I got this far DAM: seeing the trail from your eyes

It all started with pancakes. As happens with many good things.

After staying up too late at The Grove hostel, I managed to get out of bed. Of course, I was motivated by the all-you-can-eat pancakes at the local church. Not only were there pancakes and coffee, but there was also bacon, blackberry pie, and the most amazing homemade cookies I’ve ever tasted. The truth is, I was hungry and ate a lot of pancakes because we were warned that if we leave the church hungry, it’s our fault. The food was good, but what caught my attention was the sweet potato butter I spread on each pancake. I like sweet potatoes and apple butter, although I have never tried sweet potato butter. You may have found God in that delicious treat!

One thing I was most excited about, and the reason I’m so glad I saved this trail as my last, was the community. A decade ago, on the PCT, I experienced for the first time what a community could be. It completely restored my faith in humanity. And now, here on the AT, I have already been shown that not only is Southern hospitality a very real and wonderful thing, but that the people of Appalachia really, truly, genuinely love hikers. It’s only been two weeks and I’m amazed at how people are going out of their way to do something nice for hikers. Even if they have never considered walking thousands of miles, they understand and respect what we are doing here. I thought I could see what a community could be before, and now I have been shown that it can be even more wonderful and selfless than I ever imagined.

After breakfast, I headed into town to enjoy the views and of course try some local coffee. It may simply be a circumstance and a product of my mood, but the coffee was absolutely incredible. It was the best coffee I’ve had on the road. The city was cute and had a sort of artsy vibe without being seemingly art-centered. Anyway, that was the feeling I had. I really enjoyed my stay in Franklin, North Carolina, and although I didn’t take a zero day, I managed to spend thirty hours without my backpack. I got everything I needed to feed me up the mountain when the ferry dropped me off back at the Winding Stair Gap trail. With the power of a pancake, I began the climb.

The Road through their eyes.

Because I had a 300 mile warmup, I walk a little faster than most people here on the trail. For most people, this is their first big hike, so it’s been a lot of fun walking through this mass of newbies. I have tried to impart my knowledge and I have made it my goal to learn everything I can from everyone I have met. All the new hikers, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and full of wonder, as they complete their first 100 miles, have been nothing short of beautiful. I really feel like I can see the trail through their eyes, as well as through my own more experienced eyes. It’s almost like I’m reborn, like everything is new and beautiful. It feels a little like my first hike, only much better and much deeper than ten years ago, when I took my first steps away from the southern end of the Pacific Crest Trail. I can only hope to carry that sense of wonder with me to Katahdin.

I thought it was going to rain on the AT.

The truth is that I have been quite lucky when it comes to weather. I was warned about rain and humidity on the Appalachian Trail. Both have not shown up. Although it rained for 10 minutes when I was in Franklin, it was comfortable and cozy inside. The forecast called for rain on my second day out of the city. I arrived at a shelter to take a break and wasn’t there for long before it started raining for five minutes before the sun came out again. Everyone at the shelter planned to stay there, but it was so early in the evening that I told them I would go ahead. A hiker asked what the forecast was for the night. I looked at the sky and said, «Sunny for now.»

It didn’t start to rain until the next morning. This gave me the opportunity to do one of my favorite things on the trail, and that is stay in my tent until noon. Needless to say, I didn’t get many miles that day, but I didn’t really need to because it wasn’t far from Fontana Dam, which I wasn’t planning on getting to until the next day anyway.

That damn dam

The Fontana Dam shelter is luxurious. A great view with plenty of picnic tables and tons of camping space. There is a charging station and even a shower. I didn’t take advantage. I was really more interested in getting into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Looking at the forecast, I could see that the conditions for the week were going to be phenomenal. After taking a photo of the view, I stopped by the shelter and wished the hikers happy trails. A boy asked, «Aren’t you staying?» I told him I was trying to get to the mountains. He looked around and said, «Well, you’re pretty close.» I passed another hiker near the bathrooms; He asked, «Aren’t you even going to stop and take a shower?» I told him I would get dirty again. I was on a mission.

I’ve met plenty of people who don’t believe in luck, and as a natural skeptic with an open mind, I’ve definitely questioned it. Maybe there is some other explanation, but the way everything has lined up on this hike to be spectacular, surprising, and more than I ever expected feels very lucky. I had a feeling that would continue as I ascended the Smoky Mountains for the first time. I’ve heard these mountains are magical and I couldn’t wait to experience them for myself.

lucky man

You told me you were a lucky man
That I would even talk to you
You once told me that you were lucky
Just to hear my voice
You told me my eyes were so blue
May they pierce your soul
You told me you were a lucky man
And once you told me that you loved me

I told you I was lucky
Hearing so much passion written in a song
So I told you that I loved you
Although I know it was wrong
So I told you I was lucky.
But my grief is so heavy
How can you really love my pain?

Still…
I am a lucky man
Because I can remember the first time I looked into your eyes.
That’s why I say that
I am a lucky man

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