This marks our sixth day in a row of trail magic. Coming down into Stecoah Gap about midway through our day, Anna and I were talking about how we both could go for a soda of some kind. A few minutes later... boom ...a box of colas is sitting on the trail with a bag of chocolate MoonPies to go along! We were so excited! We went down to the picnic tables where two other thru-hikers were finishing up and were about to enjoy when a man pulls up in his minivan. "You guys going all the way?" He was a thru-hiker in '04, and his name was Quest. He went back to the van and brought out DIET DR. PEPPER, Mountain Dew, Pepsi, peanuts, Snickers, Oreos and chocolate chip cookies! Unbelievable. Very nice guy. After that we headed on and began to race a thunderstorm. Praying the whole way and trusting that God is protecting us. We made it through the lightning. Thank you, Lord. Anna read Psalm 45 before bed.
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Throughout the entire thru-hike, the one thing that seriously had me concerned for our safety was walking through these kinds of storms. Bears, ticks, snakes, people... you cannot fend off a storm.
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| The only time we received Diet Dr. Pepper trail magic |
Bingo! Here's the day we passed one another. Look at this photo: http://www.everytrail.com/view_picture.php?trip_id=1499900&picture_id=4151531
ReplyDelete(if the link isn't active I'll post it on your Facebook wall) The photo was taken at 2:22PM and you'll note that all the generic colas are still in the case. (unless they're empties) So you must have not reached Stecoah Gap yet (where this trail magic appeared).
Still, we had to have passed on the trail that morning -- twice! I parked at Stecoah Gap and was on the trail SoBo at sunrise, Cheoah Bald at 10:30, then turned around at Sassafras Gap Shelter at 11AM and nobody was there. Now ... On my way down the steep slopes from Cheoah Bald to Sassafras Gap I have a recollection of a nice young man and a nice young woman who were climbing up, and I made some comment about how you were almost at the top. My recollection of faces is always terrible, so I cannot confirm or deny that it was you. Do you know how late you started that morning? Because if those two were you, it would have been 10:30AM and only a mile from Sassafras Gap Shelter.
Then, on my way back ... I have a vague recollection of passing a couple seated on a log at Locust Cove Gap eating lunch. I do not remember whether or not it was the same couple, and I know that I only exchanged a few words with this pair. I'm pretty sure that if it was the same one, I would have remembered (???) Again, I'm horrible remembering faces. I got back to my van at Stecoah Gap at 2:22PM and left quickly. That was all the hiking I did that day. I actually also have a vague recollection of seeing that same couple from Locust Cove Gap coming out of the woods (nobo) as I pulled out of the parking lot. Maybe my imagination in hindsight.
Anyhow, I'm enjoying revisiting the trail through your eyes, ManCub - keep up the good work.
Seeks It! That is amazing. I think that was definitely us you passed on your way down to Sassafras Gap. According to my photo timestamps, we left the shelter around 10:00am and arrived to Cheoah around 10:45.
DeleteAnd it was also probably us you saw sitting on the log eating. Mainly because sitting on logs and eating was something we did every chance we got... but I also checked the timestamp on my Trail Magic photo and it was around 3:00 that we arrived in Stecoah Gap.
That is so cool! Thanks so much for sharing your side of it. I really appreciate it.
Then it definitely was you. Awesome! My times are from photo time stamps also. I had specifically planned to get off the trail early that day to avoid the storms that you wrote about. I agree with you -- nothing made me feel more scared than lightning.
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