Beauty Spot

Hello All.
I promise more consistentcy in this journal once I get better access to the internet. Right now I am preparing for a thru-hike along the venerable Appalachian Trail. Pictured here is Beauty Spot, a bald mountain transected by the trail. Every time I hike up there the vista is different. On this day I walked out of the woods damp with morning showers, a lot of sweat, and the nagging thought of the tiny mouse that kept me up the night before. Descending from Unaka, Mt. I saw this brilliant sea swirling below of cloud and mountain. It was a kingdom all my own with nary a person or animal seen or heard. Coming out of a fog blanketed hollow, over a steep mountain top, and down into this bald mountain of light, cloud, and undulating land I literally screamed. The reverberation of my joy was enpowering. The night before I questioned my place on the trail and if this year was my time to hike it. I think most might have similar concerns before setting out on months away from all familiar, and accepting the whims of nature.

I have now resolved to set out this late winter and take it step by step. On Kilimanjaro, my Tanzanian friends had a way of saying "Pole, pole" to us westerners that put my sensibilities at ease. The swahili word "pole" can take on many meanings like a lot of swahili. Here on the mountain, and said together, it meant "slowly, slowly friend," the mountain will remain, just keep walking slowly and greet her with every step. I take this words with me as I transition from western life to trail life. Godspeed to everyone on their path.