Date: 2016-06-10
From: Stealth Camp, Mile 991.1

To: Blackburn AT Center Porch
Miles today: 19.5
Weather: few clouds

"Excellence in any pursuit is the late, ripe fruit of toil." - W. M. L. JayDay 91After getting water near the Rod Hollow Shelter, I strapped on my proverbial seatbelt and began the famous AT Roller Coaster! The Roller Coaster is a 13.5 mile stretch of non-stop ups and downs. There is a total gain of more than 5000 feet as you make your way over more than a dozen steep, rocky hills. It's a parting shot from Virginia before entering West Virginia.A little more than halfway up and down the Roller Coaster, I came across a simple sign marking the 1000 mile point for northbound AT hikers. I had to stop for a minute and let that sink in. I just hike 1000 miles! I took a picture, of course. I also said a prayer of thanksgiving. I didn't ask God for anything in this prayer, I just thanked him for bringing me this far on the journey without serious injury or incident. I posted the photo on my Facebook page, and received a comment from Rex Dutton, our preacher from Florida, which I found quite profound. Rex wrote:"Congratulations! These adventures are going to make an awesome book one day soon. God will work through this journey of yours to do many great things! I have so enjoyed your posts! And for the rest of us who will never accomplish anything so significant, and may feel useless from time to time, I could not help but think about that tree behind you bearing that sign... It has never been anywhere, and yet, there it stands and it still serves an important purpose."By "anything so significant" I think Rex is referring to noteworthy, out of the ordinary physical feats. I reminded him that preaching 40+ years, as he has done, is an amazing, world-changing accomplishment that far exceeds hiking a trail...even a really long trail. I really appreciate his final point about the tree holding the sign. No glory. No fanfare. It's not the biggest or oldest or prettiest tree on the AT or even that mountain. But it has a job to do and does it well. By doing its job, it allows the sign, and the thousands of hikers who stand in front of it, to get the glory.I suspect among my readers there may be a few folks who feel useless or unappreciated at times. Maybe your life seems boring. You may think, "All I do is (fill in the blank)." Maybe it's been awhile since your boss, customers, children, or spouse have thanked you for what you do. Let me remind you your life has significance because God made you...in His image! Your life has significance because Christ made the ultimate sacrifice, giving his own life, to make your salvation possible. God has a plan and purpose for each one of us. Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might..." Whether you are a plumber or teacher, a janitor or doctor, a tree or a sign, be a good one...do it well. Whether you aspire to hike the AT or just aspire to get through the day, know that what you do matters and makes a difference. You are a hero to someone, so keep on keeping on.By mid-afternoon, at mile 1003.2, I arrived at Snickers Gap. I crossed the road and made my way over to Darrell and Alicia's Trail Magic station. She came running up to hug me, which means she'll probably need to throw her outfit away. I was that funky from my Roller Coaster ride. The two of them had been there for a few hours, giving out drinks, fruit, cookies and other goodies to hikers. There was quite a crowd there when I arrived. Alicia had prepared a private cooler of drinks and goodies just for me which was way, way cool!After resting, eating, drinking, and visiting a bit, we said farewell to Alicia, and Darrell and I headed northward. For the first time in my journey, I was hiking with a long-time friend. He was eager and fresh, in part because he had missed most of the Roller Coaster and hadn't hiked 12 miles in the heat that morning. I really enjoyed hiking with him and getting caught up on children, career, future plans, etc. Not surprisingly, he had several AT-related questions for me as he continues to prepare for their 2017 thru-hike attempt. At mile 1005.7, we stopped for a photo at the sign telling us we were crossing over into West Virginia, state #5!At mile 1010.6, after a 19.5 mile day for me, we stopped for the night at the Blackburn AT Center. It wasn't quite a challenging first night with me on the trail for Darrell, as we slept on the large screened-in porch of the Center and were offered big bowls of soup by the caretaker.It had been an interesting couple of days, featuring a 1000-mile marker, Trail Magic, a Roller Coaster, a border crossing, and multiple changes of plans. Ultimately, God worked everything out for me, as I knew he would. I'm especially thankful he saw fit to provide me with a good friend to hike with, if only for a couple of days.Fob