Date: 2004-06-06
From: Hog Camp Gap

To: Spy Rock
Miles today: 10.5

Have you every seen ¢Gorillas in the Mist¢? That is the closest description we could give to the view to my right of luscious green trees slowly being enshrouded by fog. In front of me the purple afterglow of a beautiful sunset. On all sides a 360 degree view of the mountains and valley below with the largest clouds I¢ve ever seen spread around the panorama¢¦and one of them is about to envelop us. Spy Rock is a large rock 2/3 of the way up Main Top Mountain & was the outpost where confederate soldiers would spy Union movement in the valley. Tonight I¢m camped on this spot of history and beauty, again, I¢m blessed. I slept little last night and awoke by 7 a.m., when I was greeted by the misty morning along with many groggy campers. I sat quietly and worked on some past journals and I drank a Mr. Pibb. I was quietly unwinding and sharing my journal with Kate when Big Daddy reminded me of a comment I made yesterday ¢I can eat 10 scrambled eggs¢. My challenge was on! I trekked into the wood to clear some space. When I returned a plate filled with scrambled eggs was ready. In 10 minutes the challenge was over and my plate empty. I rewarded myself for the feat with 2 kielbasas¢¦my stomach would give me its reward later.After breakfast we all began to break camp¢¦Booboo and I took the longest. At that point Big Daddy brought me a gift ¢ the extra Cuban cigar. I was really stunned and thanked him like 6 times. He could easily have brought it home or even sold it, but these guys are not like that. They would accept no donations and by noon we were nearing ready to leave. After 2 more hotdogs to set us on our way, we said goodbyes and thanks. No thanks could be enough of course. Hopefully I¢ll join them as alumni some day and hear how ¢Bop¢ won survivor :-). By 1 p.m. I headed out. The first 2 miles were a total shock to my body which been training more to eat than to hike for the past 2 days. This may be why I feel like my load is heavier. Soon I warmed up though and I led the way. We hiked close together like an army of hikers in a straight line: Myself, Booboo, Beartracks, Franco, and Benny. By 3 p.m. we stopped just past a creek. There appeared to be a 15 foot rock with a tree growing on top of it. In reality it had roots on the other side which amazingly spread out all the way down to the soil. We enjoyed this crazy tree and then I led us on to the shelter¢¦I was in a complete zone thinking about a friend of mine who I may have a crush on (don¢t worry ¢ it¢s a girl :-)).When we arrived at the shelter my stomach gave me that ¢reward¢. We saw 2-cent, Bucket, and Caterpillar and joked around. I smoked the cigar, since it would only go bad without a humidor and I enjoyed it :-). Beartracks and I hit rocks with the whifflebat which Booboo inexplicably carried out of Hog Camp Gap. By 5 p.m. we sauntered out and I hiked ahead to pray and sing.There are days when I pray and it¢s hard to focus and there are days like today. As I prayed and sang, I just cried¢¦a lot. I have such a desire to live as a godly man and not worry what other people think, I just prayed that I could continue to know God more and learn to be more like Him daily. I felt so touched as I reached the base of Spy Rock, then I was amazed. Tonight I feel one step closer to God as I¢m surrounded by His beauty. I will close with my usual poem and thoughts:        Mist over mountains the beauty astounds me        And slowly in my heart there¢s love that surrounds me        I dance over rocks, jump over temporary pond        Content where I am with this mountain I am on       Touched as I see the beautiful sunset in the sky      Understanding the meaning of a true mountain high       Perched inside my tent on a mountain steep      I thank my Savior for the beauty, and now I go to sleep.¢¢        I feel bad that Booboo, Beartracks, and I are behind Krispy. I hope I catch him by Friday, June 18th when I hit Harper¢s Ferry to go into D.C.¢¢        God is blessing me and teaching me so much. I¢m learning how much bigger He is than the things that I stress about.¢¢        I feel I¢m getting to know Beartracks and Booboo well¢¦They¢re both nuts! (and reading this).¢¢        It has rained a whole lot lately¢¦I find it slows me, but it is really beautiful.¢¢        I miss going to church :-( , maybe this Wednesday?¢¢        I¢m about to sleep up here on the rocks¢¦WOW! God Bless, BEATBOX   ttt