Purpose

Living for Gods purpose:

Numbers 31:8

They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. And they also killed BALAAM the son of Beor with the sword.

Numbers 22:8

And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with BALAAM.

What is the point of purpose? I've had a lot of time to think and pray since being out here, and one of the questions in my prayer life to God was how did Balaam in Numbers 22 speak so plainly for The Lord but die with the rest of the Moabites in Numbers 31? If you read the story, he is summoned by a King to speak a curse on the Israelite people. His words in the past had been so effective that when a king knew he could not defeat his opposition militarily he turned to Balaam. Shortly into the story we find how he is so effective. He only spoke the words The Lord gave him, Jesus did the same thing. He knew his purpose. When the messengers arrived from the king he stated not only to the first set of messengers but to the second set that he could not curse the Israelites because he could only speak the words The Lord gave him. The King kept egging him on and started throwing money at him, larger and larger sums of money. Later in the chapter 31 we read that he was among the dead as the Israelites concurred there promised land. What happened? He got greedy. Instead of cursing the Israelites, because he only spoke the words The Lord gave him, he told the Moabite King how to get them into sin. Some where along the way he deviated from his original purpose. Instead of being a mouth piece for The Lord he became an advisor for the king. This is how evil and sin can enter a life. When the purpose of something is lost or deviated from sin creeps in. Take a car for example. If I use a car as a weapon and run over a pedestrian I have deviated from that cars purpose, and there by used it for evil. What was meant for good has been used for evil. 

Every person reading this has a purpose. Take a moment and be still. The heart you feel beating inside you was hand crafted by The Lord, in His image, and for a specific purpose. So many people in this world are empty. Not because they don't have possessions or family, but because they haven't sought their purpose. Scripture in Ephesians teaches us we all have a specific work for The Lord to be completed. Do not give up looking. When you find your purpose is when we can truly start to live. The truth of this matter is sobering. We have to stay diligent for what The Lord would have us accomplish. 

Day 35-39

Day 35 0-miles 05-04-14

Zero day at Cory and Selina's place

Nothing describes today besides a sitting on a porch and sipping fanta all day. We both got to chat with our family a good bit. I did find out that I-540, a major highway where we live, got renamed. So much else seems to be changing while we are out here, and I'm sure I don't know the half of it. We did get to watch some YouTube and basically hangout with our wonderful host. For lunch we wandered down from their house to go see the historical district and eat. It's been said that Virginia is for lovers. Crossing the state line didn't make me feel any awesome love feelings, but I'll take any excuse i can get to give my wife a kiss. She's the prettiest girl ever. Life goes easy.  

Day 36 16-miles 05-05-14

Damascus VA-Lost mountain shelter 

We enjoyed our last hours in a home this morning. Both of us took another shower, and we for sure didn't leave town without going by what has become our favorite breakfast joint thus far. Selina dropped us off in town at Mt. Rogers outfitters. I picked up a new sleeping bag. My awesome 20 degree Eddie Bauer bag was too warm even when used as a blanket. To replace it I got a Marmot 45 degree summer bag. I should sleep more since I won't be waking up sweating 4 times a night. We also took the chance to mail home some other winter gear. After that we resupplied with food from dollar general and hit the trail. On the way out of town we did get some ice cream, who could pass that up. Since we didn't get on trail until 1 it made for a late evening. As a side note a lot of hikers have been getting a stomach bug. We've decided to not use the shelters for a while as a precautionary measure. By the grace of God we wouldn't get it any way. All in all it was hard to leave Cory and Selina today. They were such great host and we will miss the comforts of an air conditioned home. 

Day 37 18-miles 05-06-14

Lost mt shelter-camp site by a creek 

It's been a bitter sweet day. On one hand our feet are screaming from the rockiness of today's trek, on the other we got to pet wild ponies. It was pretty amazing. They would walk right up and let you feed them.  As the ponies kept coming I caught myself singing that terrible child's toy theme song "My little pony, my little pony." What a ridiculous song to have stuck in your head, but it made us both laugh. I heard that there was one with a white blaze on it's back and if you found it it could be road to the end. I looked diligently for that pony, but I was out of luck. After that disappointment we finished our day around 6:30pm. It was nice that we camped so close to a creek, made for a short walk to fetch water at the end of the day. 

Day 38 20-miles 05-07-14

Creek camp-trimpi shelter 

We started off this morning at 8:30, which is a good time. Today's terrain was less rocky and a little flatter. So our feet are feeling less like all of willy wonka's ompa-lumpa's took baseball bats to them today. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I will do when I get home. I already have a direction, but how that plays out is still to be determined. One cool thing I forgot to mention was the watch Dawn got for me. We picked it up back in Damascus, and it's been so great to have one. I started out the trail with a watch but it had a steel band and wasn't well suited for hiking. She is happy I'm not constantly asking her what time it is the entire day. Since we don't have a gps to measure distance, time is the next best form of measurement. We made it into camp at a good time too, around 6:30. We talked to one of our friends today who's tent was ripped to shreds by a bear. He offered no picture evidence, but he did have a whole new sleeping setup. Apparently he put up his tent just outside of Damascus to save a spot for him to sleep. After some time on the town he went back after dark and found his tent torn apart. That's the first instance of a bear attack I've heard or read In recent years on the AT. It's exceedingly rare for a black bear to be more than just curious, he must of had some food in his tent. I've noticed that some people who hike alone all day want to do nothing but talk when you get into camp. Sometimes this is nice, but when you've had the same conversation about water, food, gear, and towns it gets a little old. That said, I'm very happy to be in my tent about to go to sleep. 

Day 39 11-miles 05-08-14

Trimpi shelter-Partnership shelter

There was a moment in time today around 4:30pm that everything was perfect. My wife and I were laying on the grass napping, and as I starred up at the blue sky through the newly bud leaves it was perfect. We had an easier day today. For starters we got a super early start at 6:30am and made it to our destination by 10:30am. The shelter we are at is very close to a park service visitors center and it offers $.50 rides to town. First thing was lunch. Across the street was a Pizza Hut with an "All you can eat buffet" sign. Big mistake! I easily ate $25 worth of pizza for the cheap price of $6.50. Dawn and I both tore that place up, at this point it takes a lot for our stomachs to be full. For the first time all trail we got to resupply in a Walmart. I used to despise going to Walmart, but now it's a treat. Best of all we bought exactly what we wanted and didn't have to compromise like we do at dollar general. We took the shuttle back to camp, took showers, and did our laundry by hand. This shelter is only the second one we've come across that has a shower. After that we ended up on the lawn living the easy life letting the sun warm us for the rest of the day. Life goes easy. 

White top Mt. 

Wild ponies

Wooing my pony before I saddle it.

This pony called all his friends after she fed it.

Hiking in the early morning. 

Day 27-34

Day 27 &28 12-miles 04-26/27

A hotel room in Erwin-tent camping by the river

Today as we were about to leave town I had a thought. Neither one of us have been to church since we started hiking. I got on my phone and found there was a Assembly of God church in town. We called, but no answer. Then I called my home church pastor Bro. Fant. He was away from the phone but I left him a message telling him of our situation, and at that point plugged up my phone to charge. In the mean time he got my message and hooked us up big time. Not only did he find out the local churches pastor and phone number, but he called the pastor personally and told him about Dawn and I! We ended up getting in touch with the pastor, his name was Bro. Crass. This guy was a character! He has been in the ministry basically all his life and had so many awesome stories. Him and his wife took us to dinner and during conversation he asked if I would like to preach the Sunday morning service. OF COURSE! Wow! After it had settled in that I was preaching I realized I had better get to work organizing my message. After all, my pastor Bro. Fant had given the recommendation. That night we tent camped beside the Nolichucky river. Bro. Crass picked us up at 7:45am and took us for breakfast with his wife, she is also a very hospitable and loving person. We talked about life and all the things that go with it. Finally at 11 it was church time. We had some awesome praise and worship, which always helps a minister out. Then it was my turn. I preached on fighting the good fight of faith, and it was awesome! So many people responded and came down for prayer to have faith for their situation. What a great day, it's so cool to see how The Lord is working through Dawn and I on this trip. Afterwords they took us to yet another meal. They drive us back to the trail and we said our goodbyes. Dawn and I decided we would go ahead and hike 12 easy miles to a good camping spot. Today has been the best day yet of our trip!

Day 29 22-miles 04-28-14

Deep gap-Roan mt shelter

The forecast today was supposed to be rain basically all day. It turned out much better. It was sunny until 4 and then it monsoon rained the last two hours of our hike. Not much else explains today except it was long. We wanted to get to this shelter we are at because it's really nice, and we wanted to catch up to our friends Tator, Gumbi, and bikini line. We did make it around 6:00pm. One good thing is that we haven't had wet feet once on our trip for 28 days. The down side is today, being day 29, our feet got wet. At one point after the rain, we still had a mile left, we stopped and squeezed out all the water from our socks. But I wouldn't trade it for anything. Dawn and I made jokes all day, and we even made some knew friends today. Life goes good. Hopefully it will be drier tomorrow. 

Day 30 16-miles 04-29-14

Roan mt-Mt harbor hiker B&B

Today we saw the most extreme weather thus far on the trip. All night last night I could hear the rain and wind pounding our shelter. At one point it literally started howling the wind was blowing so hard. We got a late start to hiking at 10:00am. Soon after we read in the book that the hostel we wanted to go to gave a free shuttle to town, and in town was an awesome pizza place. I really miss my pizza! That said, we started running the downhill stretches to make up time. We also had two high peaks to traverse. These peaks on a nice day would have been a good climb, but combined with the wind they were a pretty intense experience. I got Dawn to take a video of me spitting, and my spit goes horizontal. It was something to behold. Both of us were very glad to be off that ridge line. The latter part of the day was pretty nice. A couple miles from the end we actually had some sunshine. We kept running the downhills and did make it in time for the shuttle. I opted for a BBQ place instead of pizza. It was awesome! The hostel shuttle even took us to resupply. They had said there bunks were full and we would have to tent, but we convinced them to let us stay on the floor since there was a good chance of thunderstorms. We got showers, washed our clothes, and had a chance to watch Apollo 13. I forgot how good that movie was. Life goes easy. 

Day 31 10-miles 04-30-14

Mt Harbor B&B-mountaineer shelter

This morning we had a four-star breakfast. All other breakfast should be rated on a scale where the best possible breakfast is what we had this morning. I ate more food than I could have hoped for. Way better than our usual peanut butter covered pop tarts, oatmeal, and coffee. After that feast we sat around the B&B until 11:00am digesting our food. It was a good thing because it took all I could do to walk away from the table. After that we decided to have a shorter day of just 10-miles. We also passed the 400-mile mark today!! Lately we've really gotten into downloading podcast off of iTunes. I've been listening to a lot of different awesome speakers and preachers. It's a nice change of page from my music, and it's free. Life is good. 

Day 32 22-miles 05-01-14

Mountaineer shelter-Pond Flat

It's been an awesome day. The shelter we stayed at last night was the royal palace of shelters. It had three levels, and since Dawn and I were the first to arrive we scored the loft level bunks! Which meant we would have to deal with other people shifting and kicking in their sleep since there was only room for the two of us. One common site of staying at shelters is a phenomenon called the "Shelter Shuffle." It occurs every morning and consist of when a person first begins to walk. Because everyone's feet are so sore it's impossible to walk without some kind of limp or gimp. Thus we've dubbed it the "Shelter Shuffle." It's truly the simple things that make life so awesome. Before we came out here we watched an interview of a guy who has walked the AT some 17 times. He said that "hiking the AT isn't fun." He was right. If all a person had to do out here was walk, there would be a much higher attrition rate. I've been amazed at all the people I meet and get to talk with. I'm not just talking the normal "hey, how's it goin?" Conversation. It's much deeper than that. Out here no one has a mask to hide behind. There are no expensive vehicles, big homes, prestigious jobs, or family names. What you see is what you get. It's refreshing in a way. Besides all that, we did see an awesome waterfall today. Right now I'm at my favorite part of the day. Nestled net to my wife in my sleeping bag. Life is good. 

Day 33 26-miles 05-02-14

Pond Flat-Double springs Shelter

Let me paint you a picture. You're walking through the woods and as you come out on a clearing you see a guy with a "Support your local Outlaws" shirt, snake skin boots, and a giant steak knife. He's in the middle of hacking away at what looks to be a tarp, but it's almost dark and you can't really tell. You walk a little closer and he looks up. You don't know of he's looking at you because one eye points left and the other points right. He then offers you food. That is where we found ourselves after 23-miles of hiking. It had a really long day. We hadn't gotten out of camp until 9:15am. At the point of running into that guy, I was more than happy to walk another three miles. We got into the shelter at 9:10pm. When we get into camp Dawn and I have a division of labor to speed up the process of eating and going to bed. I setup the tent get out sleeping stuff, and hang the bear line. She goes to get water and begins to cook. We had intended on just sleeping in the shelter since it had been such a long day, but as I got out our stuff I could hear shelter mice running around everywhere in there. It was like they had a race track! I decided to go ahead and setup the tent. A little more work, but if you had heard all the shelter mice horror stories we have you would of done the same. I would say that today was by far the most eventful day. 

Day 34 18-miles 05-03-14

Double Springs-Damascus, Va

We made it to another state! Virginia has over 500-miles of trail in it, so it's going to be a long one. When we got into Damascus I got a new watch that Dawn had ordered for me and I also got some boot gators. I've come to hate sticks and rocks in my shoe more than adjectives could describe. One of our friends named Hungry finished his hike so we took him to dinner. When we got to dinner we met a couple that offered us a place to stay in Damascus way back in Hot springs. What are the chances!! She'd given Dawn her number but we completely forgot. Of course we took her up on it, but not after I ate a whole large pizza. She brought us back to their place, gave us a bed, free laundry, and a shower! This means that we get to hangout at a proper home. Life is good. 

Erwin First AG

The 400 mile mark!

Breakfast plate at MT Harbor B&B

Crossing the Laurel River

Laurel water falls

Dawn liked the horses. She now wants one. 

State line sign!!

Day 21-26

Day 21-22 4-19/20 13-miles

Walnut-Hot Springs, NC

We hiked in for a zero day on the 19th and made it to the hostel by 2:15pm. The best part was on the way in we met a guy named Tator. He was alone and section hiking, so he asked if we could take a pic of him. We exchanged taking pics and started talking. As we walked into town he said that he wanted to take us to dinner, his treat. ARE YOU KIDDIN' ME?!?! Of course! We got to the hostel took showers and washed our clothes so we would smell like clean people again. He took us to a place called iron horse station. I had some trout with fresh veggies and Dawn got a big chicken burger. The food was incredible! After that we went back to the hostel he was staying at and I played around on a guitar that was laying around. It was an awesome night. The next day was something we've long been waiting for, a day of no hiking. We started off by going to breakfast with all our friends at the Skokie mt dinner just down the road. Then we settled in for an easy day of relaxing. We were able to purchase some insoles for our boots and a new fuel canister for the stove. On the way back to the hostel we bought dinner items so we wouldn't have to leave again. I spent the better part of the afternoon sitting on the porch and I did manage to climb a tree with my friend Robin Hood(that's hi trail name.) 

Day 23 11-miles 04-22-14

Hot Springs NC-Spring mt shelter

Today was a slow start. I observed that the city of Hot Springs, though small, has figured out how to keep you in their town. Free coffee. Every place you go has it, and once you get some it's no polite to just run off. That said, we didn't make it out of town until after noon. We did however eat an awesome breakfast that my beautiful wife cooked. I did however find out that as I was leaving town my pack weighed 34lbs! That ridiculous. My only answer is that we are eating so much that I'm packing more food. I did however figure out that when I send home my winter stuff I'll be able to shed about 3.5-4lbs, which made me feel better. The hike to our camp site was relatively easy with a couple rain showers and one decent hill. We did get to have some free food from a trail angel. We prayed with her before we left and thanked her for her generosity. Now we are laying down in our tent about to sleep. One of the positives of thru hiking is sleeping. You generally go to bed with the sun and wake with it. Meaning you get almost 10-11 hours of sleep a night. Pretty awesome if you know what my previous sleep schedule was. 

Day 24 20-miles 04-23-14

Spring mt-Flint Ridge Shelter

Today was a long day. We didn't break camp until 9:30am and there was a ton of hills to be climbed. Last night was definitely the most interesting night. Around midnight a fellow hiker a couple tents over started screaming for help. It was really frantic and the calls kept getting more and more desperate. Everybody woke up and as I was putting on my shoes to help Dawn asked her what was wrong. She said that there was fire every where. I figured maybe she was cooking in her tent (which we've all done out here) and that her stove had fallen over. As I'm getting ready to unzip the tent I here a guy who had already gotten there say everything was ok. Come to find out she was just having a bad dream. This morning I got up around 7 to go get our food bags and she was already leaving camp. Dawn and I both felt so bad for her. But one good thing about the hiking crowd is that we're pretty accepting and forgiving. Nobody I talked to held it against her. I hope we get the chance to let her know it's not a big deal. That event took up most of our conversations for the day.  We finally made it into camp at 7 and got to sit around a nice fire and make lunch. By that time we were both so tired we slept in the shelter instead of tenting. 

Day 25 18-Miles 04-24-14

Flint Ridge-Big Bald Mt

We got out of camp much quicker this morning leaving at 8:30 instead of 9:30. Two miles out of camped we crossed a road and got some awesome fresh fruit from a guy named Ron, his wife is hiking the trail. Then right as we were about to leaving a black jeep comes flying up! Two guys jump out and all but throw more food at us, this time it was a bag of, still hot, Hardee's sausage biscuits. Score for Dawn and I!! We kept hiking 8 miles, crossed another road and BOOM two more trail angels with food. That's right!! Free food 4 times in one day. That is also on top of all our other meals. We made it to our camp spot around 5:00pm and realized we had already passed our water source. At that point we found in the book one that was supposed to be closed further down the trail. That was a pipe dream. We hiked back to the other side of Big Bald Mt and got some water making it back just into for the best sunset I've seen all trail. It's been a great day. 

Day 26 19-miles 04-25-14

Big Bald mt-a hotel room in Erwin TN

This morning we woke up to our tent being almost blown off the MT. I learned a lesson about how geography affects wind speed. We had camped in the worst possible spot on the mt to catch the most possible wind. It took only 25 mins to pack all our stuff and get moving. At this point we hadn't eaten breakfast yet so we stopped at the closest shelter. We found out that our day was going to be a couple miles longer than we originally thought. With that knowledge our hike got a little dull knowing we had an extra hour tacked on. But at lunch things took a turn for a substantially better situation. One of our trail friends offered us the last spot in a room at the nicest hotel in town. For $20 we both got showers, laundry, a hot tube, and a temperature controlled room to sleep in. Our original plan was to pay $10 to tent, but then we would have to pay for all the stuff we got for $20. What an awesome deal! We also got a package from my parents and brother. They sent us a battery pack to keep our phones charged, a bunch of snacks, and an awesome new shirt for me. For dinner we got a shuttle to a Mexican place on the other side of town. The down side of that was that they couldn't take us back because it would be too late. That meant we would have to hitch hike. Before we walked in the restaurant we saw a bunch a local kids hanging out in the parking lot, it was a large gathering of 40-50 kids and at least 10 vehicles. When we finished eating they were still chilling out there. It took nothing more than my beautiful wife to ask for a ride. BOOM we had a ride!  I would say over all it turned out to be an awesome day. 

Leaving Hot Springs NC

Spring Flowers

Sunset on Big Bald MT

Dawn helped find Morrel Mushrooms

The Nolichucky River

Our ride back to the hotel

Hiker Culture

Hiker Culture:

Before I started this journey I wondered a lot about the people I would be meet. I've met the professional transients and the hobos, but what has surprised me the most is the fellow thru hikers. The half year journey that we are all on is a bonding agent that I've never seen outside of my church family. All of us are experiencing the same pains aches and struggles. Personally I'm a very protective person, and since I'm carrying my life on my back at first I was very apprehensive of leaving it anywhere. The other day on top of Clingmons dome Dawn and I sat down for lunch below the summit. Within 10 mins we had 10 or more packs sitting around us that other hikers had left for us to watch. I watched one guy, who I thought was sketchy at best, carry a set of trekking 20-miles just to return them to there owner. 

All that to say this. I've never met a better group of friends so quickly in my life. It almost restores your faith that there are still abundant amounts of good people left in this world. Back home on a day-to-day basis random acts of kindness were just not as common. But the most surprising thing of all has been what is called "trail magic." We like to call it "trail blessing." It is where random people set up at a road crossing and hand out free food and supplies. I've gotten every thing from pop-tarts, power aid, and a full BBQ lunch. Isn't that awesome!! In a World where calories mean life, free food never goes unnoticed. It makes me want to come back next year and be a trail angel for a week. 

Life on the trail is definitely what you make it. But I can promise there is no lack of comradely and smiles waiting for you on the Appalachian Trail!

Tator bought us dinner! It was awesome!!

Day 12-20

Day 12 04-11-14 7-miles

NOC-Sassafrass Gap

Today was an interesting day. As all days seem to be out here. It started out slow. Since we had slept under a roof we weren't to hurried to get up and get moving. We decided since the resupply options were not adequate that we would hitch a ride to a nearby town. We gathered all our stuff and got down to the road by 10:30. Getting a hitch into town was easy. It took all of 3-mins. A guy named Jim picked us up. He turned out to be a minister with a Calvary Chapel Church. That was awesome! We fellowshiped during the ride and then he prayed over us when he dropped us off. We got all our food and ate at the store since they had a deli. The smokeys are coming so we decided that we would buy enough food to make it through the smokeys and mail it to ourselves to be picked up in a couple days. Once again, God was there providing us easy rides. A guy named Gene who worked at the local post office was taking his lunch break. He took us straight to where we needed to go. We mailed our stuff and got back to the road with our thumbs up. Two hitches later, we made it back to the AT. It was our intention to go straight to hiking, but our friends were hanging out by the river. We chatted with them for a while soaking our feet in the cold river. When we finally got back to hiking it was a hard 7 miles. All in all it was a pretty relaxing day. 

Day 13 11-miles 04-12-14

Sassafras Gap-Cody gap

We got some extra awesome trail magic today! I was hungry so we stopped early for lunch and ate. Then a couple miles later, we got to eat again! When I saw the tent and grill set up at the road I went running down the trail singing the hungry hungry hippo song. We both ate to our hearts content. Even better than the food (if there could be such a thing) we met two past through hikers named stride and hopeful. They were both great believers and were hiking for the exact same reasons we are, just to be a light. It was such an encouragement. 

Day 14 11-miles 04-13-14

Cody Gap-The Fontana Hilton

Our observation today is that if a service, like hot showers electricity or a roof, is free then expect to encounter all types of people. The Fontana hilton is known as one of the best shelters for all the above reasons. Thus, making it a very popular destination. Many people would be thru hikers have put their goal on hold because of its amenities. We did however go for a refreshing swim in the lake. All of our group came down and we hung out till the sun went over the ridge. Despite it being crowded and full of the partying demographic of the trail, it's been a great day. 

Day 15 13-miles 04-14-14

Fontana Hilton-Russel Field Shelter

We got a decent start this morning. Leaving camp around 9. My foot had been hurting so we decided to go to what was called an outfitter. It was in fact a general store with a gear corner. None the less I got nothing for my foot. On the positive side it did feel better at the end of today than it did at the end of yesterday. That's an aspect of the hike I haven't put on here yet. There's always something in our body that is sore. If it's not on the left leg it's on the right. These pains and sorenesses come and go. No big deal. It rained basically all day on us. We got to our destination around 4:30 and we've been taking it slow since we got here. In 75 miles we'll be at a trail town and I should be able to pickup some insoles for Dawn and I. It should make a world of difference. As for rite now, I'm warm and toasty in my bag and on my sleeping pad. 

Day 16 15-miles 04-15-14

Russel field shelter-silars bald shelter

Today was one for the record books. It started out in the 30's and raining. It then went to sleet then hail then an all out sleet/snow storm. We walked in gusting winds and driving sleet all day. When we stopped for lunch we encountered a ridge runner named Fletcher who was really enthusiastic about his job. Ridge runners are employed by the appalachian trail conservancy to help keep camp and shelter sites in good order. Because of the fierce conditions we got in the shelter(one we had picked to stop for lunch at) and began digging through our food bags. He began to lecture myself and all the other patrons on the "dear dear price" future campers would pay because we had brought food Into the shelter. He was alluding to other hikers being attacked by bears. Given my options of going outside and freezing while standing still to eat or taking my chances with the bears, of which I haven't seen one, I began to eat. By the time we reached our destination we were both frozen. The time we spent between arriving and getting into our bags was basically just survival mode. All night it gusted freezing winds, but we stayed toasty in our sleeping bags. 

Day 17 15-miles 04-16-14

Silars bald-ice water spring

The weather today was much better. The trail was very icy making for some slow going. The miles felt much longer today than other days. We did climb clingmons dome, the highest on the trail, and pass the 200-mile mark. Both pretty awesome accomplishments. Tomorrow we are planning on our first 20-mile day. Should be a full days hike. 

Day 18 21-miles 04-17-14

Ice water springs-Cosby knob

What a long day. We needed to hike this far to avoid another day in the smokies. At 6:30 we began to pack our stuff and eat breakfast to hit the trail by 8. Today was full of the most breath taking views so far on the trail. It was a mostly flat day as we walked the high ridge line on the eastern side of the smokies. We made it to camp around 5:40. Not a bad days hike. We've officially made it 230 miles. In a couple days (37-miles) we will be taking a double zero day (as in days of rest) in Hot Springs, one of the more famous trail towns. I'm looking forward to a hot shower, wifi, coffee, and some relaxation with my wife. we truly are enjoying our time together. I think we laugh more together now than we ever have. 

Day 19 12-miles 04-18-14

Cosby-Painters Branch

WE ARE DONE WITH THE SMOKIES! It's so great to be out of there. That place had some crazy weather and even crazier rules. Now we can put our tent down any place we like. The hike out wasn't to hard, mostly down hill. Just outside of the park is a place called standing bear hostel. We stopped in there to get some lunch and food so we can make it two more days to hot springs. I also enjoyed a fresh baked pizza and Dawn ate a whole bag of cheese puffs. Our stomachs seem to have no capacity limit these days. From there it was only 2 more miles, but it was all up hill. The massive lunch we had just eaten was sitting heavy in our stomachs. It was a long two miles. 

Day 20 18-miles 04-19-14

Painters branch-Walnut shelter

This morning started off rocky. Dawn and I couldn't seem to communicate well and on top of that it was raining. We finally got moving about 830 and not 2-miles up the trail we ran into a trail angel serving fresh donuts and hot coffee. His name was Apple (yes his mother named him that.) He had attempted the trail a few years back and decided it was to hard and he was to old. Now he enjoys being a trail angel and giving out food to hungry hikers like us. We hiked pretty much all day in anything from cloudy sky's to a civilized drizzle. The shelter we thought about staying at was built in 1938 and it shows. It was also the home to many families of mice. It has quit raining so we setup our wet tent with hopes the rain is done for the day and that it will dry over night. Tomorrow marks an official week since I've showered. I've been using baby wipes every day, but it's just not the same. The hobo life is not for the lite of heart or smell. Tomorrow we have reservations at a hostel for two nights. That means showers for two days, I'll feel almost human again. We'll also get to was our clothes and take a few days rest. We will have hiked 273 miles in 3 weeks. Our average will go up, but that's pretty respectable for the first couple of weeks. 

Stride and Hopeful. Two trail angels the fed us. 

The Smokies from lake Fontana

View from Fontana Dam

Life preserver box on Fontana Dam

I LOVE MY WIFE!

The first day in the Smokies. It was rainy. 

Morning after the snow and ice. 

View from Clingmons Dome

Getting Closer. 

Apple the trail angel. He made is coffee. 

Smokies from the other end

On our way into Hot Springs

Day 7-11

Day 7 11-miles 04-06-14

Tray mt-top of Georgia hostel

Today started out cold and early. The hostel we were headed to had limited spots and before we ever left 8 people had already hit the trail. Knowing it was going to rain all the next night we hiked harder than we had all trip. We caught all 8 people and even some other stragglers. By 12:30 we had hiked all 11 miles and safely arrived. First on the list of things to do was shower. After 3.5 days of no shower and warm weather I smelled like a hot dumpster in August. Unfortunately we ended up getting our laundry done first. That put us in a awkward spot. All we had to wear was our rain gear, but we still needed to go to town with the 1pm shuttle to get groceries. For the first time in my life I went grocery shopping in nothing but sandals, rain pants, and a rain jacket. After a while I was used to the looks, but I was more interested in the food anyway. We got back to the hostel with 3-days of supply, took showers, and got our clean clothes back from the hostel mom. Then the greatest event of the trip happened; we were taken to an all you can eat pizza buffet!! I can honestly say I got my money's worth. After that we got taken back for some foots bathes, and then to bed. I slept in a warm dry bed and listened to the rain fall all night long. 

Day 8 17-miles 04-07-14

Top of Georgia hostel-standing Indian shelter

It's been a long rainy day. Not only was it our longest miles day, but it also rained constantly from the moment I walked out of the hostel and even now as I lay in my warm dry sleeping bag, it's still raining. All that said to say this, it has been a wonderful day. We hiked in a cloud basically all day, but we got in a lot of miles. WE ALSO COMPLETED OUR FIRST STATE!!! Only 13 more states to go. We had to sleep in our tent tonight since the shelter was already busting at the seams with hikers, but tomorrow it should be sunny and 65 so we will have ample opportunity to dry our wet tent and rain gear. Time for some rest. 

Day 9 16-miles 04-08-14

Standing Indian shelter-Long Branch

It has been the best of times so far and the worst of times so far. This morning started out cold and wet. We finally started to break camp at 8. As we were putting the tent away and as we lifted the foot print to fold it the wind caught it in such a way that mud flew all over me. I was pretty upset with the situation in that moment but Dawn helped bring me through. This trail is teaching me a lesson in patients. We hiked all day, which was fairly sunny, to a shelter full of friends. One guy who has been hiking with his dad brought ingredients for s'mores as a going away party since his dad has to leave us tomorrow. We ate tons of food and joked around the camp fire for a couple hours. Now I once again lay in my trusty warm sleeping bag. Reflecting back on the last nine days I've had the chance to share the love of Christ with over 10 people. It's been so nice to tell people of the love and mercy, there is a visible relief. Some people have only heard condemnation as a form of gospel. But Romans teaches us that it's the goodness of God not the judgement of men that will bring a man to Jesus. I'm content that I'm not responsible for judging. My job and the job of every Christian is to share the love of Christ, and I'm happy to do it. 

Day 10 18-miles 04-09-14

Long Branch-wayah shelter

Today was a long day filled with beautiful views and sites. At lunch today we ate completely from a strangers generosity. A section hiker who had finished their section went and bought a ton of food to give to hikers. As we walked up to where we planned to have lunch he was waiting for us with all kinds of fruit and nice things we don't normally have. We saw our first glimpse of the smokies. A formidable monolith rising out of the north. Many people have been speaking cautionary tales of those mountains, but we plan to not linger in them. They are home to some crazy weather. We also hiked past the group we've been with for the last 4 days. Since two new sleeping pads are waiting for us 17 miles from our current camp site, we are hiking hard to get there. They will be so much more comfortable. All in all it was a great day!

Day 11 17-miles 04-10-14

Wayah shelter-NOC

This morning we got up really early in order to make it to the NOC aka natahala outdoor center. We pushed hard since our new sleeping pads would be here and the store closes at 4. Upon arrival it was a worst case scenario. Not only had we just hiked 17-miles, there was no tent or hostel space available. We sat down, collected our thoughts, and decided that we would have to hike back a mile to the last camping site. As we started back we ran across one of the family's we had been hiking with. Bless their souls!! They are allowing us to cram into their little room! Not only are they letting us do that, but they gave us key cards that give us access to the showers and kitchen area. We are living large!! After 4 days of no shower or washing clothes we were both so happy to be clean. We also acquired our sleeping pads, and are now resting on some brand new NEMO ZOR pads. Tomorrow we are going to hitch a ride to a nearby city to get some food since the store here doesn't have squat. Life goes easy.