Thursday, March 28, 2013
Snow Storm
Yesterday we hiked through the most snow I've ever personally seen. There were no doubt 4 and a half feet snow drifts and we hiked in snow to our knees for miles. There were several points that we had to search for the trail because we were the first people to hike there since the storm.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Boone Night
Enjoying a weekend off with good friends. Thanks to Zach Gill for being such a great host!
Friday, March 22, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
How Tolkein Created Middle Earth
Six days ago I entered British Columbia. Well, actually I entered the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, but it looked more like the Pacific Northwest than any part of North Carolina or Tenessee that I have ever seen. The smokies encompasses 70 miles of the Appalachian trail, a section of ridge top walking that straddles the NC/TN line between Cherokee and Gaitlinburg. At high elevations you spend much of your time walking above the clouds. The ridges are covered in hemlocks and red firs that pierce the sky like the emerald spires of Oz. The ground below is green as well, covered by a wide range of mosses and lichens that are supported by the drifting mist. On a clear day the views are phenomenal. After long sections walking through the darkness underneath the boughs the trail will cut across high out croppings of rock and you can see sharp ridges spreading out, like the rib cage of some giant beast. The mountains here are steeper, the weather unpredictable and the wildlife is more diverse than anywhere else in the United States.
For years I have read and re read the works of Tolkein and Lewis and it has baffled me how they created worlds of their own. What sort of genius does it require to develop a world, fully equipped with creatures, races, cities and even a heaven that is all it's own? As we descended a steep mountinside and the shadows of late afternoon began to lengthen I started to see alterations in the terrain around me. Distance and darkness turned trees into turrets, mountains became citadels and stumps and discarded rabble became stooping creatures and people.
In this hour of shifting shapes I quickly realized that Middle Earh was not conceived from a writer's desk. Tolkein must have spent days in the wilderness of Brittian, where his imagination could run free. It didn't take superior wit to create it, granted it probably helped a lot, it just took a wilderness and the changing shadows to realize that there is more than one way to see things. The smokies are a harsh place, and very different from the landscapes that I am familiar with, but one look at a shadowy cliff side and a world of my own began to form. It is in these wild places that we let our imagination free, and it is in these places that we create worlds beyond our own and because of this we should do everything we can to preserve these rough ridges and sheltered valleys. With a wilderness and some shifting shadows Middle Earth, Narnia and Charn begin to form.
Chastan
Chastan
Not Just a Walk In the Woods
Sometimes I'm convinced that people think I'm casually enjoying a long walk in the woods. It's really a nice image. You wake up to the sun coming up over the hill and breathe in the fresh mountain air. You make breakfast with the accelerating feeling of adventure pounding in your heart, and then you start your day's hike. Throughout the day you smell the warm fragranced of spring as life begins to grace the trees and plants around you. You enjoy the casual conversation made with fellow hikers as they pass by. Then finally when the day is over you crawl back into your sleeping bag only to repeat the joyous cycle again day after day. However, in the past 10 days one might could be described with such wonderful idealism.
After leaving the NOC about a week and a half ago, we have encountered some of the most challenging trails I've ever mentally or physically faced. Upon returning from Bryson City we stocked up on a few odds and ends items that we needed for the next section of trail. As we purchased our permits for the Smokies and an extra canister of fuel, we were warned of the treacherous weather ahead. Apparently the next few mountains we were to climb had 16+ inches of snow and more was on the way. Being the brave adventurous men we are we decided to brave the weather that day and hit the trail. After crossing the river, the next 7 miles were up hill and as we climbed higher the snow deepened making it extremely difficult to walk. The wind whipped sideways and the snow blow constantly at our faces. It was in that moment that I wondered at what point I had lost my mind. We kept walking at what seemed like snails pace due to the 2 feet drifts that we were being forced to break, until at last we reached the shelter just before dark. You may be thinking that it couldn't have gotten worse, but I'm happy to let you know that the wonderful snow continued to grace us with its presence for days to follow.
Several days later brought us to the southern end of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. We stayed the night before entering with our friend Sam, Grandpa, and possibly the craziest woman I've ever met! Before she walked up to the shelter "Grandpa" warned us of her mentally ill nature by explaining how she told him about her shoe talking to her when she got off the plane in Atlanta. This did not adequately prepare us for the robust Indian woman that came moseying up to the shelter. She babbled for what seemed like hours about God knows what until we could stand it no more and decided to hike down to the dam. As it ended up we decided to set up the tent and avoid tales from when she "hiked the trail in the 70s". We slept well and anxiously awaited the section of trail that was to come.
The next morning we woke up early and ate breakfast with the crazy lady. After a rushed goodbye we took off up the trail, across the dam, and finally to the entrance. As a side note... This is Chastan and I's second attempt at hiking here after having injury complications months before, and Chastan's forth attempt total after it not working out for him each time before. We set off to Mollies Ridge and before we knew it we were hiking in snow yet again. To put it shortly the Smokies were a multitude of beautiful views with more headache and difficulties than you could ever imagine. We hiked in the dark down Clingman's Dome only to have done a twenty mile day that ended with us putting up the tent due to over crowding. This was also the case several other nights due to spring breakers who weren't at their assigned shelters. That morning to follow it was so windy that the tent was blown off the ground and into the woods despite being staked into the ice that covered the ground. It also rained that whole day and by the end we were soaked and were forced to cram into at shelter with 12 other wet stinking hikers. As we woke up on out final morning in the Smokies we rushed mostly down the mountain through more snow that was coming down to meet my family who picked us up and drove us to town to eat at the China buffet. We had finally finished one of the most notorious sections of trail down south and we did so with our heads held high.
As for now I'm laying in the sun in Hot Springs, NC with an evening of fun with friends to look forward to. Not everyday is a simple walk in the woods, but each day is an adventure that I'm very thankful to be living. Thanks to everyone for the continued support and an extra thanks to my family for their help Wednesday. I love you all. Until next time... Peace and love.
After leaving the NOC about a week and a half ago, we have encountered some of the most challenging trails I've ever mentally or physically faced. Upon returning from Bryson City we stocked up on a few odds and ends items that we needed for the next section of trail. As we purchased our permits for the Smokies and an extra canister of fuel, we were warned of the treacherous weather ahead. Apparently the next few mountains we were to climb had 16+ inches of snow and more was on the way. Being the brave adventurous men we are we decided to brave the weather that day and hit the trail. After crossing the river, the next 7 miles were up hill and as we climbed higher the snow deepened making it extremely difficult to walk. The wind whipped sideways and the snow blow constantly at our faces. It was in that moment that I wondered at what point I had lost my mind. We kept walking at what seemed like snails pace due to the 2 feet drifts that we were being forced to break, until at last we reached the shelter just before dark. You may be thinking that it couldn't have gotten worse, but I'm happy to let you know that the wonderful snow continued to grace us with its presence for days to follow.
Several days later brought us to the southern end of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. We stayed the night before entering with our friend Sam, Grandpa, and possibly the craziest woman I've ever met! Before she walked up to the shelter "Grandpa" warned us of her mentally ill nature by explaining how she told him about her shoe talking to her when she got off the plane in Atlanta. This did not adequately prepare us for the robust Indian woman that came moseying up to the shelter. She babbled for what seemed like hours about God knows what until we could stand it no more and decided to hike down to the dam. As it ended up we decided to set up the tent and avoid tales from when she "hiked the trail in the 70s". We slept well and anxiously awaited the section of trail that was to come.
The next morning we woke up early and ate breakfast with the crazy lady. After a rushed goodbye we took off up the trail, across the dam, and finally to the entrance. As a side note... This is Chastan and I's second attempt at hiking here after having injury complications months before, and Chastan's forth attempt total after it not working out for him each time before. We set off to Mollies Ridge and before we knew it we were hiking in snow yet again. To put it shortly the Smokies were a multitude of beautiful views with more headache and difficulties than you could ever imagine. We hiked in the dark down Clingman's Dome only to have done a twenty mile day that ended with us putting up the tent due to over crowding. This was also the case several other nights due to spring breakers who weren't at their assigned shelters. That morning to follow it was so windy that the tent was blown off the ground and into the woods despite being staked into the ice that covered the ground. It also rained that whole day and by the end we were soaked and were forced to cram into at shelter with 12 other wet stinking hikers. As we woke up on out final morning in the Smokies we rushed mostly down the mountain through more snow that was coming down to meet my family who picked us up and drove us to town to eat at the China buffet. We had finally finished one of the most notorious sections of trail down south and we did so with our heads held high.
As for now I'm laying in the sun in Hot Springs, NC with an evening of fun with friends to look forward to. Not everyday is a simple walk in the woods, but each day is an adventure that I'm very thankful to be living. Thanks to everyone for the continued support and an extra thanks to my family for their help Wednesday. I love you all. Until next time... Peace and love.
The Elements of a Family
Christmas morning is one of those experiences that stands out of time. The smell of a delicious breakfast being prepared, the soft thud of feet as they navigate throughout the house, the crinkle of plastic as new toys are opened. It's a separate reality in itself, one that is undoubtedly and singularly described as "bliss." As the morning fades into the rest of the day the bliss fades, (at least it does in my case) as we scramble to prepare ourselves to travel to oversized gatherings of distant relatives and back to back meals. Everyone has that uncle who is a Close talker, a great aunt who is oblivious to social cues and that cousin who either is on house arrest or isn't house trained. It's stressful stuff, but nothing less than a grin is expected, and why is that? Well, because they are family.
Yesterday marked three weeks on the trail and the trend of unexpected experiences has continued. There really is no way to mentally imagine or prepare for what the hike will be like. You just have to be ready to walk and do it in your own style. Chase and I started early but we still have passed, met and fell behind a good number of fellow thru hikers. In the heat of it all we have met some pretty amazing people and heard a multitude of awe inspiring stories. Sam, a guy we met in the first week of our hike, is 18 and from Maine. With a semester of college under his belt he decided he needed a break first, and so he took off to hike the trail. Although we don't hike together throughout the day we end up going the same distance and camping at the same creek and on some town runs we share a table and some good conversation. He, like us, is exploring a part of this world that is lost to most generations, but his story is his own and his hike is all together different than ours.
Not all the lives we brush past on our hike are hikers. Five days in we met an older couple who gave us a little trail magic more commonly known as a Pepsi and a fresh apple along with some encouraging words for the eminent climb ahead of us. More recently we were pushing through hurricane force winds in the smokies and as the trails turned into creeks we emerged at new found gap to find a couple waving us down. They had their car doors open, heat blaring and a table with hot biscuits and fresh gravy that they eagerly handed each of us a bowl of. They asked us about our trail experience, offered us their contact information and persisted tht we call them if we needed ANYTHING in the next two weeks. In their trunk they had resupplies and sweet treats for all the hikers coming through newfound gap. There's no obligation to be so kind, besides a common love for the trail and the world that stands independent of the reality that rushes by only a few miles away. That evening we made it to a shelter at dusk, with the rain still soaking our bones. An hour passed and there still was no sign of a struggling group of hikers that we had seen earlier in the evening. Worried, several people volunteered to re enter the rain and the cold wind to find them, taking food and medical supplies to ensure their safe arrival. A little while later the party emerged from the gloom, with high spirits thanks to the generous aid.
Today is the first zero day that we have taken, and with the combination of the beautiful weather and the company of Hillary and Sean, it couldn't be better. With exams and fastly filing calendars they set aside today to drive three hours to meet us, share experiences and take a deep breath from our differently demanding, daily routines. There is love in that, it fills their effort.
I have no previous relation to any of the faces that I see and the lives I come in contact wih out here, but it is as much a family as any. It has all the oddities of a Christmas lunch. It doesn't take blood or time to build a family, the elements of family are much more simple. They are love, common origin, care and common goals. There is a 2100 mile long thread that connects us all, it weaves through our past, present, and future and it is the basis of a family. Only those out here know what the trail truly is and we share the dust that covers our boots. We give up a lot to be in this world of dirt and trees, just to walk the spine of a continent, but we never lose the sense of connection, the undeniable elements of a family.
-chastan
Yesterday marked three weeks on the trail and the trend of unexpected experiences has continued. There really is no way to mentally imagine or prepare for what the hike will be like. You just have to be ready to walk and do it in your own style. Chase and I started early but we still have passed, met and fell behind a good number of fellow thru hikers. In the heat of it all we have met some pretty amazing people and heard a multitude of awe inspiring stories. Sam, a guy we met in the first week of our hike, is 18 and from Maine. With a semester of college under his belt he decided he needed a break first, and so he took off to hike the trail. Although we don't hike together throughout the day we end up going the same distance and camping at the same creek and on some town runs we share a table and some good conversation. He, like us, is exploring a part of this world that is lost to most generations, but his story is his own and his hike is all together different than ours.
Not all the lives we brush past on our hike are hikers. Five days in we met an older couple who gave us a little trail magic more commonly known as a Pepsi and a fresh apple along with some encouraging words for the eminent climb ahead of us. More recently we were pushing through hurricane force winds in the smokies and as the trails turned into creeks we emerged at new found gap to find a couple waving us down. They had their car doors open, heat blaring and a table with hot biscuits and fresh gravy that they eagerly handed each of us a bowl of. They asked us about our trail experience, offered us their contact information and persisted tht we call them if we needed ANYTHING in the next two weeks. In their trunk they had resupplies and sweet treats for all the hikers coming through newfound gap. There's no obligation to be so kind, besides a common love for the trail and the world that stands independent of the reality that rushes by only a few miles away. That evening we made it to a shelter at dusk, with the rain still soaking our bones. An hour passed and there still was no sign of a struggling group of hikers that we had seen earlier in the evening. Worried, several people volunteered to re enter the rain and the cold wind to find them, taking food and medical supplies to ensure their safe arrival. A little while later the party emerged from the gloom, with high spirits thanks to the generous aid.
Today is the first zero day that we have taken, and with the combination of the beautiful weather and the company of Hillary and Sean, it couldn't be better. With exams and fastly filing calendars they set aside today to drive three hours to meet us, share experiences and take a deep breath from our differently demanding, daily routines. There is love in that, it fills their effort.
I have no previous relation to any of the faces that I see and the lives I come in contact wih out here, but it is as much a family as any. It has all the oddities of a Christmas lunch. It doesn't take blood or time to build a family, the elements of family are much more simple. They are love, common origin, care and common goals. There is a 2100 mile long thread that connects us all, it weaves through our past, present, and future and it is the basis of a family. Only those out here know what the trail truly is and we share the dust that covers our boots. We give up a lot to be in this world of dirt and trees, just to walk the spine of a continent, but we never lose the sense of connection, the undeniable elements of a family.
-chastan
Friday, March 15, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Friday, March 8, 2013
Fontana Dam
Couldn't ask for a better day. We will be crossing the dam tomorrow on our way to the Smokies.
Incredible view! Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Why don't we walk in the clouds?
Every day we have a million interactions that vie for our attention and almost every one of those interactions deserves a fraction of the thought and stress we grant it. Five o clock traffic, bent glasses, long grocery lines, why do they matter? They really don't, but we get so caught up in the moment that they become mountains in our every day lives.
Now, every day of my life I am literally climbing mountains. From Georgia to Maine I will be summiting hundreds of peaks and on a clear day my path can be seen across the blue waves of land. This is the opposite of my life back home. Where I usually get caught up on small moments I now get distressed by the layers of physical obstacles that confront me. Yes, the panoramic views from wayah bald are breathtaking but my past three days' obstacles are within view. Equally as beautiful was the view yesterday from Wesser Bald where I could see the smokies, my next challenge, dominating the horizon to the north; but when you account for the 8 inches of snow that we have trekked through since entering North Carolina, and you factor in the 12 degrees that we have woken up to on multiple mornings "beautiful" becomes a term used rarely, and the layers of mountains become layers of hardships. Three mornings ago we awoke to frozen boots, frosty clothes and four waterbottles that had transformed into solid ice over night. No water for oatmeal and only wishful thinking that they would unfreeze during the frigid day. It takes miles before the boots unfreeze and your breath is visible, even at noon. In the heart of this Wintery wilderness friendships grow quickly because only those who are with you can truly comprehend the extremely of this snowy sanctuary. The sun will show sporadically and each ray is a blessing. In the cold you find the greatest excitement in the smallest warmth. I'm not trying to rob this white wonderland of all it's grandeur, because I have seen few things that rival it's beauty. Today however, the weather changed and we woke up to a dripping fog that had melted the snow and enveloped the world in cloud. It wasn't as chilly and we knew we were headed to town, so naturally Chase and I had a little pep in our step. Once we had packed up we headed off into the clouds. Four thousand feet and descending, we werw headed down into the nantahala river valley and we were in awe of this unique beauty. Strands of moss covered trees and water dripped from every surface. It wasn't really raining but the air was so thick that clarity began to fade a few steps in any direction and trees became shadowy figures that dissolved into the gray. You could hear birds singing, they were happy with the change, and several times we even spooked some grouse, and they frantically fluttered into the sky. It was amazing, a unique beauty like nothing else. Walking in the clouds is drastically different than a clear day because you can't see the obstacles ahead, or the trail you have left behind. It is a "in the moment" kind of mindset and like life at home you can only see what's right in front of you but unlike life at home you are satisfied with the moment. Who knows if there is a steep rock climb ahead or if the trail leads you up a mountain of switchbacks, the fog settles your mind and puts on blinders to the stress so that you can only see the dripping moss and ghostly songbirds that sit on the limbs closest to you. That's all you need, just this moment, and as you move the moment will too, and that's all it takes to be happy.
There might not be dripping moss at home on the aisles of the nearest supermarket, and a grouse might not be nestled in your garage, but that doesn't mean that these moments of stress should become mountains, because each moment is is a breath and no single breath should be filled with stress. I pray the clouds will flow across the peaks when my stress begins to rise again because there is no better mindset than the deep breath and peace that you get when you take a walk in the clouds.
-chastan
Now, every day of my life I am literally climbing mountains. From Georgia to Maine I will be summiting hundreds of peaks and on a clear day my path can be seen across the blue waves of land. This is the opposite of my life back home. Where I usually get caught up on small moments I now get distressed by the layers of physical obstacles that confront me. Yes, the panoramic views from wayah bald are breathtaking but my past three days' obstacles are within view. Equally as beautiful was the view yesterday from Wesser Bald where I could see the smokies, my next challenge, dominating the horizon to the north; but when you account for the 8 inches of snow that we have trekked through since entering North Carolina, and you factor in the 12 degrees that we have woken up to on multiple mornings "beautiful" becomes a term used rarely, and the layers of mountains become layers of hardships. Three mornings ago we awoke to frozen boots, frosty clothes and four waterbottles that had transformed into solid ice over night. No water for oatmeal and only wishful thinking that they would unfreeze during the frigid day. It takes miles before the boots unfreeze and your breath is visible, even at noon. In the heart of this Wintery wilderness friendships grow quickly because only those who are with you can truly comprehend the extremely of this snowy sanctuary. The sun will show sporadically and each ray is a blessing. In the cold you find the greatest excitement in the smallest warmth. I'm not trying to rob this white wonderland of all it's grandeur, because I have seen few things that rival it's beauty. Today however, the weather changed and we woke up to a dripping fog that had melted the snow and enveloped the world in cloud. It wasn't as chilly and we knew we were headed to town, so naturally Chase and I had a little pep in our step. Once we had packed up we headed off into the clouds. Four thousand feet and descending, we werw headed down into the nantahala river valley and we were in awe of this unique beauty. Strands of moss covered trees and water dripped from every surface. It wasn't really raining but the air was so thick that clarity began to fade a few steps in any direction and trees became shadowy figures that dissolved into the gray. You could hear birds singing, they were happy with the change, and several times we even spooked some grouse, and they frantically fluttered into the sky. It was amazing, a unique beauty like nothing else. Walking in the clouds is drastically different than a clear day because you can't see the obstacles ahead, or the trail you have left behind. It is a "in the moment" kind of mindset and like life at home you can only see what's right in front of you but unlike life at home you are satisfied with the moment. Who knows if there is a steep rock climb ahead or if the trail leads you up a mountain of switchbacks, the fog settles your mind and puts on blinders to the stress so that you can only see the dripping moss and ghostly songbirds that sit on the limbs closest to you. That's all you need, just this moment, and as you move the moment will too, and that's all it takes to be happy.
There might not be dripping moss at home on the aisles of the nearest supermarket, and a grouse might not be nestled in your garage, but that doesn't mean that these moments of stress should become mountains, because each moment is is a breath and no single breath should be filled with stress. I pray the clouds will flow across the peaks when my stress begins to rise again because there is no better mindset than the deep breath and peace that you get when you take a walk in the clouds.
-chastan
Monday, March 4, 2013
Sunday, March 3, 2013
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