Dreaming in the Rain
(Excerpt from Mud Butts AT Journal 3.19.03)
Ok…..don’t panic…but I am in the middle of a firefight! Seriously! There are bombs and machine guns going off all around me! I am the Hawk Mountain shelter and I had forgotten that the Army Rangers use this area for training. In fact, five of them walked up to the shelter to talk about….I don’t know…bombs or something, and even though I needed help with the bear cables, I was way too intimidated to talk to them! In any case, you have to admit, this is a heck of a way to arrive at the beginning of a dream that has been years in the making….
Yep…after lots of dreaming and planning, I am officially off on my Appalachian Trail thru hike. I have to tell you first off that I have the greatest parents in the whole world! They got up at o’dark-thirty to drive me to Amicalola State Park so that I could sign in and weigh my pack. I wasn’t doing the aproach trail,but I really wanted to do all the official stuff. Then they drove me up FS42 to the Springer Mountain parking lot. But wait!! That is not all! Then they hiked up Springer Mountain with me in the rain!! Have I mentioned that my parents aren’t hikers!? Well, they are now! They were awesome!
When we got to the top, up walked a guy with a bottle of champagne to share with all of the thru hikers starting today! Trail magic! And I haven’t even stepped off of the mountain yet! His name is Ken Connely and he is celebrating the anniverary of his own thru hike. Isn’t that neat? I tell you what…these thru hikers are pretty special people.
Well, it is my first day out and I have cried all day. First I cried on Springer Mountain with my mom and dad cause I just couldn’t believe that I was finally here. I truly thought this day would never come. Then, after a long day of cold rain and being soaked to the bone, I cried when I got to the shelter. It was almost dark and when I finally got here and I was so happy that I had reached my goal for the day.
After I put my tent up and went down to the spring to get water, I cried again because it hit me that I can really do this. I AM really doing this.
Well, there is a lot more to tell but I am freezing to death. I have been rained on for about nine hours, my right foot has a huge blister, my whole body aches, all I had for dinner was half a candy bar cause I was too tired to cook and there are bombs going off all around me.
And I am having the time of my life! 🙂
Love, Anna aka Mud Butt