Trillium on the Trail: Day 19

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Day 19

Today I will walk in the rain and probably for the next 3 days. Sigh.

John and Judy are bringing me back to Fontana Dam where they picked me up a week ago. We are about 30 min. away. Again I say, you don't do something like this without a lot of help. They are going hours out of their way to help me get back on the trail. They would be happier to take me home but they are doing all they can to support me.

I have to say, looking out the car windows at the rain, I feel both stoic and apprehensive. The walk today will be tough. John says the grade I'm walking up for the first 5 miles is at 14 to 15%. Then it will be steeply up and down for 6 more miles before I reach the first shelter. This is the only section of the AT that they require you to stay at a shelter.

I don't know if I will have cell phone coverage as I walk through the Smoky Mountain National Park for the next 7 days. There is only one road that cuts through the park. Once I reach the ridge line, (which is the border of North Carolina and Tennessee) I will be walking along the Eastern Continental Divide. Cool.

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In 1974, I spent a week backpacking a section of the Appalachian Trail leading to Roan Mountain. I thought it was the hardest backpacking I had ever done. The trail seemed to climb steeply and continuously for miles. All curiosity about the A.T. was eliminated on that trip, and I was sure I would never again hike the A.T. So how has it happened that I am once again on the A.T.? The truth is that I don’t know the answer except it has hung in the back of my mind for all these years as unfinished business.

Now that my professional work life at the Louisville Courier-Journal has ended before I expected (Courier-Journal grants buyouts), I find I need a transition to the next stage of my life. I don’t know how far I will walk. I don’t know how well my body will hold up to the rugged demands of the trail. I don’t know how long I will think I’m having a good time. I am open to all possibilities.

The spontaneous outpourings of affection and support have taken me by surprise. It takes the help of wonderful people to attempt something this monumental and I am grateful.

For those who want to know more about the A.T., I recommend a book called Just Passin’ Thru by Winton Porter. It’s about a store on the A.T. and the unforgettable characters crossing its threshold. It’s a good book in its own right and a good introduction to the trail.

For a book about the trail experience of a 60-year-old woman, I recommend In Beauty May She Walk by Leslie Mass. For a book about the trail experience of a young woman, I recommend Becoming Odyssa: Epic Adventures on the Appalachian Trail by Jennifer Pharr Davis. She is also the record holder for the fastest thru-hike (male or female).