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Roan Mtn and Environs

     Today is Saturday, August 5 and I am staying in the shelter located on the top of Roan Mtn.

 I can tell the temp is going to plunge tonight. So at 20:45 I am in my tent inside this shelter and snug in my quilt.

     This shelter is the highest on the AT and has 4 walls and a door. So I have hung my pack and food bag inside the shelter from ropes suspended from the rafters. The rope is run through cans or half of a plastic bottle so a mouse cannot climb down them. 

  That is good because I can already hear a mouse running around. I have set my free standing tent up and because I have no food items in here with me I trust one will not try to eat a hole in the tent wall and get inside with me.  I sleep with ear plugs so even if mice run around in here all night I will not hear them.

     The views on Hump Mtn were great and at the top were 360 degree. The same goes for Roan. I was told these two mountains contain the largest natural balds in the world.  Since it is Sat there were a lot of people out either day hiking or out for the weekend.

     The forecast is for rain on Monday so I may get off the trail Sun night and stay at a hostel at Greasy Creek. I have enough food to stay on the trail all the way to Erwin, TN but will just have to make a decision. 

     I missed a big storm on Friday by staying at a hostel on Hwy 19, Mountain Harbor B&B.  They had good resupply in their store and offered a great breakfast. I tanked up and I think I hiked today's miles on the energy it provided.

Uncle

Second Chances: Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis

     While I am walking the AT south, I am generally by myself, even at night. So that means I have plenty of time to think and pray.

 

     One subject that has been a big idea or thought in my life has to do with making the most of the second chances I believe God has graciously given me.

 

     Most folks are unaware that when I was younger I was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid

arthritis (JRA). I do not recall how young I was when my knees and ankles swelled up, but I do remember my mom taking me to see Dr. Houser who was a family member and neighbor. I also remember the high level of pain associated with not only those early episodes but each succeeding one.

 

     Now I loved playing football, so when those episodes hit during football season, putting up with it was even harder. Twice I could not compete in the Punt, Pass and Kick competition due to my swollen knees. I always took first place in my age group so that really bummed me out.

 

     The last time I dealt with this condition was when I was age 15, the summer before I entered the 10th grade. I had played Jr. High football with no problems but that summer' s episode was bad. Dr. Houser had retired years earlier so Dr. Marshall Agner treated me.

 

     Well, the time arrived for all who wanted to play high school football to see Dr. Agner and get a permission  slip from him to say they were physically able to play.

 

     Given that Dr. Agner had been treating me for JRA earlier, and because one of his own kids suffered from the same condition, he declined to sign for me. I was crushed. What to do?

 

     So I went to Dr. Houser and explained my dilemma. I told him if he would not sign for me I would go to an out of town Dr who did not know me and lie to him. He agreed conditionally to sign, the condition being I would promise to quit immediately if I experienced a fresh attack. Of course I promised!  My how I enjoyed those 3 years of high school ball! And what a formative experience it was in my life.

 

     In the Providence of God, that attack in the summer of 1971 was the last I ever experienced. 

 

     So as I approach the 1,300 mile mark on the AT, I realize how blessed I am to have been granted by God complete healing of arthritis. Much of what I have done during the succeeding years has required good health and strong legs. 

 

     To Dr. Agner I would say" you did what was right at the time. Now rejoice with me that our Lord has allowed me the health to take on this current venture on behalf of S Sudanese refugees."

 

    He is the God of second chances! 

Uncle

 

 

 Opportunity Combined with Passion

 

The first time I read the below poem by E. Sills it was when reading through a book of poems my mom had been given as a high school graduation present. 

 

     From the first reading of it until now, I think the author has captured well the idea that what matters most in life is not always the equipment or gear we (or an army) may have to work with, but the passion, willingness and bravery of a heart committed to a higher cause.

 

     As I have been hiking the AT, I have met many "gearheads." These are people who are constantly talking about the types of shoes, backpacks, etc. that can lead to success in an attempted thru hike. As if the gear is the end all and be all! For sure I know having the lightest and most durable equipment, or anything which can lessen the stress on a hiker's body is important. Absolutely.

 

    But my problem is with people who speak as if there is a magic bullet which, if they can just find it and buy it, will ensure success.

 

     If that were true then the fledgling church of Jesus would never have become the force it grew into by the 4th century. The Roman Empire had all the gear! But the disciples of Jesus had something (and someone!) in their hearts and minds which enabled them to ultimately overcome everything the empire could throw at them.

 

    So do not think you are unable to dream big dreams or take on God-sized challenges. If you are a child of the Sovereign King who created and rules over this world then He can use you in His royal cause.

 

 

Uncle

 

 

 

Opportunity

THIS I beheld, or dreamed it in a dream:--

There spread a cloud of dust along a plain;

And underneath the cloud, or in it, raged

A furious battle, and men yelled, and swords

Shocked upon swords and shields. A prince's banner

Wavered, then staggered backward, hemmed by foes.

A craven hung along the battle's edge,

And thought, "Had I a sword of keener steel--                           

That blue blade that the king's son bears, -- but this

Blunt thing--!" he snapped and flung it from his hand,

And lowering crept away and left the field.

Then came the king's son, wounded, sore bestead,

And weaponless, and saw the broken sword,

Hilt-buried in the dry and trodden sand,

And ran and snatched it, and with battle shout

Lifted afresh he hewed his enemy down,

And saved a great cause that heroic day.

Second Chance #2                 

     In the fall of 2011, I had two teams of short term volunteers work with me among the Ilkongeri Maasai of the Kajiado District of Kenya. They hailed from TX and TN.

     The leader of the Baptist work in that area was a man named Onesimus Muindi. His wife's name was Mary. They were both very 

  hospitable folks and very committed to seeing that all the Maassi homes of their area received a Gospel witness.

     Now there were so many folks involved that I had to ask them to pay to rent several four wheeled drive vans. The area's roads were primarily more like goat paths, and there were many river crossings to be traversed.

     One day a van got stuck in one of the crossings and we all had to bail out and search for stones to put under the back right tire. 

    My hand was just next to Onesimus' when he suddenly jerked it up and said " I have been bitten!" Sure enough, as we looked at the spot we realized he had been bitten by a snake.

   We frantically looked around for the snake because we knew that the type of antivenom one is given depends upon the type of toxin involved, I.e. neurotoxin or hemotoxin. However we did not find a snake.

     When I finally got Onesimus to the ER of the Nairobi Hospital ( long story with lots of details),    

we learned from the attending physician that there is a type of antivenom which can possibly neutralize both types of venom, BUT its potency is such that it might kill you. Onesimus was feeling so badly that he opted for the powerful medicine.  When I visited him the next day, he seemed to have recovered well.

.

     Onesimus died about 9 months later. Whether his cause of death was in any way related to the snake bite and antivenom event remains unknown to me.

     What I do know is this; our hands were literally back to back when he was bitten. 

     I have had a lot of time to think about Onesimus and the pivotal role he played in the Kingdom advance that took place among his Maasai neighbors. He was a kind hearted and Gospel centered brother. It was his persistence in asking me and the leadership of the Kaputei Baptist Association to join hands with him which led to the big work done there over a 3 year period.   

     He was bitten and I was spared. To this day I have felt that the whole thing represents a type of second chance in my life. That is to say I am very aware my life was spared for Kingdom purposes and that I need to use every day I am granted on this earth to point people to the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah.

     If any of you in Beaumont or Knoxville have a picture of Onesimus in digital form you can send to me so that it can be added to this post please do so. I am sure I have at least one at home but I am not there. Thanks.

   Send to my Gmail address: drc11292@gmail.com

Uncle                                     

I am staying tonight at a hostel near Elk Park, Tn. as they have internet.  My plan is to do several updates and blog entries.  I start climbing some 5000 ft plus mountains tomorrow and wanted to eat well today.


Uncle

Hi all,

Below is a different type of post than we usually make. Directly below you will see an email David directed to me concerning what is currently going on in South Sudan. As I looked at it, I felt that many of you would also like and benefit from reading what Uncle shared. First, all may not be aware that cross cultural Gospel workers alongside those from other organizations, hand in hand, prayerfully seeking God's glory around them. This blog will refer to that knowledge.   Below is the email David sent along with a picture and a video if I can get it to post.

Ron,

I am staying at the Black Bear Resort (fancy name for what is actually here) and plan on typing up an update this hour.  This email is from Mike Scalf who is the president of the New Life Endowment (NLE).  He went with me to the refugee camps in northern Uganda last Oct.

Maridi is a town in S. Sudan.  NLE sponsors James Kenneth who is the pastors/evangelist who is staying there and still leading the church he planted there.  As Mike says, it is dangerous for him to remain there but he has chosen to do so.

Mike wanted me to see the picture because it is clear he is using the first storying cloth.  If we meet our goal of $100K it is my plan to purchase more cloths, both the first one and the one on ACTS.

Uncle.    

P.s. They have an old computer here and that is the only way one can utilize their internet. They are in the middle of nowhere TN and apparently the only way they can get internet access is by satellite and so they are limited in how many GB they get per day. Only way to control
things is to tell patrons they have to use their computer. So there may be many typos in the update I sent youCrane, thought you would want to see this. As dangerous as Maridi is…it is not slowing down James Kenneth and the Story Cloth. The message and pic from Edward.
---Scalf
This video I am including just to show a little day to day life in South Sudan, click on the link below to see the video

https://youtu.be/IGL75AZEn0Q


**Please share this post and other posts that are made so those who don't know about our purpose and David's trek may be involved in sharing Jesus' love and purpose in another part of God's creation.

Update August 2, 2017                                     

Tonight I am staying off the trail so I can buy food for another few days, shower and do laundry.  I am staying at the Black Bear Resort which is located on the Dennis Cove Rd. mile marker 1771.4.  I am now 418 miles from Springer Mountain. 

Nephew dropped me off in Damascus on Monday.  He flew in to the home town from NYC last Sunday afternoon and picked up a truck he has bought from his dad.  Since he was traveling north for a job interview to be held on Tuesday in PA, he agreed to drop me.  It was so good to see Nephew again and to have that time to visit.  We made some pictures at his parent's house on Sunday night that I know we will enjoy in the future.

I started hiking at mile marker 1719.7 at 8:44 on Monday morning and arrived at mile marker 1771.4 today, Wednesday the 2nd around 4:30.  Along the way I crossed into TN.  

  On Tuesday I hiked a ridgeline that looked down on the Watauga Lake.  The number of trees that are down along that ridgeline was amazing.  They have obviously had a lot of bad storms hit this area in the last couple of years.  The first night I camped in the Double Springs Shelter   

  and the 2nd night I pitched my tent near the Wilbur Dam Road at MM 1758.4.  That road leads one down to the dam of the Watauga Lake, which I walked across this morning.  I ate a late morning snack at the small sandy beach area of the lake at 10:30 today.

There was a sign at the Watauga Lake Shelter which said it was closed due to Bear activity.  However I have not seen a single bear since leaving Damascus.   

I want to give a shout out of thanks to the counselors of the Wilderness Trail which is a ministry based at Troutdale, VA.  I ran into 3 of their groups over the last 9 days and they were very kind and generous to me.  They shared food and water with me and made 2 of my days much easier as a result.  I camped with Michael and his group last night.  I haven't sat around a camp fire with a group of American teens in many years, so last night was a treat as I listened to Michael lead them in a discussion that would help them to debrief what they are learning and experiencing as they hike on the AT. 

This afternoon I hiked by the Laurel Falls.  What an outstanding sight.     

   I asked some ladies to use my phone and take a picture of me in front of them, but I will not be able to send Ron the picture to use in an update until later. 

Within the next 2 days I will cross over Roan Mtn. and I am looking forward to walking through that environment.  It is bad that I will not see the area when the rhododendron are in bloom, but I'm just too late for them. 

Uncle