Feels Like Home

4/8-4/9 Hike 1.3 Appalachian Trail:Carvers Gap-Over Mountain Shelter ~11 miles

Every time I see a white blaze I feel like I've just walked in my front door. The AT is home, and always welcomes me back, in both community and energy. My short out and back hike across the Roan Highlands in TN was like a sigh, satisfying on the exhale, but I don't think there are enough miles to scratch the itch that a thru hike creates. Our route was from Carvers Gap over Round Bald and Jane Bald (elv. 5800 ft) to Over Mountain Shelter - The Barn. The elements in these mountains are so diverse that I was floored by the views, the shining skies, and the snow hanging around in patches. Also, the mud. Wet trenches of trails that had seen too many foot prints. My first trek across these mountains in 2015 were socked in clouds and rain and during a frustrating conversation a fellow thru hiker reminded me that if the mountain chooses to share it's secrets we are blessed. This day I was blessed.

At the shelter that night I sat back and watched this seasons Thru Hikers perform their chores, create meals that only a calorie deprived nomad would find delicious and eagerly accept snacks and beers appearing as trail magic after their long walk. About 350 miles into their hike, dynamics were forming; support teams, families, loves, relationships that they may or may not value to their full extent yet, but clearly were already becoming highly important to their walk. My heart ached for that camaraderie, that bond, and that adventure which only a leap of faith can take you on.

We watched the nearly full moon rise, we laughed around the fire, and I know I was miserably cold in my sleeping bag during a nearly sleepless night. But I also know I sat up in the early morning to see sunrise from my bed, and at this moment now, I cannot recall the discomfort of that night, or any of the other hard days and nights along the Appalachian Trail.