thought about climbing the mountain to cornelius shelter, but once again, paw-ee, the Great Campsite Discerner found us this nice, dry, quiet woodland camp and i¢m very grateful and happy to settle in right here for the night.....he has already conked out under the tarp (he was waiting for me to ¢ring the dinner bell¢.....i guess the late afternoon sun flickering down through the pines put him to sleep)....we¢re havin¢ spaghetti!..yea!.....it¢ll be ready in a few minutes, but for now i¢ll just let paw enjoy his nap.....the day again has been lovely!.....we actually started off very cold...(there was ICE on our tarp from the freezing rain the night before!)....but from talkin¢ to the folks at bryant, it sounds as if we didn¢t get quite as much nasty weather as some of the other hikers out here did!it warmed up quickly, though, and by mid afternoon was really rather sweltering as we climbed the mountain on the other side of jennings creek.....what a beautiful place that is!....i saw an unusual ragwort* there that had small gray leaves (like pussytoes)....it was growing on the bank coming down to the creek with other plants of dry-ish habitat like birdsfoot violets....there were only a few and i wondered if i was seeing something rare....paw saw the first vernal iris today...(*see photo above)we met trail maintainers from the roanoke club this afternoon....larry and maurice....they informed us that ¢model t¢ (j.r. tate) was indeed on the trail this year....we¢ve read his book (¢on the happy side of misery¢) and thought it was very funny, so we look forward to meeting model t !we passed two older ladies going up from jennings....and though they seemed to be having a great time, they also seemed to be pretty hot....struggling a bit up the mountain...... and paw wondered ¢why do folks want to torture themselves like that¢.......but i disagreed with him.... ¢it¢s the woods!....it¢s not torture!¢ i insisted... ¢if God wills it, ANYone can walk ANY place they dream!.....and if He doesn¢t, then you have spent your dying moments embracing HIS dream!...relax, paw....they¢ll be okay!¢....it did my heart good to see the obvious joy on those two old ladies¢ faces!...how good they must have felt at the end of their climb!....it was so lovely, so serene coming down the mountain into the cove near bryant ridge....majestic white pines were shimmering in the late afternoon sun, mingling with deep shadows in other niches in the forest....it was so ultra-sunday-afternoon-ish!....i thought about these spectacular moments that strike your soul like the ringing of church bells....you can¢t describe them!....they just come!....c.s. lewis said it was the experience of being ¢surprised by joy¢!....i think perhaps it¢s little glimpses ¢beyond¢.......previews of heaven........vignettes of paradise etched in our souls!....anyway....i imagined how wonderful it will be for these fleeting passions to remain with us eternally.....never-ending joyful surprises!.....all the wonder of this great planet!...all the blessedness of sunday afternoons....everything that has ever made a beautiful memory.....those special times at my grandpa and grandma¢s.....the chicken and dumplin¢s.... the laughter....the porch-sitting...the very special and much felt love........the whole FEELING of those days...all of them....the sweetness of THAT forever!.....wow!....i know these small, uniquely lighted hours here on earth are not merely to enhance our ¢nows¢....no....they are much too special to be temporal....i know i will revisit them....not only in memories, but in reality....this is one of the many reasons i look forward to heaven and the new earth!these moments make me aware of a prevailing goodness....a goodness that can only ultimately be found in Christ...i look forward to the day when i lay my eyes on Him at last!....Jesus!....my King!....my Joy Giver!......i thought today how He has made us to be his ¢friends¢....his ¢brothers and sisters¢.....i wondered HOW this could actually be....and then i understood.......by the Covenant!....the Blood Covenant!...we have been made ¢blood siblings¢ by the Promise that was guaranteed by the exchanging of blood!....His for ours.....(i remembered when we were kids and my brothers and i would share a pinprick with neighborhood kids to become ¢blood brothers¢....it was a ¢promise¢, a ¢covenant¢ to be loyal....buddies for life....coming to each others rescue....defending each other¢s honor...taking responsibility for our ¢brothers¢ with whom we had shared our blood)....but THIS Blood?...it was God¢s blood!....THIS Promise? it was God¢s Promise! how can i stand in the Face of such Love?!!....i can¢t!....but my Elder Brother Jesus?....He will stand for me! well...we just discovered on our little calendar that this is actually Palm Sunday....next sunday will be Easter!.....lookin¢ at these dates makes my face flush hot with embarrassment and shame as i remember easter-time 3 years ago and the ¢fiasco at fullhardt¢....it was there that i buckled when one of the ladies that night had this to say about my shelter register entries: ¢great drawings.....but sounded like a bit of proselytizing to me!¢....i had been unwilling at the time to speak up in my own defense (and that of my Savior¢s) to explain that the purpose of my writings was simply to express my own joy.........i had asked the Lord to redeem that day (and my cowardice)...so when we were there at fullhardt yesterday, i pulled the dusty, old bird¢s nest off the top of the shelter bible and cleaned it up a bit to put it back in its place.....indeed, though, i feel the redeeming had already taken place, with the quiet placement of that very unique Book.......It, (like the registers),does not beg to be opened or read, but is there with encouragement and hope for those who WISH to read.....well...i think what i¢d like to do now (after having stuffed myself with spaghetti), is lay back and read my own bible and then go to sleep.......thank you, Lord, for your Passion for one with such failing passion......me!*NOTES/OBSERVATIONS/COMPARISONS*ragwort...(that had small gray leaves like pussytoes).....i just recently unraveled the ¢mystery¢ of this plant....see a picture and read more about it in our photo album....click on the photo above (vernal iris) and then click ¢next¢