Magic In The Air

Two years ago when my cousin Lisa and I started talking about hiking the Appalachian Trail it was on a whim. There wasn’t really a plan, just a notion that it would be fun to do. Of course we were on a hike, excited to be back on the trail after another long northern Minnesota winter. So to talk about an epic hike was a hikers dream. When I got home that day and mentioned it to my husband, he thought it wasn’t a good idea because Lisa and I hadn’t really done any really long hikes.  I had spent many summers in the BWCA and I knew about camping. Lisa was new to camping and I was new to light weight backpacking. I thought about it and decided maybe it would be a good idea to start researching gear and the Appalachian Trail.

Let's leave  popsicle stand!

Let’s leave popsicle stand!

Bright and early Tuesday, March 10, 2015, after a week of long goodbyes to family and friends, we headed out with my husband Tom, as our support team and driver. We were on our way to Indiana so Lisa could say goodbye to family and friends. While she was doing that, I was able to meet up with Kate, a friend from work who is now back in college in Illinois. Everyone had a great time and on Thursday morning when we left, our intention was to go to Dalton Georgia for the night. A horrible accident happened on the freeway which rerouted us and caused us to be delayed for hours and we had to stop our travels just west of Manchester, Tennessee for the night.

We're Not In Kansas

Today, Friday March 13th, after getting settled in our hotel room and having a great lunch in Dahlonega, we headed out in search of the parking area for Springer Mountain. We were half way up the twisty, windy road I was trying hard not to get car sickness on,  when we saw a young man tentatively put his thumb up for a ride. We immediately stopped and “Wings” (his trail name) asked us if we could get him to the nearest town. We happily replied, “climb in.” He was hesitant again explaining he was wet and didn’t want to get our stuff wet. Tom got out and moved our gear and piled in Wings gear and again we were off headed up the mountain. In short order introductions were done and we were entertained by Wings stories of his hike. He was glad to be in our warm vehicle since he had been in rainy weather for days and had just rolled his ankle.

Who's foggy?

We found the parking area and after a quick look around headed back down to Dahlonega, Georgia to help Wings find a hotel.

Trail magic is just that, magic. It has been happening ever since the dream to hike the trail was voiced between my cousin Lisa and I. It has happened with our jobs. And today it happened on our quest to see the trail. It leaves me excited to see what other magic will unfold in the next six months. All I can say is stay tuned.

 

 

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