Date: 2008-04-15
From: Tanyard Gap

To: Allen Gap
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: scattered clouds

On the road again. A warm bed, good company, medicine, and a long night of sleep has made it so we are willing to venture out into the wild again. If for some reason we do get worse instead of better there are several other locations where we can get off the trail from here until Erwin, TN (our next stop!). And, what a day! Of course our energy was low, but I think we have decided to commit to at least 10 miles a day for now on, unless we are taking a NERO into town. We are trying to average around 12 in hopes that after Demascus we can change that number to 15. But, these are just numbers... however, numbers have been very much on my mind the last few days! I know I picked an early start date so that I would not feel pressured or pushed to do high mileages the first month, BUT the first month has come and gone and hikers with much later start dates are starting to catch up (and pass) us. Of course I expected this, BUT I also know that I am a competitive person and I must now work to keep this in check. I met a couple fellow thru hikers today who came across in a demeaning manner -- I guess I am not a "serious" hiker or I do not hike to some preconcieved standard. Given that I was already muddling through the mileage issue I may have taken the comments made more to heart than I should have. But, this same couple hikers passed by several amazing views on a beautiful day. When it comes down to it, we are all on the trail for different reasons. Some are here for the mileage and to get to Katahdin, end of story. Some seem to be wrapped up in a race. Some are just here for the party. BUT, some of us are here to take in each day to the fullest because we know that things can change in the blink of an eye. I guess I have felt the pressure and the pull of the ominous mileage and start date questions; however, I keep looking back at all the things I have done and seen so far and I just can't find anything I would change. So, I will keep my computations on miles and dates and times going because it would be useless to attempt to thwart my compulsive mind. I will also try to keep the big journey in perpsective in conjunction with the microcosmic one I take every day I wake up... In the end, we all walk/hike our own trail -- on the AT as well as in life -- and I just have to make sure that I keep heading towards (my) Katahdin -- metaphorically speaking, as well. Back to what we actually did today. I mean, of course we hiked. And it was a long, slow hike. We were trying to catch up to Truckin' and Dirt who left Hot Springs a few days ago. We are also still trying to catch up to Butters who hasn't been seen since Gatlinburg! According to the logs he is about 4 days in front of us. Too bad we just weren't feeling big miles coming on today. Our goal, like I said earlier, was to make it past the 10 mile marker and given our state of health this was a challenging one today. However, just when our spirits were at their lowest today because we were worn out and hungry, we came upon Allen Gap and were blessed with trail magic! And, not just any trail magic, this was a three course meal and wonderful company. Fal and Hercules are fellow thru hikers and they have set up a beautiful residence a few hundred yards from the trail crossing. They invite hundreds of thru hikers into their home every year for breakfast, dinner, and dessert -- all in one sitting! I ate so much I could hardly move. We had a wonderful discussion over the dinner table and I do not know how I can be more thankful for such great hospitality. This is why they call it magic. We walked away with the smiles back on our faces and feeling like we could hike at least a couple more miles :0) And, we did. We found a great spot just as the sun was beginning to set and laid out our sleeping pads/bags. The sky was clear so no tent was needed. We are cowboy camping tonight! Trail magic ROCKS!