Hello there friends. Today is the last day before my classes and responsibilities at the University begin, so I figured I would use some of my remaining free time to update y'all on my current status. I am sorry for waiting so long to post -- as planned, I've taken a circuitous route through the months since my my previous post. After a great trip to the Trap Dyke, the Long Trail fun Began (for photos click here or visit my Picasa site):
Looking back on the trip a month after finishing, relatively few specific experiences stick out in my mind. The experiences and the anecdotes are there, but they are not the first thing that I think of. Instead I remember emotions, people, and places. Anyhow, we successfully walked from Massachusetts to Canada, one step at a time. So since I can't have a conversation with each of y'all, I thought it would be good to send out a little Q&A format thingy to cover the basics -- like the stuff that most people ask when they see us. Please feel very free to attempt to contact me if you want to hear more. So here goes:
Q: Have you guys showered and stuff? You smell terrible!
A: Twice. We actually don't smell bad at all. You smell like soap.
Q: So, are you two still friends at all?
A: We hope so.
Q: How was the Appalachian Trail?
A: Well, We liked it -- there were a lot of people to be friends with. And the trail there is easy. But actually we hiked the Long Trail (LT), which is different from the Appalachian Trail (AT), but they run together for about a hundred miles in the south of VT, so we were on the AT for a while there. The LT was there first. Anyways north of Killington the AT splits of the LT. The LT keeps going the rest of the way up VT, but if you are on the AT you need to take a right so you go to New Hampshire.
Q: Was the weather any good for you?
A: Occasionally. We saw the inside of a lot of clouds, but had beautiful views from Mansfield and from Jay peak.
Q: What did you do if it rained?
A: We hiked in the rain. It was wet.
Q: So what were the highlights?
A: The lifestyle and the people. You meet all kinds of people. And folks are so open and unassuming out there.
Q: And the anti-highlights?
A: Please refrain from speaking about tuna, or ramen. I'm serious. Oh, and we now hate all wet mossy rocks that you are supposed to walk down. Yes, hate.
Q: What are you going to eat now that you are done?
A: Pretty much a lot, but focussing on bread, fresh fruits and veggies, red meat, and beer.
Q: Was it, like, a totally awesome spiritual experience?
A: Yes, but not in the "We had focussed devotion time, and I read 4 books by dead British lay theologians, and had lots of talks about evangelism" sort of way. More in the "God seems wild and mysterious out here, and he is showing me about what I need and what I don't need, and it's healthy for me to see so clearly how much I am dependent on His provision for my physical and spiritual needs, and in our society I think we are addicted to technology and to planning ahead and having a weather report and a cell phone and knowing what time it is and being in a hurry, so we insulate ourselves from some very basic truths about what it means to be a person in creation and out there, things are clearer" sort of way. It's un-nerving to humans to trust a wild and fanciful God, because we are so used to having order and schedules and stuff but He has his own plan and it can be hard to figure out what it is before it is happening to you. But if you put yourself in a situation where you aren't trying to figure it out before then, it's wild and great because you are taking everything one step at a time, in grace, and if you are hoping for something, you pray for it and you don't doubt. Because maybe it will happen and maybe not. I mean, there is a whole interconnected planet down here and I am this real small person with this little idea that I am hoping for, so why would the master of the universe be bothered to worry about if I am having a crappy day or not? But you know, God sort of has his own logic for things and he just might be crazy enough to decide to hook me up on this one. Oh, sweet, blue sky...
(Note: this sequence of events actually happened on Mount Mansfield, where I met my parents to celebrate my Birthday. They brought wine and cupcakes, which were devoured).
Q: Are you glad to be back to real life?
A: This is not real. The trail is way real-er. This crap is all contrived to make us comfortable, it dulls the senses and makes it harder to be real.
Q: I've been thinking about hiking the LT for a while, it just sort of hasn't happened yet. Any advice?.
A: It's awesome. Get out there and do it before you find yourself stuck in a real job with a cubicle and ten days off a year. Advice-wise... leave stuff you don't need at home. Like, leave a lot of stuff at home. Oh, and hike your own hike. But definitely hike.
A: Twice. We actually don't smell bad at all. You smell like soap.
Q: So, are you two still friends at all?
A: We hope so.
Q: How was the Appalachian Trail?
A: Well, We liked it -- there were a lot of people to be friends with. And the trail there is easy. But actually we hiked the Long Trail (LT), which is different from the Appalachian Trail (AT), but they run together for about a hundred miles in the south of VT, so we were on the AT for a while there. The LT was there first. Anyways north of Killington the AT splits of the LT. The LT keeps going the rest of the way up VT, but if you are on the AT you need to take a right so you go to New Hampshire.
Q: Was the weather any good for you?
A: Occasionally. We saw the inside of a lot of clouds, but had beautiful views from Mansfield and from Jay peak.
Q: What did you do if it rained?
A: We hiked in the rain. It was wet.
Q: So what were the highlights?
A: The lifestyle and the people. You meet all kinds of people. And folks are so open and unassuming out there.
Q: And the anti-highlights?
A: Please refrain from speaking about tuna, or ramen. I'm serious. Oh, and we now hate all wet mossy rocks that you are supposed to walk down. Yes, hate.
Q: What are you going to eat now that you are done?
A: Pretty much a lot, but focussing on bread, fresh fruits and veggies, red meat, and beer.
Q: Was it, like, a totally awesome spiritual experience?
A: Yes, but not in the "We had focussed devotion time, and I read 4 books by dead British lay theologians, and had lots of talks about evangelism" sort of way. More in the "God seems wild and mysterious out here, and he is showing me about what I need and what I don't need, and it's healthy for me to see so clearly how much I am dependent on His provision for my physical and spiritual needs, and in our society I think we are addicted to technology and to planning ahead and having a weather report and a cell phone and knowing what time it is and being in a hurry, so we insulate ourselves from some very basic truths about what it means to be a person in creation and out there, things are clearer" sort of way. It's un-nerving to humans to trust a wild and fanciful God, because we are so used to having order and schedules and stuff but He has his own plan and it can be hard to figure out what it is before it is happening to you. But if you put yourself in a situation where you aren't trying to figure it out before then, it's wild and great because you are taking everything one step at a time, in grace, and if you are hoping for something, you pray for it and you don't doubt. Because maybe it will happen and maybe not. I mean, there is a whole interconnected planet down here and I am this real small person with this little idea that I am hoping for, so why would the master of the universe be bothered to worry about if I am having a crappy day or not? But you know, God sort of has his own logic for things and he just might be crazy enough to decide to hook me up on this one. Oh, sweet, blue sky...
(Note: this sequence of events actually happened on Mount Mansfield, where I met my parents to celebrate my Birthday. They brought wine and cupcakes, which were devoured).
Q: Are you glad to be back to real life?
A: This is not real. The trail is way real-er. This crap is all contrived to make us comfortable, it dulls the senses and makes it harder to be real.
Q: I've been thinking about hiking the LT for a while, it just sort of hasn't happened yet. Any advice?.
A: It's awesome. Get out there and do it before you find yourself stuck in a real job with a cubicle and ten days off a year. Advice-wise... leave stuff you don't need at home. Like, leave a lot of stuff at home. Oh, and hike your own hike. But definitely hike.
