Date: 2004-07-27
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: N.Y. Hwy.17
Miles today: 9.9

Start Wildcat ShelterDestination NY Highway 17 I awoke to a sprinkling of rain on my tent. I got up and went out to get my bandana I had hung in a tree to dry last night. As I sat in my tent and ate breakfast I contemplated the mama vulture and her babies that I tried to find yesterday. I had an award winning photo already in my mind and was really disappointed when I did not even get a glimpse of the babies. Anyway, I was thinking of what it is that makes those babies want to learn to fly, and how does mama know just when to push them out of the nest? What if she pushes too soon and they fall to the rocks below. And how do they know how to be a vulture? Why do they not want to act like a duck, or an owl? I believe it is because the hand of their Creator has fashioned them to be exactly what he wants them to be. It seems like I struggle so hard to be how I think I should be, or what I should be, when in fact it ought to be relatively simple. I was formed by the hand of an awesome God, who knew me before I was in my mother's womb. He knew me intimately, my personality, my characteristics. He knew I would love ice cream and not brussels sprouts. So why then is it so hard for me to find who and what God intended for me? Is it fear that makes me try to conform to what I think people expect or want? Fear of rejection? Pressure from society? Fear of being different? The need to conform? Is it the absence of fear that gives us freedom to be all that God created us to be? Why can't I just be, like God intended for me to be? The animals are not pressured to be something they are not; they have the freedom to just be what their creator designed them to be. No other animal looks down its nose in disgust or shame at other animals and says, "Gee, why don't you be a turkey, or a bear?" Is it too late for me to learn to be content with myself as God's creation, made in his image? All he desires from me is to follow his leading and to fulfill his purpose for my life. And in the end, that is all that will matter. Now that is hard to do, when I am running around trying to be what other people want or expect me to be. I need to focus on what God wants me to be. Then I will find peace and contentment and have meaning in my life. Okay, so that is the object lesson for today! The trail is tough with more rocky crags to climb over, and though the sky is overcast, the rain holds off until lunch time. The twenty mile day begins to look like wishful thinking. Then the rain starts, just a gentle one, but enough to make rock climbing really tough. At a road crossing another trail angel has placed gallon jugs of water, along with a note inviting tired hikers a place to crash for the night if needed. Trail Dog writes down the number just in case. There is a country style restaurant 2 miles off the trail and we figure we will be there around lunchtime, so we make tentative plans to hike into town to eat, then get back on the trail. As the rain falls heavier and the trail gets more slippery, it becomes obvious that we will not get to our destination as planned. But then plans need to be made with some flexibility. I call the trail angel John from Trail Dog's cell phone and leave him a message asking if we can crash at his place this evening. The trail ahead of us has several really treacherous climbs and I do not want to attempt them in the rain. I don't have to, so I won't.The last five miles of the trail today is called Agony Rind. It is a grueling trail of ups and downs. Going up is just slow and tedious, but coming down, gravity wants to kick in and send you barreling down the trail. Using my hiking poles I tediously pick my way up and down, then up and down and so on and so on. Two miles before the road crossing where we are planning to get out, Trail Dog takes an awful fall. I go back to help him out of his pack. He has hit his cheekbone, his knees, and his elbow. In a matter of minutes his elbow looks like a goose egg is under the skin. It takes a few minutes for him to get going again, but he does and we hike on. John calls Trail Dog back on his cell phone and says he will pick us up at the road crossing. He is a welcome sight to our eyes. It is funny how you can be dreading the rest of a long day, and then plans change so quickly. Instead of being in my tent tonight trying to stay dry, I have had a hot shower, washed my clothes, ate a good meal and finished it off with ice cream. My bed is dry and I have a bathroom just across the hall. Trail Dog decides to go have his elbow checked at a local medical center. After a doctor visit, x-rays, a tetanus shot and a steep bill, he is pronounced okay, and fit to hike. John and Susan's house is a spacious home and they made all of us feel very much at home. Had we felt any more at home, we probably would not have left at all! John works for the local police department and Susan is a veterinarian. Hannah and Katie, two wired haired terriers complete their family. John is planning on slack packing us the eighteen miles into Ft. Montgomery tomorrow if the weather will cooperate. I do not mind hiking in the rain, but words like deluge, downpours, flash flooding, and severe thunderstorms do nothing to entice me to hike. I can lie on my bed and watch the lightening show out of the window. I can't hear any thunder or even tell if it is raining or not. I just know that I am warm and dry, well fed and watered. Total miles 9.9