Day 1 - February 14, 2013 - The Start from Neels Gap

 Signing the log at Neels Gap, 7:30 am on February 14, 2013.  PrayerWalker in support of  Homes For Our Troops ... Nunc Coepi (now I begin). It was COLD, upper 20's and wind howling !  I began at Neels Gap because the fitpacking.com trip I took the end of October 2012 ended here. Jeff, the lead guide (Jukebox 2008 journal) for that trip, (my first ever time to backpack) suggested I begin here because on that trip we completed the portion of the Appalachian Trail from the top of Amicalola Falls parking lot on the approach trail and finished at Neels Gap. At first I dismissed the idea but then decided it was a great suggestion. If I am successful and summit Katahdin, I will return to Neels Gap (sometime in October) and hike South to Springer (keeping with the plan to thru-hike in the same calender year. Maybe G-4 will do those miles with me.

The frost on the trees and bushes was beautiful. It was quite a climb up out of Neels Gap. My packed weighed 32 lbs. (way too much; slows me down). When it warms up, I'll have less clothes to carry. I also packed more food than I needed. Takes time to learn ...

PrayerWalker on the trail with the Homes For Our Troops bandana on her backpack.

                        G-4 waits (as usual) for me to catch up. I'll miss his company.

                                                                   Campsite with a view

Wolf Laurel Top - frosty !

 Looks like G-4 is standing at parade rest ...it's tough to take the military out of this man !

                                                    What a gift to be here at this moment !

                                                                               Up close

Beautiful -- G-4 stopped and waited here for me to catch up and then said "Look up !"  Otherwise I would have missed this view.  -- Click on pic for bigger view.

Standing on Cowrock Mountain

The sun came out and I removed my first layer. Those are G-4's fingers as he takes my photo on Cowrock Mountain (5 miles in) - it's a little difficult with the phone. I decided not to crop out his fingers because this picture would not have been possible without him.

                                      He enjoyed the view too at Cowrock Mountain !


G-4 accompanied me for 6 miles to Tesnatee Gap, GA Hwy. 348. He didn't watch me walk away on the trail. I watched him walk onto the highway and he didn't look back as he set out to walk amd to hitch hike back to Neels Gap. It was an odd moment. He didn't want to walk back alone the way we had come.  It was too dangerous on the trail alone. I prayed that someone would have pity on him and give him a lift. 

G-4 ended up walking about 20 miles total that day (6 miles on the AT and 14 on the road). He received two rides -- the first from a banker in the area and the second from a man who towards the end took him to Neels Gap.  He started hitch hiking at 1 PM trying for a ride back to Neels Gap.  He arrived at Neels Gap about 4 PM. It is a 2 hour drive from Neels Gap to our home. He arrived home about 6:16 PM -- what a Valentine's Day (both of us will never forget this one !)

Winkle  is a woman who has hiked the entire Appalachian Trail and who befriended me through trailjournals.com. She walked with me on Day 1 and part of Day 2. I met her at Tesnatee Gap parking area. The three of us had a little lunch. What a wonderful blessing for me to share the trail with her and to learn from her. It didn't seem like we were strangers. The trail allowed us to become friends very quickly. There was no awkwardness as we got to know one another and I think that's a gift from Nature. I was comfortable in her presence even as we first met one another. 

She has kept journals about her adventures. I think you'll enjoy them.  Winkle's Journals

Low Gap Shelter

I was too tired when Winkle and I arrived at Low Gap Shelter to take pictures but it was a beautiful camp site. We set up our tents, replenished our water (didn't have batteries in correctly on my SteriPen and Winkle mixed some of her AquaMira to purify my water). Walked back up the hill from the shelter to my tent for new batteries while it was daylight and back down to the table and forgot my alcohol for my cat can stove.  Doug, an ultra distance runner (100 miles), gave me some of his alcohol so I could heat water for my first dinner on the AT (fettucine Alfredo with chicken) rehydrated with about 3/4 cup of boiling water dumped into its zip lock bag, sealed up and placed inside the Cannon Cozy for 10 min.  I enjoyed a Midnight Milky Way for desert (my favorite candy bar).  YUM !!!!

During dinner on the picnic table at Low Gap shelter I met "Ears" (his trail name because he has a 70% hearing loss), a young man, 19 yrs., good looking and very polite from Raleigh, NC, who started with a 70 lb. backpack, walked up 600+ stairs (not sure of exact number) at Amicalola Falls heading for the Approach Trail and then decided he could not make it with 70 lbs. He walked back down and left about 20 lbs. of gear on the ground with a note that it was all new gear and any one who wanted it could take it ! He then proceed to walk back up all those stairs and begin the 8 mi. approach trail to Springer Mountain-- that's 8 miles of hiking before he gets to the beginning of the Appalachian Trail at Springer Mountain. Ears' motto is "small steps-big victories".  That's what he chants when the going gets rough.  Ears slept in the shelter that night. He handed me the shelter log so I wouldn't have to climb the steps up (wonder if he thought I might not have the energy to climb those steps-think I looked pretty tired) and I signed it. I'm sure he'll make it to Katahdin. He's young and moving fast. I know I won't see him again but I'll be praying for him. It was a pleasure to meet him. Ears' family should be proud of him.

There were 3 men "hanging" at Low Gap Shelter ... in their hammocks instead of using tents (Bruce, Doug and Patrick). They were out for a few days on the trail. Doug is an ultra distance runner (100 miles) and also an AT thru-hiker in the early 90's.  We enjoyed talking about different kinds of freeze-dried meals, comparing our various cooking methods.  Patrick had a Caldera cone stove which he really enjoys.  During my research I almost bought one but when my home-made little cat can alcohol stove worked, I decided to go with it.

A young man came to the shelter just as I was leaving to retire to my tent for the night. He was busy getting settled in the shelter and I didn't greet him. I met him on Day 2 as he passed Winkle and me on the trail. His name is Chris. Story to follow.

Winkle enjoyed sitting around the fire built by the men but I went to my tent.  I am usually very good about organization but when it comes to backpacking, I am a mess. Maybe in time I'll learn how to organize my gear. I took one Benadryl but it didn't help me sleep. It was very quiet (except for a couple of owls) and the stars were brilliant in the blackness of the sky.

I took a small prayer booklet, A Way Of The Cross For Seniors by Dennis H. Ferrence and prayed the Opening Prayer:  Lord, I never really planned on growing old. For most of my life I looked at the elderly with a mixture of curiosity and detachment, denying for myself the inevitable fate of anyone spared in their youth and middle years from deadly accident and 
fatal disease. But now I understand that aging is part of my reality. I am humbled by its blessings, I am challenged by its crosses. Lord, I have come to believe that every stage of life has it journey to Calvary. I begin this meditation on your way of the cross praying that you will strengthen and comfort me on mine.

The First Station of the Cross - Jesus Is Condemned To Death

Lord, how empty and lonely you must feel as you stand before the authorities and the hostile crowd. Betrayal, rejection, ridicule, loss, apparent failure, the threat of death--you suffer it all. And yet, in the midst of such severe realities you maintain a dignity that speaks of a deep grounding and a determined openness to your Father's will.

Facing the harder realities of aging can be a very lonely experience. I must, perhaps, acknowledge dreams unrealized, potential unfulfilled, mounting losses, failing health, financial uncertainty, and the disdain of a youth-oriented culture. In addition I must increasingly come to terms with the truth of approaching death. There is no escape. There is no reprieve.

Lord, help me to go deep inside where the light of your Spirit shines through the darkness. Give me the strength and courage to consent to the whole of life with the dignity of someone who knows that god does not abandon us. 

And my prayer -- Thank you, Lord for this first day on the Appalachian Trail.  It was a cold and windy start, and beautiful and difficult. The miles were long but filled with the beauty of Your creation. Thank you that Nick walked with me for almost half of the first day. He helped me to keep a pace that allowed me to complete the long day. Thank you to all who pray for me; I felt your prayers on the trail. Thank you for Winkle, a new friend, who met me half way and walked with me to Low Gap Shelter. She is a beautiful woman and an accomplished thru-hiker of the Appalachian Trail. I would have been the only woman the first night on the trail at Low Gap Shelter; she helped me feel comfortable in my new home.  Winkle's trail journals