Date: 2006-03-31
From: Vandeventer Shelter

To: The Place
Miles today: 32.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Acts 22:10 "'What shall I do, Lord?' I asked. 'Get up', the Lord said, 'and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.'" That's the verse that Braveheart read last night right before we went to bed. He came across it during his nightly readings. Wow. Was it a message from God? Coinsidence? Irony? What the heck! It's like getting a message all wrapped up nice and neat but you don't know who it's from, who it's intended for, or if it was just a piece of paper that you might have picked up for no apparent reason.Anyways, we packed up and headed out. Today's hike was so easy for me. Braveheart had a bit harder of a time but that is only because his boots are giving him a hard time. So we cruised all the way to dinner time and that is when we ate - and then it poured down rain, wonderful. From where we ate dinner it was about 4 miles to the shelter or 14 miles to Damascus - the promised land. A place where thru-hikers are treated like kings, all who make it anyways. 30-40% of all thru-hikers never make it to Damascus so it's a big achievement to make it that far.So after I finished dinner I pulled out a couple of the notes that Keri had made for me so I could read them along my trek from Erwin to Damascus. One of them said that I had what it took and that she was so proud of me. She ended with "Push for 14 miles..." That was exactly how far it was to Damascus - ok, so if the verse was pure irony or meant for someone elese, this wasn't. Stamped, written, and addressed to me. She said go 14 miles. Though 4 miles to the shelter, and the original plan, sounded good, I couldn't fight this incredible feeling that urged me to go 14. Her words alone struck me and motivated me. I had to do it and I knew I could. So I committed to Damascus. I had Damascus fever and the ony cure was more cow bell...or more hiking. Not having a cow bell, we continued on.100 yards into our night hike we were hit by some nasty, nasty fog. It was so thick that you coulnd't see the person in the front, even with their headlamp on. Hiking was slow but we made it to the shelter. Braveheart couldn't go on because of his feet but I felt good. I was a nervous, scared, anxious, whatever...about hiking alone in the dark, in the rain and thick fog but it was something I had to do.After a short snack and plans to meet up with Braveheart the next day, I took off. I sang the whole way and it was by the grace of God I didn't get lost. The conditions were terrible, at times I would only be able to see my feet and that bit of land surrounding me due to the thickness of the fog, but God got me there, to Damascus. I did the 10 extra miles to Damascus in 3 hours - that's fast. At the VA/TENN border i put up a rock as witness to me thanking God for getting me through the night. It was such a relief to get to town. I bought myself a mountain dew at the pepsi machine to celebrate my achievent of hiking over 30 miles in one day.Finally, I made it to "The Place", a hostel run by the Methodist Church in town, took a shower and then went to bed shortly before my body fell apart.Thank you Lord for the strength to make it, I couldn't have done it alone.outmeal with gorp---tuna on tortilla x2, wheat bagel x2---chichen and rice - FD, mashed potatoes---tuna fillet on tortilla, wheat bagel