Baptism by Water

greetings all! Well, i am 300 miles into the trail and loving every minute of it. the first few days it rained like crazy with a seriously strong wind/thunder/lightning/rainstorm, followed by zero degree temps on top of Tray Mountain in Goergia (Georgia's highest point)...with ice crystals. The hike started out well, i eventually had to downsize my pack and gear at Neel's Gap, 4 days into the hike. So i lost 20 pounds of gear in 20 minutes thanks to the new weight loss program at Neel's Gap...Thanks Neels!!
I have taken alot of photographs and video footage. my camera froze up on me a few days because it was so cold.

8 April 07 -spent Easter in Hiwawassee at a hostel called the Blueberry Patch. The owner and his wife made us blueberry pancakes with blueberries from thier land.

9 April 07- good hiking out back into the trail. stayed at Standing Indian Gap. one thing about camping out every night, you get to have a campfire every night also. there is nothing quite as fullfilling as throwing your sleeping bag down on the ground and sleeping right under the stars. its quite incredible to be miles from anyone else, and slowly drift off to sleep......then wake up in a panic when a tree limb falls 50 ft from you.
fast forward a little here. finally made it to the NOC. Nahtahala Outdoor Center in North Carolina. a nice break and time to restock up my supplies. Leaving the NOC is a straight up couple mile climb out of the gorge. when i left the NOC the weather was fine, as i trekked up the mountain, it suddenly shifted, the wind picked up (50 mph gusts), and the horizontal snow began to sting my face. stopped in at the first shelter i came to because the weather had deteriorated so badly. that night, 20 of us stayed in a 16 person shelter. for good reason, it ended up being a record of a storm that i would find out later devastated the Smoky Mountains.

18 April 07 - The smokies.... that storm i saw a few days prior had blew down over 200 very big and old trees in a 5 mile stretch in the smokies. I'm talking root bases 30 feet across and trunks 3 feet across. trying to manuever around the fallen giants was near impossible with the under growth and terrain. but it was amazing to be in a place like that right after the devestation took place. a bit a Real Truth. whether you heard it happen or not, the reality was it happened in a big way whether we were aware of it or not. It was very powerful and humbling to witness the raw power of nature just being nature. whether its the trees falling, the incredible wind gusts, the close proximity lightning storm, or the clear open sky. its all completely natural and an every day occurance we can miss out on when we lock ourselves inside our 4 walled bubbles of existence.

18 April 07 - took a zero day in Gatlinburg to let my feet do some healing. Jim Garst, a helicopter pilot, gave me a ride back to Newfound Gap, the trail head. He uses his chopper to deliver materials and equipment used to maintain the APP. Trail. He also gives rides to handicapped that normally couldn't experience the Smokies in any other way. It was great to meet someone that loved the trail and the Smokies as much as i did. Thanks for the ride and the good impression Jim.

26 April 07 - made it to Hot Springs, North Carolina. a great little town with good country people. OK, heres a good story from the many that i have witnessed on the trail. will share the rest of them later, but this is a typical evening. I stayed at Elmer's hostel for the night, when my good buddy from the trial, Buffalo Bobby comes to me complaining about having cracked his tooth while eating Ben and Jerry's ice cream (mmmmmm) this guy is so hard core, he asks me to grab a pair os plires and pull his tooth out. Having done this wxact same thing a few years back while out of country, i agreed. we used a small pocket knife pair of pliars and using my honed medical skills, i pulled it right out. He thanked me and went about his business. i went to cleaning up when i glanced up and see to other thru hikers gasping at me in awe. they coulnd't believe what they had just seen. a puller and a pulley completely non chalant about minor oral surgery. to make it even more interesting, not 2 minutes later i hear a crash off in the distance. I end up being one of the first on scene to a major car accident. helping to monitor and comfort the injured before the ambulance arrived. not a good night when you have to wash the blood out of your shirt the next day. the thank God the baby was OK.

2 April 07 - After cowboy camping all week to get here, i have reached Erwin Tennessee and over 300 miles into my journey. yes, my feet constantly ache, I am always hungry, i smell like a bear (even after i bathe) and the beard is beginning to scare small children. But its one heck of a good time. Unplugging from the cable TV, the inet, the news junkies and all the other self made crap that is so smeared across our culture. getting back to the basics and appreciating the fundamentals. ALL YOU NEED TO LIVE IS FOOD, SHELTER, WATER AND YOUR GOD GIVEN ABILITY. so do yourself a favor an UNPLUG for one day, for 2, make it a week and i gaa- ruunnn-teee you will feel better about yourself and begin to get some real clarity in your life. you won't regeret it.
Good Hiking,
BluDog