Craig and Suzy's 2006 Appalachian Trail Journal

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Day	Date	Start	Finish	Miles	Journal	Photo
15	4/1	Franklin, NC	Franklin, NC		Day: 15 Date: 4/1/06 Start: Franklin, NC Finish:Franklin, NC Miles: 0 Cumulative A.T. Miles: Clay: We had a great time at the Saphire last night seeing Circuit Rider, Sherlock, and Frosty. It was also great meeting Pirate and Ox. We hope to run into Crake, Cheetoe, and Good Hand again. I like them. Today, we sent some more journals, sent our picture CDs via the P.O., and ate like hogs at an AYCE. The most fun today was showing up at the Macon Baptist Association house (thanks for driving us Crutch) and surprising the Spartanburg BCM folks. We love these guys. Branch: We had the best time hanging out with the BCM group! Its hard to put into words how rejuvenating their presence has been. Their laughter, conversation, and time of worship caused me to praise God for His goodness in causing us to be here tonight. I never cease to be amazed by God's sovereignty.
16	4/2	Winding Stair Gap, NC (Macon Baptist Association Mission House)	Winding Stair Gap, NC (Hampton Inn)		Day: 16 Date: 4/2/06 Start: Winding Stair Gap, NC (Macon Baptist Association Mission House) Finish: Winding Stair Gap, NC (Hampton Inn) Miles: 0 Cumulative A.T. Miles: 106.6 Branch: We slept wonderfully last night, having been in the restful presence of other Christians. We slept so well that we completely forgot about the time change. When we got up this morning, we thought that we hang out with our friends about an hour before they left. Imagine our surprise when we found an empty house. We were sad that we missed them, but we look forward to seeing them in a couple of days. Clay: We had a great time getting some rest and getting on the internet today. As we were resting, someone came in the door. It was Rachel from Spartanburg BCM! Rachel was a great Trail Angel last year and she had come back to serve this year too. She is a great young woman that has taken a number of religion classes. She really loves the Lord. After spending some quality time with her, we bid her farewell. We will probably see her on Tuesday as we pass by Winding Stair and Wayah Gaps--where they are stationed. After Rachel left, my parents called and said that they were on the way to see us. This was great! We stayed at the Hampton Inn and we ate all you can eat steak at Prime Sirloin, here in town. I ate 3 steaks, a heaping plate of fresh salad with a load of kiwi, fruit, and cottage cheese (all mixed together!), a baked potato, and a bunch of veggies. I have noticed that nearly all of my vegetarian friends will take a vegetarian sabbatical while on the trail. A vegetarian diet is healthy in the real world but protein is hard to come by on the trail. Some major storms are going to be rolling in tonight. They are even calling for 40 mile per hour winds. I am thankful to be in a hotel room tonight, near my loved ones, and well fed. We will say a prayer for those who are on the trail tonight. Good night and God bless.
17	4/3	Winding Stair Gap, NC (Hampton Inn)	Winding Stair Gap, NC (Hampton Inn)		Day: 17 Date: 4/3/06 Start: Winding Stair Gap, NC (Hampton Inn) Finish: Winding Stair Gap, NC (Hampton Inn) Miles: 0 Cumulative A.T. Miles: 106.6 Branch: We were not sure about whether we should hike on today, but the decision turned out to be an easy one for us. Last night an incredible storm came through and it was still raining cats and dogs when we woke up this morning. So, when Mammy and Pappy said that they were planning to stay the night again and offered to let us stay as well, the decision to stay was quite easy. My left leg is feeling a good bit better and we are planning to get back on the trail tomorrow. Clay: Today we called a rheumatologist friend of ours. He deals with aches and pains in the joints among other problems. While we believe that Suzy could continue on with some level of pain (she walked 30 miles in pain), we are concerned that her hike might end prematurely if the injury is aggravated. Today we ate lunch at Huddle House (in honor of Shoto and Crusty) and we saw some friends from Highlands, NC--David and Wendy. It seems that wherever we go, we know someone. Despite the fact that we are chomping at the bit to hit the trail again, we believe that God has stopped us in this town for a number of reasons. We keep running into people we know. We also found out that we may be running into our good friend, Kutsa (AT '05) from Israel. We think the world of her and we hope we run into her soon. It will be good to see a familiar face. Thus far, the difficulty of the A.T. had paled in comparison to the Long Trail. The mental/emotional game has been a breeze. The spiritual aspect has been everything we expected. The seemingly miraculous is commonplace and our Bible reading is very desired and disciplined. We have been surprised that a physical ailment has stopped us for now. Surely, like Jacob's hip or Paul's circuitous diversions (e.g. jail) or Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch, our break from the trail is God's way of setting up optimal circumstances such that he can intersect the three-dimensional line of hikers lives on the 3' x 2,174-mile trail.
18	4/4	Winding Stair Gap, NC	Wayah Gap, NC / Franklin, NC	5.9	Day: 18 Date: 4/4/06 Start: Winding Stair Gap, NC Finish: Wayah Gap,NC/Franklin, NC Miles: 5.9 Cumulative A.T. Miles: 112.5 Clay: Today we woke up at the Hampton Inn at 5:30 A.M. and we ate breakfast with my father. My dad has Parkinson's disease and he is in either the third or forth quarter of his life. He has always been a moral man and a successful business man. Now, in his later years, God and time have taken his health and his vocation. As we drank our coffee and ate our continental breakfast, we had a rare talk about "life assurance". It was the most meaningful conversation I have ever had with my father. I have never loved him more than I do today. Branch: Clay's parents dropped us off at Winding Stair Gap at around 8:30 in the morning. It was very difficult to say goodbye to them because it will probably be a while before we see them again. We will miss them terribly. We thought of the first 5.9 miles of today's hike as a sort of test run for my ailing hip and knee. After four days of rest I felt confident that there would be little to no pain. I was wrong. Within 3 miles or so, my hip was sounding off as if I had not rested at all. This was incredibly difficult for me both emotionally and spiritually. My heart's desire is to be on the trail. I feel that God has called me to hike the A.T.. In my mind and heart I pleaded with God, begging Him to heal my leg and asking Him why He would put me here only to have my hip be in constant pain. By mile 5.9, I was done. When we got to Wayah Gap, we were so happy to see some of our friends who were Trail Angeling there. One of the Trail Angels was Jeff. Jeff knew a doctor who could check out my hip and he offered to take us to him. How nice! When I was at my lowest, God continued to provide. On the way to the doctor, Jeff took us to Wendy's to eat--again, how nice! Afterwards, we went to Dr Gus's office. Jeff had called ahead, so he was expecting us. As we talked with the doctor, we realized that he had helped two other buddies of ours, Braveheart and Messenger. He made quick practice (although somewhat painful) of examining my left leg and soon was sure that there is nothing seriously wrong with it. Rest is the only cure. As we prepared to pay the lady at the front desk, she informed us that Dr. Gus's exmination was free of charge! Wow! God provided again. After the doctor visit, Jeff graciously took us to hang out with our friends who were still Trail Angeling. We hung out with them and they took us back with them to the house they are staying in while they are in town. Tonight, they have not only shared space with us, but they have shared much more as well. They shared their tacos and other food with us. Most importantly, though, they once again shared their worship time with us. It is so incredible to praise God along side these wonderful friends. I was even able to praise God for the pain in my hip. Because of this pain, we have been able to witness God work and provide over and over again. Praise God for the detours and diversions in life!
19	4/5	Franklin, NC	Franklin, NC		Day: 19 Date: 4/5/06 Start: Franklin, NC Finish: Franklin, NC Miles: 0 Cumulative A.T. Miles: 112.5 Clay: Today we said goodbye to our friends from Spartanburg BCM--Shannon, Rachel, Jimmy, Liz, Ro, Bradyn, Caraleigh, Leigh, William, Tracy, Caroline, Jamie, Pamela, Meredith, Elizabeth, and Annakyla. We love this group of people. We can't wait to see Leigh and Caraleigh at Trail Days. It was fun eating lunch with Jeff and Cyndi today. Jeff is the best DOM I have ever met and Cyndi is a wonderful, Godly woman. I learned a lot more about author, Donald Miller today and how his writings can impact today's generation. Branch: The name of the game today has been rest the leg. Today we had the best rest that we have had so far. After eating delivered pizza with Jeff and Cyndi, we went back to the house we have been so graciously allowed to stay in, curled up under my sleeping bag, and slept hard. After that I took a bath and lounged around all afternoon. The more I rest, the more I am ready to get back out on the trail.
20	4/6	Wayah Bald, NC	Wesser Bald Shelter, NC	15.7	Day:20 Date:4/6/06 Start: Wayah Bald, NC Finish: Wesser Bald Shelter, NC Weather: mostly sunny with short spurts of sprinkles Miles: 15.7 Cumulative A.T. Miles: 128.2 Branch: After being in town for so long we woke up this morning ready to feel the trail underfoot. The ever faithful Jeff pulled into the driveway promptly at 7:30 to pick us up. Thank you so much. In the back seat of his truck sat his beautiful 4 year old daughter. I got to sit next to her and chat during the ride up to the gap where Jeff had picked us up 2 days ago. It was so much fun hanging out with her. I hope that she gets to hike some when she gets older. Clay: As Jeff dropped us off, we made sure to start where we dropped off the other day. We are attempting to do a purest's hike. We want to always carry our own pack and we want to pass every blaze. Today we climbed the 5342' Wayah Bald. From the bald we could see where we had been (e.g. Siler Bald) and where we are going. We got a look at the Smoky Mountains today. We are excited about hiking through them.   As we topped Wayah, we saw our buddy Nokia. He worked at Mountain Crossings for a while. This is where we first met. It was fun leapfrogging with Nokia and Livin' today. We laughed a lot today with these guys. In particular, there was an older gentleman at Telico Gap today with an "In my day, the A.T. ..." attitude. Nokia tried to put himself in the elderly man's shoes and he realized that he (Nokia) was wearing a kilt while smoking hand-rolled cigarettes and Livin' was sporting a mohawk. So, Nokia surmised, the old fellow probably thought we were all freaks. Nokia and Livin' were very funny and we enjoyed hiking with them today. Branch and I are ready to put in some miles. We may be stopped short again tomorrow because some dangerous thunderstorms and wind are forecasted tomorrow around noon. Oh well. At least we will get to meet some nice people.
21	4/7	Wesser Bald Shelter, NC	Nantahala Outdoor Center, NC	5.8	Day: 21 Date: 4/7/06 Start: Wesser Bald Shelter, NC Weather: Today, spring-like, lukewarm breezy, with winter wisps. Tonight, dangerous thunderstorms Finish: N.O.C., NC Miles: 5.8 Cumulative A.T. Miles: 133.9 Clay: As always, the hiking in this section was superb. The ridge was narrow and, with no leaves on the trees, the views were spectacular. Flowers are starting to bloom. With the ushering in of spring-like weather come the storms. It is as if they announce the coming of the new season. We were really wanting to pick up our mail drop at N.O.C. today and push north towards Fontana. However, they are calling for dangerous thunderstorms tonight. So, like most hikers, we are staying in the bunkhouse at the N.O.C. tonight--bummer. Branch: Coming into the NOC was the strangest thing. We spent the entire morning hiking and only saw 3 other people. The sounds of nature dominated. However, as we walked into the NOC around noon, two things were simultaneously occurring. First, a Greyhound-type bus was unloading about 60-70 high school kids. Second, the train came by, stopped, and a fountain of men, women, and children came pouring out eager to experience nature at the Nantahala River. Needless to say, this was quite a paradigm shift! We spent several long moments overwhelmed by the sights. Even though we are anxious to get some miles done, its been a fun day hanging out with everyone at the NOC. It was nice sitting in the sunshine and laughing with hikers. We met a fun couple named Tattoo and Pigeon and spent most of the afternoon with them. Tonight we a nestled comfortably in a bunkroom awaited the foretold storms. We are happy to be warm, comfortable, and safe. Clay (again): Tattoo has the coolest tattoos I have ever seen. Each one of them is a Christian symbol. On the back of his neck is a form of the historic Trinity triangle. On his chest are the greek words for "truth" (veritas) and "justice". On his arm, he has an anchor (used by sailors to obscure the cross), a rose (another Christ symbol), a rope in a knot (showing the security he has in Christ), and a bloody knife (a symbol displaying Christ's sacrifice). On his leg was part of Isaiah 53 written in Greek (copied from the Greek Septuagint or LXX). It looked awesome. We spent at least 30 minutes talking about the canvas of his flesh and the powerful messages and conversations he has had because of his cool tattoos.

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