A Proper Trajectory

I am not sure what picture comes into your mind when I speak of hiking the AT, and quite frankly, I now know I did not have a complete picture.  

My point of reference dated back to when Renee and I lived in the Maggie Valley and Waynesville, NC region of western NC.  We loved to hike in the   Cataloochee Valley Park located just nearby to Maggie Valley.  It had some very steep trails.  When I worked with young men in various churches, I loved to take them there for hiking and camping.  For many it was their first experience in the deep woods, and certainly their first opportunity to test their mettle against a very long and steep hike.

However the trails of the Cataloochee Valley area are apparently what my old forestry school companion, Harold Heatherly, called "hippie trails."  I say that because the trails of that area were veritably free of rocks, roots and boggy areas.  One just has to deal with the severity of the trail's grade.

I am now discovering that much of the AT is very different.  It involves a lot of climbing and descending of rock ledges and faces.  When one is performing that feat, he/she needs to study the path before them to make sure they are attacking the rock face at the proper angle or trajectory.  For instance, if your feet are facing forward when they should be turned sideways, you may build up too much speed and find yourself plunging forward with a momentum you cannot sustain.  So the hiker needs to not only be looking down where his/her feet are currently positioned, but also looking forward to make sure the trajectory you are on will lead you safely and directly to the best footholds that lead either up or down the rock face.  Sometimes those footholds are crevices in the rocks, and sometimes they are provided by a well placed flat stone or a tree.

In everyday life, all of us, whether a hiker of the AT or not, are setting our lives on a certain trajectory via the beliefs and values we adopt.  While on the AT, I've met a number of folks who say they are either an agnostic  

  or atheist when it comes to belief in a Creator God.  Such a faith commitment on their part is setting the course of their life on a certain trajectory.  I say "faith commitment" because I really and truly believe that God has provided an abundance of evidence within His creation to His existence.  I see that evidence every day on the AT; in the beauty and marvelous design of flowers and trees, and in the coordination required of my human body to do this hike.  It just fascinates me to no end to experience the " in the blink of an eye" coordination that happens thousands of times per minute between my eyes, brain and limbs.  

I thank God for the trajectory that belief in Jesus the Messiah has set for my life.  I know that in this world I am but a pilgrim.  I know that my ultimate and eternal home is om heaven with my Savior, and with the God whose glory is clearly displayed in His creation, and in His written Word, the Bible.  It is because of that trajectory that I am undertaking this AT thru hike so as to raise as much money as possible to provide Bible training and scripture resources for South Sudanese refugees.  

Life in a refugee camp is tough.  Real tough.  And if one is enduring such an existence without a Gospel established life trajectory, it is without a doubt much tougher.  So please join us in our endeavor to raise $100,000 or more to provide scripture for refugees.

Uncle

                                                                     

   

I Am Missing a Gear!

Today, May 29, Nephew and I are taking a zero day in Dalton, MA due to heavy rain.  The NE of the USA has been experiencing an unusually wet April and May, so we are learning to embrace the cold and misery that comes with hiking in the rain.  However we needed to buy more resupply food and wash clothes today, and since it started raining hard after we hiked into Dalton, we choose to go to an Econo Lodge and spend the night.  It is nice typing on a full size keyboard for a change.  The hotel has one in its lobby.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, we were told by a former thru hiker, Wondering Bill, that after one has hiked from Springer Mountain in GA to Damascus, VA, he or she has probably gotten into the best shape possible for him/her.  That is a distance of around 700 miles.  Nephew and I are just about to hit that 700 mile marker.  

Well, that is on the one hand good news, but on the other hand it's news that worries me a bit.  You see, Nephew now has a gear or two that I don't have.  It is like he now has an overdrive gear, let's call it a fifth gear while I only have 3 gears.     And that after hiking 700 miles!  One day this past week he reached the shelter over 2 hours before I did.  When I eventually came stumbling in, he said he had been worried about me.  On other occasions he is arriving up to an hour before me.  I am proud of him and rejoice along with him that he has attained such a level of strength and speed.

On those days when Nephew decides to put it into 5th gear, Uncle pushes his "clutch" and tries for a 4th gear at least, but all I am hearing as I push on the stick shift is the grinding of gears!  Well, I suppose that is how it should be when comparing a 33 year old and a 60 year old; or at least in the case of this particular 60 year old.

Now it comes down to perseverance and the sheer grace of God.  I know that He is able.  I remind myself of that every time I plant "faith and obedience," my trekking poles, in the ground to push forward.

Thanks to all of you who prayed that the Lord would provide healing for my right foot.  Your prayers have been answered.  It has felt fine for the last week.  Just within the last few days, I have spoken to 3 different 50+ year old men whose attempt at a thru hike ended due to an injury they sustained in the rocks of PA.  So this year they have picked up where they left off and are trying to finish the remaining distance, and that's how I have come to meet them.

Today I am feeling pain on the outside of my right knee that is new.  That may have been caused by my standing up after falling with my pack on.  The last time I did that my knees sent a definite message to my brain "tell him to take his pack off in the future!"  Message received and noted.  Thank God for the "I Vitamin," Ibuprofen.  

Uncle

Good morning David,

  I can’t even imagine the physical strain you must be going through. Update time.....

The camps are all struggling with drought and to complicate matters Bidibidi is growing so fast that the UN has had to cut rations in half.  Several folk and a church have kicked in to supplement the pastors and their families and also the more needy.  Needless to say, this is just a spot treatment and not sure how long donors will continue to rally.

Edward is now in process of building he and Rose a Tukul in one of the refugee camps.  I think he will maintain the home in Kampala for a while, but felt he needed to be closer to the ministry and Kajo-keji is now out of the question.

Big concern now is that WHO has announced that Ebola is close to the border with SS and UG.  Some border crossings are being closed and people screened.  There is a concern of tainted bush meat coming out of DRC and being sold into neighboring SS and UG.  Below is a link:

  https://www.voanews.com/a/ebola-south-sudan-partially-closes-border/3867797.html

NLE did receive funds from a Moldovan ministry to build 3 new churches.  Baptisms are up and the Church is on the move! 

Mike

On The Boardwalk

Most everyone who has been to Myrtle Beach or some beach side area has taken a stroll on a boardwalk. Thus in my mind, long boardwalks have always been associated with the beach.

So it has been a surprise to me to discover that to thru hike the AT, one has to walk over miles of boards. Yes, miles!

Most of the time these are simple affairs consisting of two 2"X6"  boards nailed on to 4"X4" or large logs so that one can hike over swampy areas with dry feet. Both PA and NJ had

cumulatively several miles of such simple structures.

However the Pochuck Boardwalk Trail just outside of Vernon, NJ was a different affair. We were told by a local that he worked on its construction and that it is the most expensive project associated with the AT. You can do a Google search and read about it and see pictures.

As we walked over it, I realized it was a perfect spot for bird watching. However we had just come out of two days of rain and were weary and footsore as we walked it. So we could not stop and appreciate the project or its environment as they deserve.

Projects like that of the Pochuck make walking the AT much easier. They serve as one example of the extent to which state governments and the federal as well have gone to make sure Americans can enjoy the sights available along the AT.

Uncle

Peggy, We Need Your Help!

Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, Gary Adams would make me each Dec a tape of "The Best of the John Boy and Billy Show" for that year. They did something they called "John Boy and Billy's Playhouse" and this blog will imitate that format. 

Here is the required background. Back in the 1990s, my good friend Dan Devine had a heart event that just about took him out. After surgery and subsequent recovery, his loving wife, Peggy, who has a nursing degree from UNC, made it her mission in life to learn all should could about the American food industry to make sure she only Cooked for Dan what was best for his health.

David and Renee Crane and Dan and Peggy Devine

So, when you eat with the Devines, which we have often and with great pleasure, you somewhere during the evening hear  Peggy recite what is in the meal and why it is good for you. She is now a top expert at combining chemistry and the culinary arts. At her house, one does not merely eat salmon. Oh no one eats a species caught in a certain river at a time of the year. I have told Renee on more than one occasion after leaving their house " a meal with Peg resembles a chemistry lab session."

OK, with that background let me tell you how I could benefit from Peggy's encyclopedic knowledge of the American food industry.

Nephew and I need to eat between 3,000-4,000 calories per day during our hike. But we do not want to carry more than 2 lbs. of food for each day. It presents a quandary as at times we must restock at small convenience stores. 

So, what I have envisioned is doing a Face Time video call with Peggy as I walk through a store and have her help me choose food products that are light weight yet chock full of calories, carbs, fat, sodium, etc. In other words, exactly the type of food she and Dan avoid!

Now Peg has been walking what I will call "the light side" of the food industry. But I need her to come over to the dark side. You know, where Darth Vader lives.

Peg has been walking on the light side for so long that I think she will have to be hypnotized to act contrary to her light side self. So, as our playhouse opens, she has been hypnotized to respond when seeing Darth Vader's face on the screen of Dan's phone and hearing him say "I need the help of Dark Side Peggy." Of course, I will be wearing an ultralite Darth Vader mask!

Playhouse Begins

* Dan hands Peg the phone. She sees Darth and hears me say “I need the help of Dark Side Peggy."

* Peggy "what can I do for you Darth?"

* David/Darth "I need for you to watch carefully as I walk through this store and help me choose food items for 3 day's consumption, so 12,000 calories totaling no more than 6 lbs. Any type of food is a possibility: Snickers, Twinkies, processed cheese, anything.

* Peggy "OK Darth, walk me through the store. Wait, are those Honey Buns? Turn that package over so I can read its contents.  Good Lord it has 690 calories! If you will put Maple flavored peanut butter on it, add a Hershey bar and a few flattened marshmallows you will get enough fat, sugar, sodium and carbs to stop the heart of a charging Cape Buffalo!"

* Darth "Now you're talking Dark Side Peggy!"

Well, to avoid making this blog any longer, let me end by saying you can now see the possibilities Peg could bring to our shopping experience. All she would have to do is make a 180 degree turn from her normal self.

Peggy, we need you!!

Uncle

May 25,

Nephew and I entered CT last Monday. We really enjoyed rhe scenery along the AT as found in that state. Beautiful rivers, streams and forests of large conifers and hardwoods. Enough up and down at times to make for vigorous hiking but not so hard.

Nephew broke one of his trekking poles on Tues, so we came off the AT at Salisbury, CT and spent the night in the home of some folks who charge $40/PX and Receive around 450 guests per year. They call their place "The Bearded Woods." A bear paw print was on the basement window of the room we slept in. The owner said he was probably after a bird feeder.

Nephew's dad over nighted a new pole to rhe Salisbury post office so we hiked 9 mi Wed a.m. and then went into town to buy resupply food and pick up the new pole. We ended up hiking around 18 mi that day and stayed at a shelter just past the top of Bear Mtn, the highest point in CT.  Had a nice view.  The climb up was steep and rocky.

Today it rained hard on us most of the day; our first full day in MA. The climb up and down Mt. Everett was very challenging. The steep, rocky climb down was made much harder by the rain, i.e. wet slippery rocks and leaves. Had several instances where only a well placed tree saved my neck! 

So after hiking 13 mi today we got off again for a B&B in Sheffield, MA. We were soaked and miserable. The rain is forecast to stop by 10:00 tomorrow a.m. so we will resume hiking then. Here's hoping the shoes dry up some tonight. We have a fan on aimed at them.

Thanks for praying and giving. We are plowing on!

Uncle

The Word "Cumulative"                                   

    I am typing this post while staying at a shelter where no cell phone access is available. So I cannot start off by giving you the Webster's Dictionary definition of "cumulative."

Websters-- Cumulative: increasing by successive additions—found it

     However I can assure you it is a term which has represented a very important concept or principle for our AT thru hike. 

     For instance, when the would be long distance hiker enters an REI Store, or one similar, he/she is confronted with a multitude of options for really neat gear. However, if you do not keep track of the cumulative weight of those gear options, you may    find yourself carrying far too much weight and struggle unnecessarily. 

     We have been    told that %75 of those who register with the ATC to do a thru hike drop out before completing it. A large % reportedly drop out before even hiking 100 miles! They most likely did not think hard enough on the principle of cumulative.

    Nephew and I have made many stops along the way to buy food.  Now we all know how dangerous it can be to shop for food when hungry, and these days we generally are feeling a voracious appetite. So we have to be guided not just by our rumbling stomachs, but also by the idea of what amount makes for an appropriate pack weight. Because for sure you are going to soon be carrying that pack up steep inclines, over and through rock scrambles, on narrow ledges, and down dizzyingly severe declines filled with boulders. And nobody is suddenly going to appear out of the woods and offer to carry that sucker for you! 

     Cumulative also relates to the impact of the trail's various challenges      on one’s body and psyche. The biggest cumulative effect on my body thus far has to do with my right foot and ankle. In the mornings they are stiff and I have to walk heel to toe for 200 yards + before they warm up. And they do warm up, for over the last 4 days we have walked on average around 16 + miles per day.

     One cumulative effect that is positive is our bodies' growing ability to recover. One ends the day thinking "I am toast!" only to discover the next morning that you are ready to do it all over again. 

    So as you consider your own life today, how is the cumulative principle either helping you or making you weaker?