Prophecy, Music, and Medical Evacuation: 2 Nights at Springer Mountain

300 Mile Approach to Springer Mountain

There is something special about Alabama. Unfortunately, I wasn’t there for long. However, my stay there was something special. I’m not really sure how, but I desperately want to express how it felt: how the trees are warm and how their bark smells like vanilla, or how the fallen needles of the abundance of longhair pines feel underfoot. Or how the days were warm and the nights were perfect, with an incredibly cool sunrise. The perfect setting for the way the moon hides behind the mountains as the sun turns the clouds pink like cotton candy while the trees frame the sky so effectively. I would love nothing more than to tell you how Alabama felt, but these are just words. The only way to feel it is to be there.

I decided to start in Alabama for two main reasons: d4yakX.

1. I wanted to walk from border to border in Georgia instead of starting in the northern part of the state. I’ll probably do the same in Maine, extending my hike beyond Katahdin. I’m not sure how yet though, so we’ll see how I feel when I get there.
2. I wanted to write a crown of sonnets for each state I pass through. However, a crown of sonnets requires 15 poems, and the Appalachian Trail only goes through 14, so…

I. Sunset in Alabama

Of all the beautiful things I’ve seen
There is a scene that I will never forget.
I was happier than ever
Watching my first sunset in Alabama.

The moon rises through the long-haired pine so sweet,
Experiencing the state of this state is unknown.
Appreciate the ground beneath my feet,
And the clouds that the Alabama dawn has shown.

The infinite colors of water.
Flowing through me like it’s been here before.
And the rocks when I stop for a minute.
The flowers of Alabama reach my center.

Thank you, Alabama, for your fresh dawn.
Thanks, Alabama, I have to move on.

Georgian Bites

The moment I crossed the Alabama-Georgia border, things went crazy. Thunder. Lightning. Hail. More lightning. I don’t fear much, but lightning terrifies me. No matter the hundreds of times I’ve been through a storm and not been hit, I still lay in my tent horrified and alone. Then the sky cleared just in time for a dog to bite me.

On the Pinhoti Trail, there are some fairly long paths that traverse rural terrain. I have logged thousands of miles of road hiking. Normally I don’t even mind walks on the road and I have had many dogs lunge at me. They generally stay on your property doing their job. I’ve never been bitten by one. This dog ran out of a garage and before I knew what was happening, he crossed the street and bit my calf. After the owner put the dog back inside, he asked me if I needed anything. My response was, «Uh, yeah, your dog just bit me. I could use something to clean it up so it doesn’t get infected.»

Luckily, I was wearing leggings and the dog’s teeth didn’t pierce me. So although I had two bleeding holes in my leg, it did not become infected and I was able to continue walking, more like limping. After my leg started to heal, Georgia changed things for me. I was able to put in more miles and it really gave me a chance to appreciate my last few days of solitude before I started hiking through the crowds on the Appalachian Trail. Through perseverance and willpower, I made it up the Benton MacKaye Trail to the top of Springer Mountain.

He didn’t see it coming

I spent two nights at Springer Mountain. The first night was a bit chaotic. The shelter was full and there were tents everywhere. I was sitting at the picnic table when a hiker sat down and started chatting with me. Finally, he told me that God gives him prophecies. I listened to him tell me all about his prophetic work. Then he said, “I would like to have a prophecy for you, to tell you about your future, but there is nothing you need to hear.”

Which is true, because I later told him that I had a dream when I was sixteen. It was about a girl. He had been looking for her ever since. Turns out I knew where she was all this time, I just didn’t recognize her as her. Four days before leaving for this hike, that dream literally came true. The image that was stuck in my brain for 25 years happened in real life. The prophecy has been fulfilled. Here’s the song I wrote as a teenager based on that dream.

The meeting of the penguins

You stole my hat.
I know it sounds crazy but
When you did, I loved you.
I never knew you, but I loved you.
after all that
I never saw you again,
But I loved you.
I never knew you, but I loved you.
Well, I guess we’ll see you at Gathering of the Penguins.

I never saw you.

I saw you in a dream.
I know it sounds scandalous.
When I saw you, I loved you.
I never knew you, but I loved you.
It seemed so unreal,
but you were beautiful
And I loved you.
I never knew you, but I loved you.
I’ll see you at Meeting of the Penguins.

You came to my house.
I know it sounds made up.
When you stole my hat I wasn’t there.
In my dreams I was there.
He was no longer in my house.
I’ll see you at The Gathering.

In five parts:
I saw you. I loved you.
I never met you. I loved you.
I will never see you.
I miss you.
I’ll see you at Meeting of the Penguins.

At the Penguin Meeting I sat alone.
No hat. Loveless. No dream. I sat down.
I sat alone.
I never saw you.
I never loved you in Meeting of the Penguins.

The next thing I know, someone is starting a fire. So naturally I start playing the ukulele and singing songs when suddenly a doctor appears on the top of the mountain. Apparently, the “prophecy boy” was having chest pains and was worried he was having a heart attack. The doctor escorted him off the mountain while other hikers packed their things and carried them down the mountain behind him. We all hope he is well. I went to bed. It was a wild day.

The obligatory arch photo.

The Appalachian Trail officially begins at the top of Springer Mountain, but most people attempting a Thru-Hike start at the visitor center, where we checked in and sat through a short presentation, which included a short video about bear safety that was actually well produced and pretty funny.

One of the most interesting things I’ve noticed here is that everyone talks about bears as if they were cryptids. Everyone has a story about someone who has seen a bear, but no one has ever seen one, or actual signs of bear activity. Believe me, they exist, but not like in the west where bear encounters are a regular and normal part of my hike. Apparently they are very stealthy here, sneaking into your campsite at night, without bothering to wake up any of the other 14 hikers camped there. Then, very quietly, they steal your food and disappear, leaving no sign that they are within a hundred mile radius. Stealth Bear strikes again!

After taking a photo at the arch, it’s time to climb the stairs (about 600 to the top of Amicalola Falls) only to have to continue another seven miles up the mountain. Many people fear this approach, but for me it was great. Of course, I had already set up camp at the summit and only had my electronics and some snacks in my backpack. All in all, it was a good day until I got back to camp.

Of life, love and friendship

The atmosphere was completely different. There were a lot less people and everyone was very calm. This time, I’m sitting at the picnic table with two couples: an older couple and a younger couple. The older couple told this absolutely beautiful story about how they dated briefly in 1985 but then lost touch. Fast forward to 2015 and they met randomly. I wish you could see the photo they showed us that someone took of them at that time. I can tell you this: I have never seen bigger smiles. Needless to say, they’ve been together ever since and are now climbing the AT together.

The younger couple said they went to school together and were best friends. They worked together, lived together, and are now partners hiking the AT together. We talk about how powerful friendship is and how true love is. I told you about reconnecting with my best friend Rose days before this trip and how much it means to me to have her back in my life. Then I sang “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” by Randy Newman. I told them that song really sums up our relationship. We all went to bed with happy, warm hearts and a beautiful sunset.

As I lay alone in my tent, wishing I had my best friend there with me just like those other two couples, I took comfort in knowing that she would be if I could. The words, «As the years passed, our friendship never died. You can see it’s our destiny, Rose, because you have a friend in me,» floated out of my brain, off the mountain and into oblivion as I fell asleep, knowing that Rose had always been with me. When I opened my eyes the next morning, ready to take my first steps on the Appalachian Trail, I realized that I had woken up on a cloud.