Appalachian Trail & Have I Really Not Posted Since Wednesday?

Wow, that’s a stretch. I’ve tried to post daily since I started this blog (thanks to my friend Kim’s influence, since she blogged) in March 2010.

This was a trying week. 

But yesterday, we took a turn for the better.

Dan, Skipper and I drove to Lake Tiorati and hiked part of the Appalachian Trail.

Yes, we did. About an hour each way or maybe more to this little stone shelter we have been to before.

Dan and his brothers--separately, with their friends--all know that path. I believe John, Mike, Dave and Pat all walked it.

Skipper, above. She noticed a frog---just like her sister, Figgy, would.

I have to get to work on a writing deadline. But it was so cool to cross paths with:

• People sitting around a campfire, their three tents pitched nearby.
• A large family--Mom, Dad, boys, girls, dog--who had started the trail on Feb. 14 in Georgia and were still going. Wow.
• Two fellows who had walked from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
• One man who was setting up his tent after 6, when we were heading back to the car. He was on a four-day walk, and drove to the Trail from Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

Rocky underfoot. Keep your eyes on the road. Watch your step. Follow the trail markers (unless you are prepared to carve a new path). Stop, look up and enjoy the mountain view. Notice the frogs. Take a break. Eat a snack. Know your own strength.

All apply to life as we know it.

I’m thankful for Dan taking us on this hardscrabble path, and showing us the beauty. I think this is what he imagines Heaven will look like (though not entirely sure he believes in Heaven).

Note to self. Next time, use fanny pack, not cross-body handbag.