Date: 2005-03-30
From: Max Patch Bald

To: Deer Patch Shelter
Miles today: 16.6

3/30/05Miles: 16.6Destination: Deer Park ShelterCall National Geographic! There¢s a desert in North Carolina. Between miles 264 and 267 of the Appalachian Trail, we had not water, the sun was blistering our arms and faces, the dog¢s panting tongue was dry, and there were mirages, I swear! Walking through those dead by beetle pine forests I could feel the absence of moisture in the air. My head was hurting. On top of it, we suffered the worst at the end of a 16.6 mile day. It wasn¢t all bad, though. Today we actually got an early start after a salmon and crimson sunrise at Max Patch. We had lunch atop Bluff Mountain, where we sunbathed an hour and a half...I got sunburned. On our way down the mountain, we agreed to camp soon, so we¢d have a longer hike into Hot Springs the next day. Unfortunately, there weren¢t many good campsites with water. Hence, the bit about the desert in North Carolina. We¢re in the shelter tonight with John and Buckwheat. Adam, Ana, and Kasey are tenting as is a Boy Scout troop form Greensboro, NC. They seem to be having a great time doing stereotypical Boy Scout camping things: building fire, playing with knives, telling riddles, etc. I almost casually included ¢shunning gays¢ in my list, but I thought I shouldn¢t be so deviant. They are a great bunch of boys, and they can¢t help what the higher-ups say about certain issues. We¢re looking forward to Hot Springs ¢ only 3.2 mile Nero. (Near Zero) tomorrow for all of us in the shelter, so we¢re all staying up extra late: 8:30. I realized today that I need to follow up on my Good Friday reflection since Easter has come (but hopefully hasn¢t gone anywhere, I suppose.) The sunrise service at Seymour was great, as was the 8:15 traditional service. Fantastic music. There was one thing, however, that ¢got my goat,¢ so to speak. There was one song that included the lyrics: ¢Jesus, so loving, tender, and gentle...¢ It was sung sweetly, as one would perform a lullaby; the song portrayed Jesus as a softy, and I just cannot connect with that imagery of Jesus. It just isn¢t him, and it isn¢t the gospel. Why have our churches become so domestic and tame, that Jesus is spoken of in such a feel-good way? The Jesus I know was a political savage! Why don¢t we have songs about his radical turn from the religiosity and purity politics? Why don¢t our songs lift him up as the one who had the balls to do what was right? ¢Jesus, you are so gutsy, and you have huge gonads!¢ I realize that most would be offended by such talk, but it¢s important to me that the gospel be interpreted in a social manner and not just in a spiritual fell-good and do-nothing way.Well, the mice are already making noise. Hannah compares the sound to the ominous sound of thunder in the distance ¢ a forecast of what¢s to come. The last shelter had 8 dead mice form last night¢s psycho-murderer. I hope we don¢t have that many. Chaya will keep them away.I¢m just a Tennessee Walker,Josh Hill¢Your calling is where your greatest passion meets with the world¢s greatest need.¢- David St. Clair, quoting someone else, probably a German theologian name Freidrick or somebody like that. Maybe his last name was Buchner or not.